Message
#192
Thursday,
October 12, 2000
“Don’t discuss yourself, for
you are bound to lose. If you belittle yourself, you are believed. If you
praise yourself, you are disbelieved.”
Michel
de Montaigne
HOW TO BE A MASTER HEADLINE WRITER
Today,
I want to talk about headlines. What I have to say, however, applies not only
to headlines, but also to envelope teasers, subheads, classified ads, banner-ad
leads, and other tricks of the trade that copywriters use to hook a prospect’s
attention.
The
hook you use to attract customers is, in several ways, the most important
component of your advertising strategy. In the next five minutes, you are going
to learn just about everything you need to know to become a great headline
writer. Pay attention, and you will be richly rewarded by the results of your
promotions for years to come.
Advertising
hooks determine how many prospective customers give your sales pitch that
critical second glance. They create a mood that makes the sale easier. And they
establish a promise on which you can build not only an immediate sale but also a
long-term business relationship.
Every
direct-mail pro who has ever written on the subject has emphasized the
importance of hooks and headlines. Some, such as David Ogilvy and Gene
Schwartz, claim heads are so important that they merit half your advertising
time and attention.
It
doesn’t matter whether you advertise in newspapers and magazines, on television
and radio, or via direct mail – when it comes to starting the selling process,
hooks and headlines are critical. My own experience confirms this. I’ve seen
headlines double response rates. Many times, I’ve heard stories of headlines
tripling and quadrupling responsiveness. I’ve never seen that much impact from
changing the body of the sales letter. Usually, you can expect to get a 25% to
50% lift from changing the body copy. And the body copy can be dozens of pages
of work!
According
to Nat Bodian, a prolific writer on direct marketing, about five times as many
people will read a headline as read the body copy. If 20% is the average, the
range is probably 0% to 40% – plenty of room to affect results. I have seen
newspaper ads that doubled their response rates when nothing more than a single
seven-word headline was changed. I have seen direct-mail packages – countless
numbers of them – achieve lifts of 25% and more.
The
challenge is that you have only a few seconds, at best, to make your headline
work. It has an effect on your copy that is 80% of the game, yet it must be
done with very few words. That’s why so many great advertisers spend so much
time getting the heads right.
There
are plenty of rules about headlines. I’m not a big believer in rules, as you
know. I think it’s much better to understand the principles behind them. But
for today, to get the conversation started, I’ve collected a few of the rules
that I think make the most sense. (These rules work for both general advertising
and direct-response ads.)
A
good headline should:
1.
Make a promise that benefits the reader
2.
Create a sense of urgency by using “magic” words (such as “new,” “here,” “now,”
“announcing,” and “discover”)
3.
Reduce buyer resistance by using two more magic words (“free” and “guaranteed”)
4.
Lead the reader into the copy (That simply makes sense. Advertising must be
coherent.)
5.
Make the reader feel as if he is being addressed personally (The rule is to use
yet another magic word: “you.”)
In
the cyber age, a few new rules have appeared:
1.
Don’t force a website visitor to go back to a lobby after clicking to a screen.
Instead, sell the benefits of moving to the next screen by using short
subheads.
2.
Enhance benefit statements by using images that suggest benefits. Instead of
writing, “Click here for fabulous profit opportunities,” shorten your message
and quicken its impact with the words “fabulous profit opportunities” next to an
icon in the form of a dollar sign.
None
of these rules contradicts a study done years ago by Dr. Henry Durant (reported
in Research in Advertising) that identified five common types of headlines:
* those
that use teasers
* those
that use word play
* those
that “brag and boast”
* those
that say little or nothing
* those
that directly present benefits or news
Durant’s
analysis of results showed that the ads with direct headlines were about 4
times more effective than the others. Keep that in mind the next time you want
to get clever with puns or alliteration.
David
Ogilvy said, “Some copywriters write tricky headlines, puns, literacy allusions
and other obscurities. This is a sin! Every headline should appeal to the
reader’s self-interest. It should promise the reader a benefit.”
And
advertising great Claude Hopkins had this to say: “When you advertise . . .
your product will interest certain people only. You care only for those people.
Create your advertisement for those people only.”
Two
good examples of headlines used to sell fitness equipment (provided by Jim Kobs
of Kobs, Gregory and Passavant advertising):
* for
the Lifecycle bike: “Free Facts That Can Cut Your Exercise Time in Half”
* for
the Bullworker: “The Belly Must Go”
And
two good suggestions from Robert Bly (an advisor to AWAI) on how NOT to write a
headline:
Make
sure your headline is NOT . . .
* vague:
“A New Breed of Flexibility” or “The Best for the Least!”
* clever:
“General Electric Can Light Up Your Life” (or anything alliterative).
OK.
That’s enough for now. Consider today’s message to be a primer in headlines. (We’ll
go a little deeper in a future message.)
If
you are a student of AWAI or are a natural born marketer, you already know
these rules. But beware. Even the best copywriters and advertisers fail
occasionally because they make the simplest mistakes. And the simple mistakes
are the costliest. So even if you think you know everything there is to know
about writing headlines, review today’s lesson – and check it against what you
are currently doing.
* *
* * *
You can’t buy a better mood than you’ll get from trumpeter Chet Baker. I’m not a jazz aficionado, but I find instrumental, upbeat jazz best for our ETR rituals: getting the workplace organized, going over goals and tasks, stretching, etc. Some people prefer rock ‘n’ roll. I suppose the choice has something to do with the kind of work you do. But if you need to do some contemplative thinking and get into a positive groove at the same time, I can’t think of a better recommendation than the playful, sassy – but never harsh – trumpet of Chet Baker. It’s the kind of sound you will still enjoy when you are living off your billion-dollar retirement fund.
MMF
*
Income, assets and net worth – what do you need to be wealthy?
*
Sooner or later you will have to consider estate taxes . . . so consider this