You’ve heard the saying that first impressions are everything? Well, the headline of your copy is certainly no exception. You only have a few seconds to make a great first impression. A great headline creates an emotional charge and ultimately answers the question:
What’s in it for me?
The very first thing you want to do is grab the attention of your prospect. You will want to spend a considerable amount of dedicated time creating the ideal headline. A common mistake amongst copywriters is that they write just one headline. But they’re missing out. Just as creating optimal copy takes time and many re-writes, so too does your headline. Take your time and create some great headlines. You’ll be glad you did.
After you identify your target market and your Unique Selling Point (USP) you will want to write at least a couple hundred headlines. Yes, that’s what I said, you want to write a couple hunderd headlines for just this one assignment. In the end you will use several of those headlines. One will be that great attention grabber at the beginning of your copy. The others may serve as sub-headlines in the body of your copy.
For your headlines you want to be using words such as:
* Announcing
* Breakthrough
* Now
* New
* Free
* Discover How
* You
* How to
You then want to capitalize on the benefits that your product or service offers. And make sure that you are talking benefits and not features. This will help you to awnser the question that your prospect has on his mind.
What’s in it for ME ?