Writing a Headline!

"How To Write E-Ad Headlines That Get Your Offer Seen By The Thousands!"

Okay, let's get going on the very first thing your prospect sees once you have found them through research where your prospect "hangs out" or looks for things that interest them.

The very first thing that your prospect is going to see that will start the whole process going is what's called your headline. Now let's talk just a second about headlines. Think about your local newspaper.

When you pick it up to read in the morning what is it that you're looking at as you quickly BROWSE the front page? "That's Right...The Headlines."

The headlines grab your attention, and in a glance of a second, either peak your curiosity to read the article, or you skim ahead to the next headline. Interesting, isn't it?

All of those articles that are read (or aren't read), all because of their headlines.
"My friend, the headline is the single most important part of your marketing success."

Before your prospect ever gets to hear your benefits, get to know you, hear your offer, they must first see and be attracted to your ad.
So you could say that...

"Your Headline Is Your Ad...For Your Ad!"

As a matter of fact, you would be very accurate if you say that 80% (or more) of the success of any offer or ad is the headline. So be very sure to spend lots of time trying and testing different headlines.

Here's something that'll be sure to keep you motivated...

"You're Only One Headline Away From Riches!"

Let me give you just one more idea to think about. One little secret that can make your E-Ads more effective...IMMEDIATELY!
The E-Ads online tend to be written from the seller's point of view, instead of the buyer's point of view.
This my Online Friend is a big, big mistake.

And believe me when I tell you, the only point of view that counts is...
"The Customer's Point Of View."

So the first thing to do is to make your headline of GREAT BENEFIT to your
targeted BROWSER, so that AT LEAST they will be attracted to what your E-Ad is all about.

"Remember...think of your HEADLINE as an AD for your AD."

You may have to come up with a bunch of headlines and test them, one against the other to find the one that does the best your particular product/service and offer.

Then, make sure in your information section, that you quickly state the GREATEST BENEFIT from the CONSUMER'S POINT OF VIEW that you can make. This will help things get started on the right foot.

I can't emphasize too much the importance of HEADLINES. By testing one versus another, it's been found that one headline will outpull another by OVER 1700%!!

"That's right...OVER 1700% !!"

And that's with the SAME information in the body of the ad!

Here's a little quiz for you, just to show you how a change in headline can make a tremendous difference in the results of your marketing.

Now remember, the body of the sales message was the same for each of these sets of headlines.

I'll give you the answers after you've tried to say which headline got the most response.

Okay, here we go with the first pair...

Set #1

If you are a careful driver you can save money on car insurance.

How to turn your careful driving into money.

Set #2

How to make your food taste better.

How to get your cooking bragged about.

Set #3

How to do your Christmas shopping in 5 minutes.

The gift that comes 12 times a year.

Set #4

How to get a loan of $500.

When should a family get a loan.

Set #5

Announcing an important revision of the Bible.

Most important Bible news in 340 years.

Okay, did you pick your winners?

(Go ahead, I'll wait.)

Now before you see the winner from each pair, understand this very important point...

"You Do Not Have The Right To Tell Your Market What They Will Respond To. If You Will Just Listen, By Way Of Their Response (or lack of response), You Will Know What Headline To Use After Testing A Few Different Ones."

Alright, let's look at the results and be amazed...

The Winners Are...

Set #1

If You Are A Careful Driver You Can Save Money On Car Insurance
(this headline pulled 50% more leads than the other)

Set #2

How To Get Your Cooking Bragged About
(this headline brought 42% more requests than the other)

Set #3

How To Do Your Christmas Shopping In 5 Minutes
(this headline brought 90% more sales than the other)

Set #4

How To Get A Loan Of $500
(this headline pulled more than 100% better than the other)

Set #5

Most Important Bible News In 340 Years
(this headline sold 71% more Bibles than the other)

Now the first question that may come to your mind is...WHY?

Unfortunately, in marketing, that's not a good question.

And believe me, if you will just listen to your marketplace, they WILL tell you very loudly with their response (orders for your product/service) or with their silence.

You'll go nuts and broke trying to figure out WHY people do what they do.

(A little note: I'll talk about why people do things in an upcoming chapter, but one thing for sure, people DON'T do things for purely logical reasons.

So don't go nuts trying to figure out LOGICALLY WHY people do what they do or don't do, just accept it and move ahead.)

You see, by presenting a few headlines to your market (your prospects), you're letting them choose what they have an interest in.

Now let's do a little experiment, remember Phil Phisher, our fly fishing expert?

How could "ol' flyfishin' Phil" use these five headlines as a beginning point for his "Fly Fishing Secrets" ad and report?

Okay, let's look at each headline separately...

If You Are A Careful Driver You Can Save Money On Car Insurance

How about for Phil...

