Dear Marketing Friend,
Could I Have Your Attention Please!
Damn—my mind is absolutely
blank. Completely frozen! What to write about?
Well this site is supposed
to be about advertising, marketing and self-improvement. Soooo, this should
give me some clues what to put down?
I’ve practically pissed
away the evening surfing, checking my eBay bid standings and other totally
useless activities! Can I blame anyone other than ME? . . . Well . . .
Hell NO!
So here’s the point: If
your headlines can’t grab people by the eyeballs, you’re DOOMED! You gotta get
folks to not only see your ad but pull em into your copy.
Here’s a trick I learned
about writing great headlines: Write great headlines. No really. Go down to
your local grocery story and pick up a copy of Cosmo, National Enquirer, or any
other tabloid you see displayed at the checkout.
And when you return write
so suckers down. That’s how you “write great headlines.” And if you copy out
enough of those killer headliners your brain will create a neurological imprint
of what it’s like to write great headlines.
Pretty cool, huh?
Yes, I know. This sounds
“beneath” your otherwise good reading taste. I have just one thing to say about
it: Get Over It! Those guys who write those cover headlines are paid huge
bucks. Why? Because those outrageous headlines sell copies so quick you can
hardly count them. That’s why!
You should start a
headline swipe file. All excellent “Grade-A” professional direct response
copywriters maintain such a file. Get
yourself some of those 3x5 index cards and start writing. Any time you see a
compelling headline, stop whatever you’re doing and write it down. And that’s
where the popular women’s magazines and tabloids come into play. So I’m begging
you to do this—it’s for your well-being.
Capture all of these
headlines and keep doing it. You should have 1000’s of great headlines to
stimulate your thinking. Then when the next ad assignment comes up you’ll be on
top of your game.
The purpose of the
headline is to get you read subhead. The subhead’s purpose is to get you to
read the next line and so on. The idea is that the main headline should grab
you and literally pull you into the copy.
Just how important is your
headline? Oh, my God! I can’t believe you’re asking me such a question! Here’s
a little clue:
IT IS ALL IMPORTANT!
Consider this: If your ad
or marketing message does not get read, guess what? You don’t stand an inkling
of a chance in making the sale! To put it another way—your headline carries
more than 80% of the effectiveness of your entire ad.
If you don’t believe what
I’m saying nearly any top gun copywriter would agree with me on the important
of your headline.
Most recently direct
response pro Dan Kennedy said in his excellent book The Ultimate Sales
Letter: “What your headline says and how it says it are absolutely
critical.”
The late John Caples
devoted 1/5 of his most excellent book “Tested
Advertising Methods” on headlines. In fact he said, “The success of an
entire advertising campaign may stand or fall on what is said in the headlines
of the individual advertisement.”
Now that’s heavy!
So take it from the pros:
Spend time on developing great headlines and watch your sales soar!
Peace!
Emette E. Massey
P.S. If you’d like to
jump-start your headline swipe file, then email with the words HEADLINE SWIPE
FILE in the subject line and I’ll fix you up! I can be reached at: eemassey@yahoo.com
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