Without a doubt, the headline is the most important part of any advertisement or sales letter. The reason is very simple. The headline is the first thing your potential customer sees when they see your ad.

It is an advertisement for your advertisement.

The sole purpose of your title is to get your potential customer to continue reading your ad or sales letter. You must grab the attention of your readers and draw them to your ad.

Your headline should be so compelling that your reader has to find out more.

No matter how good your product or service is or how good your advertising copy is, if your headline is not good, your ad or sales letter will not be read.

Let’s take a look at what two legendary copywriters have to say about the importance of good headlines:

“Tip for Copywriters: When you are tasked with writing an ad, write lots of headlines first. Spend hours writing headlines, or days if necessary. If you can create a good headline, you will almost certainly have a good ad. But even the best writer can’t save an ad with a poor title. ” –John Caples

“On average, five times more people read the headline than they read the body text. If you haven’t made some sales in your headline, you’ve wasted 80 percent of your money. The most perverse of all sins is running an ad without a headline “. – David Olgilvy

It never ceases to amaze me how many ads I see that don’t have headlines.

All ads must have a title.

Let’s talk about the rules you need to follow when writing headlines, the different types of headlines you can use, the proven words to use in headlines, and how you can become an expert at writing headlines.

Rules to follow when writing headlines:

1. First, your headline must appeal to your reader’s self-interest. Communicate the strongest benefit (or benefits) to your potential customer. Everyone’s favorite radio station is “WIIFM” – What’s in it for me? Your owner must answer this important question.

2. Attract the attention of the potential customer you would like to target. If your headline doesn’t attract the right people, you’ve failed. Your headline should reach out to your potential customer, grab him by the neck, and say, “Hey! I’m talking to you!”

3. Your headline must convey a clear and understandable message. Most people read only the headlines. Because of this, your headline must make a full statement and force the prospect to continue reading the body of the text.

4. If you have news, like a new product, be sure to include it in your headline in a big way.

5. Don’t try to be smart or funny with your headlines. These types of headlines are ineffective and a waste of money.

6. Include the words “quick” and “easy” if they fit what you are communicating.

7. Use specific details in your headlines, not generalities. For example, “Earn $ 5,274 in 30 days” is a better title than “Earn money fast.” The details are more credible.

8. Always test two headlines against each other to see which one pulls out the best.

9. Use uppercase and lowercase letters for your headlines. This is easier to read than all caps. I also like to put quotes around my headlines. Studies have shown that quotation marks around headlines increase readership.

10. When it’s time to write a headline for your ad, write at least 50 headlines. Some direct marketers spend days writing hundreds of headlines in search of the right one. Creating sales headlines takes more than a few minutes. You have to commit to sitting down and writing at least 50 headlines!

Your title is the key to the success of your ad. If you don’t tell your prospect what to expect, you won’t get their attention. If you don’t get their attention, they won’t read your ad. And if they don’t read your ad, you’ve wasted time and money.

Different types of headlines:

To help you write attention-grabbing headlines, let’s take a look at the different types of headlines you can use, how and when you might want to use them, and real-life examples of headlines that were successful.

o The head of the news. If your product or service offers something newsworthy, advertise it in its headline. Typically newsworthy is introducing a new product or improving an existing product.

Here are some words that you can use in your news.

Title: new, announcing, presenting, finally, just released, now, finally.

Examples:

“Now! Acquire Florida Land This Easy Way … $ 20.00 Down Payment and $ 20.00

One month “

“The new diet burns more fat than running 98 miles a week”

“Announcing … the new edition of the encyclopedia that makes learning things fun”

o The holder of the guarantee. Warranty holders declare a desirable benefit and guarantee results or other benefits. If you offer a powerful guarantee, let your potential customers know by stating it in the title.

Examples:

“Play the guitar in 7 days or we’ll give you your money back”

“Announcing a new technologically advanced golf ball that will never lose, never cut and never lose … 100% guaranteed”

o The title of how to do it. These two words, “how”, are very powerful words. You can never go wrong with an instruction title. (More than 7,000 book titles start with Instructions). Instruction holders promise your potential customer a source of information, advice, and solutions to their problems. If you are ever stumped by a title, use the How To title, it works!

Examples:

“How to win friends and influence people”

“How to Flaunt Your Kitchen”

“How To Form Your Own Corporation Without A Lawyer To

Less than $ 50 “

o The title of benefits. The key to a winning earnings title is knowing your market so well that you can offer them a powerful and compelling benefit that they can’t easily get elsewhere. You need to thoroughly research your target market to find out what benefits will motivate them to take action.