If You Are Frustrated Fly Fisherman You Can Now Catch More Fish In An Hour Than You Do All Weekend

Here's another...

How To Get Your Cooking Bragged About

For Phil...

How To Get Your Flyfishing Bragged About

And another...

How To Do Your Christmas Shopping In 5 Minutes

Phil's version...

How To Tie "Record-Catch" Flies In 5 Minutes

Here's one more...

How To Get A Loan Of $500

How about this for Phil...

How To Get A 7-Day Fly Fisherman's Dream Vacation For $500

And finally...

Most Important Bible News In 340 Years

And for Phil...

Most Important Fly Fishing News In 50 Years

Do you see how you can take other people's successful headlines and use them as springboards for your own headlines?

Don't reinvent the wheel.

Get ideas from winners and modify them to fit your situation.

Okay, now here's a way to jump-start your brain when coming up with headlines for your ads.

I call it...

"The Headline Template."

These are some of the most successful headlines of all times. Go through the whole list with your product/service in mind and "fill in the blanks" where I've indicated by CAPITALIZING certain words, just like we did for Phil Phisher and his Fly Fishing Secrets.

1. They Laughed When I SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO --- But When I Started To PLAY!

2. Do You Make These Mistakes In ENGLISH?

3. How A STRANGE ACCIDENT Saved Me From BALDNESS

4. Who Else Wants A SCREEN STAR FIGURE?

5. Announcing The New FORD CARS For 1994 (change year also)

6. Are You Ashamed Of The SMELLS IN YOUR HOME?

7. Buy No DESK Until You've Seen The SENSATION OF THE BUSINESS SHOW

8. Can You Talk About BOOKS With The Rest Of Them?

9. CAR INSURANCE At Low Cost --- If You're A CAREFUL DRIVER

10. CAR Owners ... Save ONE GALLON OF GAS In Every TEN

11. Double Your Money Back If This Isn't The Best ONION SOUP You Ever TASTED

12. Free Book Tells You TWELVE Secrets Of BETTER LAWN CARE

13. Get Rid Of MONEY Worries For Good

14. GIRLS...Want Quick CURLS?

15. Greatest BIBLE News In 341 Years (change number of years too)

16. 10 Ways To Beat The HIGH COST OF LIVING

17. How To Stop WORRYING

18. How The Next NINETY Days Can Change Your LIFE

19. The Secret Of MAKING PEOPLE LIKE YOU

20. PLAY GUITAR In 7 Days Or Money Back

21. To MEN Who Want To QUIT WORK SOME DAY

Here, as a little bonus for you, are the...

"Top 10 Words Used In The 100 Most Successful Headlines Of All Time."

you    31
your    14
how    12
new    10
who    8
money    6
now    4
people    4
want    4
why    4

Did you notice the frequency of each word in those 100 headlines?

Did you see that YOU or YOUR appeared in 45 out of a 100 great money-making
headlines?

Remember how I said you must present the information in the Customer's Point of View?

The best way to do that is to...

"Use the words YOU and YOUR as much as possible."

Always try to get YOU into your headlines and the body of your letter (copy).

It's also great to get the word NEW into your messages. People are always wanting something NEW, aren't they? Have you ever heard some one ask you, "What's New?"

Lot's of times, right?

People want to know what's NEW. You've probably heard that, "Inquiring minds
want to know!"

And then there's the all time favorite...HOW.

People want to know HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS...HOW TO MAKE MONEY...HOW TO SAVE TIME...HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT...HOW TO WIN FRIENDS...HOW TO DO THIS AND HOW TO DO THAT.

Soooo, next time you're coming up with headlines try and get YOU...NEW...and
HOW TO in there.

They've worked forever and they'll work for YOU in the future.

Remember what I said earlier...

"The Marketing Technology Has Changed...But Human Hopes and Desires Do Not!"

Okay, you want more, how about...

"The 21 Magic Words That Can Make You Rich!"

suddenly

now

announcing

offer

introducing

quick

improvement

easy

compare

remarkable

magic

revolutionary

bargain

startling

hurry

amazing

wanted

sensational

challenge

miracle

And last, but certainly not least (and probably more effective than any other motivating word that we know of)...

"FREE!"

Use FREE every chance you get!

In this chapter are the beginnings of your success. Read it over and over again. Come back to this chapter every time you're brainstorming for headlines ideas. Use the "headline template" to help you get started.

Come up with your own "hot headlines" that you see every day in your Email and postal mail. Those direct marketers are spending tens of thousands and millions of dollars to send out those so called "junk-mail" pieces to you. Do you really think they would mail all that stuff out if it wasn't making them a fortune?

Start making a "scrapbook" of great headlines that you see and make them into your own money-making headlines.

Remember...

"You're Only One Headline Away From Riches!"