According to Branding and Advertising legend, David Ogilvy: 5 times as many people read the headline than they do the body copy in a sales message. This means that unless your headline actually helps sell what you've got to offer, you'll have wasted 90% of your time, money and energy.
Now, you don't need me to tell you 90% waste isn't lean! So here are some quick and dirty headline templates that will turbocharge the power of your business cards, websites, sales letter, press releases and spoken presentations! But before we begin - just a few tips to bear in mind...
1. Experience Shows That Simply Surrounding Your Headline With " " (quotes) can increase readership by up to 27%. Why? Because when you put it in quotes, people think something important is being said.
2. Use Title Case. ALL CAPS doesn't get more attention - it's just harder to read. Sentence case lacks importance so avoid that one too.
3. Tell The Truth. It's very easy to get carried away writing sensational headlines but make sure you can back up the promise with real results.
4. A Logo Isn't A Headline. Your logo, snazzy graphics, special effects or even photographs should never take precedence over a good headline. Even if you love your logo - the people who you want to sell to probably couldn't care less.
5. Test, Test, Test! If a mailing fails to get a response, or people just aren't responding to the messages on your website it is almost 9 times out of 10 down to a poor headline that someone thought would work, but didn't check. For a new product/offering, we'll write several headlines and spend 80 percent of the total writing time perfecting them. Then we'll do an equally split test mailing to find a winning headline.
Right on to the sneaky templates...
"The Top 10 Reasons _________________________ And What To Do About It"
Examples:
* The Top 10 Reasons People Get Divorced
And What To Do About It
* The Top 10 Reasons 97% Of Businesses Fail
And What To Do About It
* The Top 10 Reasons Why Dreams Don't Come True
And What To Do About It
"A Simple Solution For __________________________"
Examples:
* A Simple Solution For Nervous Speakers
* A Simple Solution For Frustrated Dieters
* A Simple Solution For Stressed Out Managers
"How __________ Did ______ And How You Could Too"
Examples:
* How A 60 Year Old Farmer Made $1,000 In A Day And How You Could Too
* How I Started My Own 7-Figure Business With Less Than $500 And How You Could Too
* How My 6 Year Old Sister Threw A 20 Stone Man And How You Could Too
"How Doing These ___ Simple Things Can Turn You Into A __________________________"
Examples:
* How Doing These 7 Simple Things Can Turn You Into A Top Earning Salesperson
* How Doing These 3 Simple Things Can Turn You Into A Self Made Millionaire
* How Doing These 5 Simple Things Can Make You Irresistible To The Opposite Sex
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"How To ______________ & Why It Works"
Examples:
* How To Sell Ice Cream To Eskimos & Why It Works
* How To Double The Value Of Your Business In A Week & Why It Works
* How To Speed Up The Sales Process & Why It Works
" ___ Secrets of ______________________"
Examples:
* 7 Secrets of The Internet Millionaires
* 12 Secrets of The Greatest Thinkers Of Our Time
* 6 Secrets of The World's Greatest Athletes
"Why Doing ________________ Will Lead To ______________ Again and Again"
Examples:
* Why Sacking Bad Clients Will Lead To Improved Productivity Again and Again
* Why Getting Into This One Routine Will Lead To Increased Energy Levels Again and Again
* Why Playing The Blame Game Will Lead To Poor Results Again and Again
What Your ______________ Isn't Telling You About _________________ That Could ___________________
Examples:
* What Your Financial Advisor Isn't Telling You About Endowments That Could Leave You Broke & Homeless
* What Your Marketing Consultant Isn't Telling You About Advertising That Could Be Leaving A Hole In Your Pocket
* What Your Insurance Company Isn't Telling You About New Regulations That Could Leave You Paying The Price
Try these out and have fun!
'Dangerous' Debbie Jenkins
debs@debbiejenkins.com
(c) Copyright 2005 www.BookShaker.com
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