Examples:

“If you are a careful driver, you can save money on car insurance”

“Clean your breath while cleaning your teeth”

“Get rid of financial worries forever”

o The title of the question. Again, to use this headline, you have to really know your market. You need to know what your prospect is thinking, what their anxieties are, and what they hope to accomplish. If you know your target audience that well, then the question title is an effective title to use. The question holder should focus on the personal interest of your potential customer and ask a question that you want to know the answer to. The best types of questions to ask are those that involve your potential customer.

Examples:

“Do you make these mistakes in English?”

“Can you pass this money test?”

o The holder of the reason-why. With the title Reason-Why, you give your potential customer specific reasons why they should read your ad. Reason: why headlines are effective because they contain specific facts and numbers. Reason: why headlines don’t need to include the words “reason why”. You can use “38 ways”, “7 steps”, “5 secrets”, and so on.

Examples:

“38 Fun and Easy Ways to Win $ 500.00 Next Weekend”

“7 steps to freedom”

“67 Reasons I Would Have Paid You To Respond To Our Ad Some

Months ago “

o The Holder of the Testimony. The testimonial title is just what it says: use a customer testimonial as the title. With this headline, you get your customers to sell for you by talking about the benefits they received.

Examples:

“I lost my bags … and I also saved money”

“How I Retired With a Guaranteed Income for Life”

“I was tired of living on a low wage, so I started reading The Wall Street Journal, through a subscriber.”

o The command title. The command title tells your client what to do. Your command should encourage action by offering your potential customer a benefit that will help them. Effective command headlines begin with action verbs.

Examples:

“Stop dreaming and start making money”

“Throw Your Wax Can In The Trash – The New Wax Free Floor Is

Here “

“Apply for Christmas Cards Now – Pay After January 20th”

There you go! Various types of headlines that you can use for any type of circumstance or market. Each type of title works well on its own or can be combined with the other types of title.

Now, let’s talk about the words you can use in your headlines.

Powerful headline words that have proven themselves:

*  Advice To			*  Amazing

*  Announcing			*  At Last

*  Bargain			*  Breakthrough

*  Discover			*  Do You

*  Easy				*  Facts

*  Guarantee			*  Here		

*  How To			*  Immediate

*  Life				*  Magic

*  Money			*  New	 

*  Now				*  Powerful

*  Proven			*  Quick

*  Sale				*  Secrets Of

*  Success			*  Surprising

And finally, the three most powerful headline words:

FREE		 	You			Your

The words you use in your headlines are very important. Dan Kennedy has talked about how adding just one letter to a headline (with no other changes to the ad) nearly tripled the response to a magazine ad.

Let’s take a look at the headline Dan talked about. This is what the headline said before the change:

“Put music in your life”

And this is what he said after the change:

“Put music in your life”

Adding the “s” to the word “Post” almost tripled the response to the ad! (The first title implies that you have to do something. The second title implies that something has been done for you).

This example demonstrates how important it is to spend a lot of time writing dozens of headlines and then testing different headlines.

How to become an expert at writing headlines:

The first thing you can do to become an expert at writing headlines is to start a headline collection.

Whenever you see a headline that catches your eye and forces you to read the ad, write it on a 3 x 5 card. Take time to study these headlines and see if you can improve them.

An easy way to start an effective headline collection is to subscribe to tabloid magazines. The folks at National Inquirer, Star, and The Globe know how to write headlines. Due to their compelling headlines, these magazines sell millions of copies every week! (Get off the impulse kiosks!)

I have hundreds of tokens with headlines. When it’s time to write a headline, I use these cards to get ideas.

Here’s another trick for writing headlines:

Before attempting to write a headline or any form of advertisement, you should write down all the benefits of your product or service on 3 x 5 index cards. Write a single benefit on each card. When writing benefits, remember to write them from your prospects’ point of view. (Also, turn your product features into customer benefits.)

Once you’ve taken the time to write down the benefits, you’ll have a stack of cards (maybe hundreds) that you can use for headline ideas. Isolate the most important customer benefit and use it to create your headlines. Sometimes one of the benefits may turn out to be the beneficial owner. (Also, use the index cards when writing your ad or sales letter.)

Here’s a checklist to use when evaluating your headlines:

1. Does my owner communicate the greatest benefit to the client?

2. Does my headline answer the question: “What do I get out of this?”

3. Do you offer a reward for reading the ad?

4. Is my headline clear and direct? Does it convey a complete message?

5. Does my headline attract attention with a powerful sales message?

6. Does it motivate my potential client to keep reading?

7. Is my headline speaking directly to my target potential customer?

8. Is my headline interesting or boring to my prospects?

9. And finally, is my title an ad for my ad?

Remember, the difference between a good headline and a bad headline is the difference between success and failure in advertising.

Your title is the deciding factor on whether or not your potential customer will read your ad. It is the most important element of advertising. Take the time to write winning headlines and watch the response to your advertisement.