Headline writing…some people find it difficult to talk about…others find it difficult to do!

O.K a throw back to the good old days of Monty Python there, but…just what is about writing a winning headline that many people find so horribly difficult.

In this hub I am going to give you a “guerrilla” guide to a few key pointers for powerful headline writing that ensure what your headlines have real sell and pizzazz and that they do what they’re supposed to…sell product for you.

So, let’s start at the very beginning. You have completed your market research (see our other hub on market / niche research and why this is of vital importance), your product development is done, the product is produced and everything is ready to go live.

All you need now is some top-notch sales copy written and you can go live and start earning some money!

What I like to do is write a draft sales letter first. A sort of “brain dump” run through if you like. Not too much in depth thought, it’s more of a “get all of the copywriting ideas down on paper” (or in Word) exercise.

The reason I do this is so that I can see where the real features and benefits of my product are. Because, before I go on and finish the copywriting, I have to understand those features and benefits and pick out the most powerful to form my headline and sub heads.

So, here we go with some key pointers on writing amazingly powerful headlines for your sales copy.

1 – Is Your Headline Totally Compelling?

You headline must engender curiosity, envy or pain.

Having done that it should then promise a compelling benefit. Only by doing this will you ensure that you generate enough interest to drag your reader into the body copy.

Your headline is effectively the advert for the rest of the copy or advert.

You should make sure you have written a really good cross section of headlines before you embark on the copywriting for the rest of your sales letter. What I tend to do is write circa 15-25 and then whittle it down to the best 6 or 7.

The left overs I tend to try and use as sub headers (this is a very effective way of making best use of your resources) which I’ll place at certain points throughout the sales letter to keep people reading.

It is well established that, when it comes to sales letters most readers are “skimmers”, subtly placed sub-heads throughout the page help draw skimmers back in.

2 - Are Your Headlines Aesthetically Pleasing?

Yes, I know this sounds really silly, but…research suggest headlines that are centrally placed on the page and look “balanced” in shape create the best results – amazing isn’t it?

3 – Use Speech Marks

The use of speech marks also helps to grab more attention.

Another interesting thing about quotation marks is that they imply it is what someone else might have said about the product…

…a potential customer may not believe you all the time, but they may well believe your sales message if it comes from a third party! These types of “referral” are really quite powerful.

4. Four Seconds – That’s All You’ve Got!

I’ve talked a lot about headlines, and rightly so. You see the headline is the most vital part of your copywriting.

I spent many years selling face to face and over the telephone. In my extensive training, I was always taught you have just a matter of seconds to make the right impression.

The advice was smile, eye contact and a firm shake of the hand. If you do that, most people will think you have made a favourable impact. And, people will make that judgement in those first few crucial seconds.

The same is true with your headlines. If you headline doesn’t attract attention in those first few seconds (4 seconds is what most research suggests), you prospect is gone, more than likely forever. You may get a second chance face-to-face, but online you don’t. The pace at which people surf is too fast.

If you are selling online that customer may well have cost you an awful lot in terms of PPC costs or traffic generation time.

Having made that effort, it would seem a little silly to then lose them in 4 seconds…wouldn’t it?

You can learn more about copywriting at our Write For Riches blog which has loads more great free content on the subject of copywriting.