If you want to build a grow a successful business then you need to advertise. Some guru’s or whatever you want to call them say that advertising is dead or doesn’t work, which is completely ridiculous.
Advertising is and has always been a proven way to generate leads and sales. It’s a crucial component to marketing and getting more customers if you do it right from the start. It’s like anything you do in life, you need to at least learn what the heck you are doing before you can do it effectively. There are various types of advertising.
As a direct response copywriter I specialize in writing and creating ad campaigns that get people responding. I have seen throughout my career how many businesses fail with their advertising and what they are doing wrong. I have also seen how advertising can make you a massive profit if you do it right.
As I heard from Frank Kern once, “The fastest way to wealth is to turn paid advertising into profit.”
Here are some methods of advertising that are proven to work:
- Facebook/Google PPC
- Direct mail
- YouTube ads
- Classified ads
Just to name a few.
If you are advertising and you’ve never gotten the results you want from your advertising campaigns then it’s because something in your strategy is flawed. There are numerous reasons why an ad campaign can end up flopping. Not advertising your offer to the right target audience. Poor ad placement. Poor sales copy.
And one of the biggest reasons why your response rates are poor – a crappy headline. Your headline has the power to massively increase response rates to your advertising.
In this post I am going to teach you the importance of writing headlines that convert and show you some simple ways to start writing headlines that convert immediately. How your headlines are the key to getting people to respond to your ad, at least initially, and then some tips on how you can write a headline that gets readers responding.
The Biggest Mistake You Are Making With Your Advertising Is A Crappy Headline
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make when advertising their product or service is not making the most of their headline. Quite often you’ll see a headline that is simply advertising the name of the business. No one is going to respond to that.
It’s also important to note that context and the advertising medium plays a role in the kind of headline you write and how effective it is. The headline is your opportunity to make a great first impression to your prospect and is the first chance you have for selling.
Gary Halbert used to say how many prospects will decide whether or not to buy simply from reading the headline. David Ogilvy is famous for quoting, “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
Your headline is your first chance you get at selling so you need to make the most of it. Read on and I’ll show you how you can do that.
The Basic Fundamentals Of A Headline That Converts
A great headline does ONE thing and one thing only – grab the reader’s attention so they start to read the rest of your advertisement. That’s it and that’s the only goal of your headline. So what is it that makes a great headline?
What makes a great headline is essentially a headline that contains the CORE BENEFIT of your offer. The core benefit needs to target a core desire of your target audience. Basically, if a reader has a problem and they read a headline that targets a core human desire they are interested in, it’s going to be extremely hard for them to ignore it. The reason this works so effectively is because it stirs up the emotions of your reader regarding something they have a big problem with and desperately need a solution for.
Eventually, if the rest of your copy is effective they end up associating their desire with your product and then the selling process is almost complete.
In the book Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman he explains how there are 8 core human desires that are impossible to switch off.
- Survival, enjoyment of life, life extension
- Enjoyment of food and beverages
- Freedom from fear, pain and danger
- Sexual companionship
- Comfortable living conditions
- To be superior, winning, keeping up with the Joneses
- Care and protection of loved one
- Social approval
This is what you should try to target when you write your headline. Now the next question is, how do you write a headline that effectively grabs a reader’s attention and gets them reading the rest of your copy?
Proven Methods For Writing A Headline That Converts
Throughout advertising history there has been proven headline templates that work time and time again. The following templates are perfect especially if you are a newbie to writing headlines.
Headline Templates
How To Headlines:
- How to write a headline that converts in 30 minutes
- How to get at least $1,000 on your tax return this year without using a tax accountant
- How to get a beach body without going to the gym
Who Else Headlines:
- Who else wants to know how to get 3 more new customers this month
- Who else wants to know how generate an endless stream of clients within 30 days from now
- Who else wants to self-publish a bestselling book on Amazon
Get Result Within Specified Time Frame Headlines
- Get a rippling six pack within 6 weeks starting today!
- Get 1 new lead on LinkedIn per day starting today
- Get 5 new customers within 30 days using sales letters
The Truth Revealed Headlines
- The truth about writing headlines that convert revealed
- The truth about building sales funnels that generate leads and sales revealed
- The truth about calorie counting revealed
Numbered Headlines
- 7 reasons why your diet is helping you to lose weight
- 3 reasons why you can’t build a rippling six pack and what to do about it
- 4 ways to eliminate approach anxiety within the next 7 days
Conclusion
So here are a few things I hope you have gotten out of reading this post.
- That you now also realize how important your headlines are to the overall response rate of any of your advertising, online and offline.
- Now you know where you are going wrong when you write your headlines and now have a solid blueprint for effectively writing headlines that convert.
- You now understand the importance of the targeting one of the 8 core human desires in your headlines.
If you want some more proven strategies for writing headlines that convert then check out my guide, Headline Gold.
After reading this you will know how to ‘twist’ your headlines using four simple categories that makes writing headlines that convert effortless.
