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How To Create Winning Headlines in 9 Simple Steps
How To Create Winning Headlines in 9 Simple Steps
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Copywriting
Last Updated on March 25, 2020
It’s why some copywriters are known to spend 50% of their time on just the headline.
“If the headline is poor, the copy will not be read. And copy that is not read does not sell goods.”
Justifiably revered, Caples was the copywriter who wrote one of the most famous print ad headlines:
Creating an attention-grabbing headline is perhaps the most important part of writing copy. It’s also the
most enjoyable.
For inspiration, look at magazine headlines
Before I describe how to write headlines, let’s visit our brothers and sisters in the newspaper and magazine
environment.
The headlines on a magazine cover sell the magazine. It’s fascinating to see the very first cover of
Cosmopolitan — one of the world’s most successful publications, currently with a circulation of 3,017,834
Notice the “how to” headline (middle left), the celebrity “testimonial” headlines, and the “news” headlines. I’ll
discuss these headline formats in a minute but now look at a recent cover.
Once again, you see a “how to” headline: Shrink Your Inner Thighs In Six Minutes A Day.
Yes, the editor took off the “how to.” In fact, the headline: “How to Shrink Your Inner Thighs in Six Minutes a
Day” is a perfect direct response headline and would appeal to anyone whose inner thighs are proving
vexing.
List headlines are increasingly popular in the online environment. Here’s The Daily Telegraph from London:
Now let’s bounce over to Amazon. Here it’s not headlines, but titles that make the sale. With that in mind,
In particular notice #1 and #3 in the list, which are “how to” headlines.
Again, the editor has left off the “how to” but these books use the how-to formula.
As a headline for an advertisement, “How to Eat More Food and Lose More Weight” would be a winner. It’s
1. Understand the target. Before writing, especially if you want a good ROI, it’s vital to understand the
target audience. The editors at Cosmopolitan clearly understand their readers. Their headlines perfectly
4. Pick the most important benefit and include that benefit in the headlines.
5. Include the product or problem in the headlines.
8. If you can, write a headline that’s whacky, offbeat, or ultra-different. This headline will fail miserably
most of the time but, occasionally, will beat the ‘normal’ headline from #7.
9. Test like crazy and rewrite the headline when you see some degradation in response.
That’s perhaps a little simplistic, but I believe that writing headlines should be a simple process.
Simple is clear.
Complex, on the other hand, can be confusing — and confused readers don’t buy.
All the elements must work together and lead directly into the first few paragraphs.
When I’ve completed my research and it’s time to write, I create a headline from one of the templates I’ve
compiled over the years. Many of these are from Dan Kennedy’s classic copywriting book, The Ultimate
Sales Letter.
They follow proven structures that are simple to adapt to your own promotions. So feel free to borrow
responsibly.
Before using a template, remember that headlines grab the attention of the prospect by:
Making a promise.
Drawing a picture.
Stating a fact.
Asking a question.
Classic formulas
“Are You Ready for the Most Beautiful Lawn in Your Neighborhood?”
A word of warning about question headlines: I only use them when the answer is obvious to the reader. I
“How I _______________”
“How I Overcame Joint Pain, Got Off the Sidelines, and Back in the Game.”
“How to ______________”
As you’ve discovered, this template is a classic direct response copywriting formula. You can lop off the
“How to Add at Least 20 Yards to Your Drives and Hit the Ball in the Fairway More Often than a PGA Tour
Pro.”
“Secrets of ____________”
“Millions of ambitious investors are beating the ‘down market blues’ by listening to this woman’s advice…
even though they know little or nothing about stocks and bonds.”
“Warning: ___________________.”
“Warning: a little-known change in the law will make it harder to manufacture chocolate. Here’s what you
can do right now to keep making chocolate…”
“Give me 10 minutes right now and I’ll show you how to sell your home for full value in any market.”
Attention Fishermen!
“I’ve discovered a new fishing boat that’s sensibly priced AND provides all these advantages…”
1. Ultra-comfortable for all-day fishing pleasure
New Laptops Selling for Just $99 but Only a Few Remain
Free Shipping PLUS a Free Printer When You Purchase a New Laptop on Tuesday from Sam’s Computer
Shack
“Getting my degree in nursing from Dry Creek Community College helped me get a great job with a great
doctor.”
Note: You can use this with a celebrity.
82 year-old golfer hits the ball 40 yards further off the tee using the revolutionary and legal MAX CANNON
driver. He was about to give up the game but now he’s pummeling the young guys.
Headlines with ‘Free’
FREE FISH AND CHIPS on Wednesday at Sir Ed’s Pub in Park Road Shopping Center.
of conversion horsepower.
Denny Hatch wrote a famous direct response book called Million Dollar Mailings. It’s a compilation of copy
In the world of direct response copywriting, you’ll see simple headlines and you’ll see headlines that yell
and scream.
Testing will tell you how much “volume” you need when writing headlines.
How to Test Headlines
Testing headlines is relatively simple if you have (and know how to use) certain tools.
Many digital marketing platforms provide built-in A/B testing tools so you can test headlines. MailChimp
In each of these platforms, simply try one headline as version ‘A’ and another as version ‘B’ and you’ll
I prefer slightly long main headlines because they tend to keep the reader’s attention.
The headline must be directed at the target and start to answer the question that’s in the reader’s mind:
Check your ego at the door. I HATE split infinitives, but a headline with a split infinitive recently beat one
Give your emails a headline and watch open rates and conversion rates skyrocket. Whenever I get an
email without a headline above the body copy, I scratch my head. And no, the subject line is NOT a
Subheads in the copy are just like main headlines. Best case: the subheads tell the story of the copy.
Specific details or numbers can be valuable in a headline. “How I Beat the Stock Market by 23% Last
Year.” (23% is specific. “A lot” would be too general to get the same result.)
Headlines are vital because they draw the reader into the body copy. If you get stuck, use one of the
templates above. Then imagine you’re about to tell someone a story or you want to provide some advice;