5 steps to writing attention grabbing headlines

If you want to create attention grabbing headlines then you have to practice until you know instinctively when you’ve written a winner. The best way to do that is to test, test and test your headlines again on your prospects, and they will let you know whether or not you have a winning headline on your hands.

What will go a long way in making your headlines tight is asking yourself some strong questions, and they are:

Will this headline drive my prospects to buy now or never?

The most important thing you must achieve in your headline copy – is to give your prospect every possible reason to want your product now!. You could say things like – ‘while stocks last’ or ‘offer ends today’ etc.

Read lots of direct-mail campaigns that come through your door, and especially those that drove you to buy straight away – study their headline copy. You’ll be amazed how simple they are, but discover very quickly how hard they are to emulate.

Is my product valuable to the prospect?

Assuming that you already know, hand on heart that your product or service is something the public really wants or needs, then expressing this in your headline copy should be a piece of cake.

Does my header make the product stand out from the rest?

This is where your headline should outline the uniqueness of the product or service; miss this bit and your headline will fail.

Is my headline specific and clear enough or is it trying to say too much?

Being ambiguous is not an option or cramming too much information is not good either. It’s vital to be clear, concise and specific throughout your copy but especially in your headline. It’s here that the prospect gets their first taste of your offer. So hit’em with it!

My headline has a job to do – is it doing it?

If you put the four key techniques into place, as I suggest you do, then your headline will be pulling double duty. First grabbing their attention, secondly selecting them.

As your headline copy will be saying something meaningful to one person but at the same time, having the opposite effect on someone else. Thus selecting those eager to buy prospects you really want.

It’s interesting to note; prospects read headers five times as much as they read the whole copy, which means for every dollar the advertiser spends, 80 cents of his advertising dollar is spent on the header.

According to world famous copywriter David Ogilvy, the headline is the most important part of an advertisement.

So based on that logic and compelling evidence, it would stand to reason that you spend 80% of your time crafting that perfect header. It would be time well spent.

That’s just how important the headline is.