There is a lot of ballyhoo about the importance of headlines in copywriting. If you are just getting started it is easy to take this stuff out of context.
The importance of the headline IS paramount in several different formats of copy - in situations where the headline MUST grab the readers attention an effective headline is the difference between success and failure for the ad.
One of my pet peeves is super-long headlines that try to cram a detailed description of what the product is or does into the headline itself. This is usually not a good thing, but of course in the hands of a skilled copywriter a long headline can work well indeed.
Most writers doing online marketing these days cranking-out verbose headlines are not particularly skilled however - their headlines are like the desperate guy trying to get a date from every girl who walks by; rattling off a meandering list of benefits hoping she'll hear one she likes and stop and talk to the guy.
Does that sound like a good way to get a date?
No. It doesn't
It's fairly easy to find examples of this kind of headline writing in copy ebook authors and software designers have written for their own products. Because these folks are often making products that fit a narrow niche, they feel they need to sell the product in the headline.
Part of the selling DOES happen in any headline. How much of the selling depends on the state-of-awareness of the reader.
Example: "Bananas! .59 lb."
Since we are completely aware of what bananas are the headline's objective is to get our attention with a bargain price. There is nothing to explain of the benefits of the product because it is already so thoroughly familiar to us.
This is not, by the way, the sort of headline you, as a direct marketer, should want to find yourself in the position of writing - because it's tough to make money when you have to scream "LOW PRICE!" to get attention.
A much better situation is when your headline can announce some new benefit to your product - either because your product itself is new and innovative, or because you are very clever and have found a way to reframe your old product in a new way - which can result in a real advertising victory by reviving a dead product and re-introducing it with a marketing twist.
In most cases when selling stuff online with salesletters we are dealing with the harsh realities of free-market commerce: that we have competition breathing down out necks - and their products are similar to ours and also they are willing to sell them cheaper - and maybe their stuff is even better in some ways.
Thus it is a good idea to try to find a way to select the battleground yourself - "positioning" your product in your headline in some way that makes it appear better in some way than other products in the niche.
For example: "Miracle Pill Melts Away Unwanted Pounds!"
This is not inventive these days because it's an old headline. The idea contained here in the headline is that the pill magically just makes pounds disappear. That's an exciting claim! If you are the first and only merchant to claim your diet-pill does such a thing you can profit enormously with such a promise... effortless weight-loss is one of the top 3 best direct marketing claims you could possibly make to sell your product - though there is the additional problem now that many advertisers have made similar announcements and consumers are skeptical because of past disappointments.
Hope does spring eternal however; the basic human needs driving the desire to lose weight are so powerful many people will never give up buying and trying new ways to shed unwanted pounds.
You should try, when writing your headline, to make the broadest specific claim you can in the headline, or imply it there, so you capture interest from the most people. Don't try to tell everything in your headline or even the top of the letter. The sale happens at the bottom, in the order-form area - and only happens when you've guided your prospect through a series of agreements in the body-copy.
Agreements like:
"yes, I have that problem"
"yes, I have not found a solution yet"
"yes, this problem is causing me pain"
"yes, if I saw a real solution I would be very interested"
This seems very abstract here and maybe even corny.
Try applying this to a software product that is supposed to bring traffic to your website:
Headline: Amazing Software Magnetizes Your Website
(This is a curiosity headline... because I make a claim that is mysterious and hopefully intriguing, but I don't try to explain how in the headline. Many of the writers today would have a bloated headline which tries to explain everything in one mouthful.)
An less-effective headline that tells too much, and tries to sell would be something like:
"Who Else Wants This Automated Software Driving Frenzied Flood of Traffic To Their Website, Credit Cards In Hand and Desperate To Buy?"
(This is a silly headline, yet it's not too far-off the sort of thing I see a lot of writers putting out. There are a number of reasons it's bad: it's hypey and cliched in addition to being too verbose. I see a lot of headlines like this one, and longer - if you read them aloud you'll instantly hear how off-target they are.)
After the headline we might ask a question or imply one like: "Don't you hate it when you put tons of work into making a website and you struggle to get the volume of traffic you need to make any real money?"
Then we go on and say: "Getting enough good traffic is a common problem. I had it myself when I was just starting out. I tried a lot of so-called solutions for getting more traffic, but they didn't bring me the results I wanted. Each method I tried either drained my bank account, was too much work for just a trickle of traffic, or just unreliable."
(By the way, I just used "the rule of 3" - because when stating problems it just seems more credible if you state them in groups of 3. There is a rhythm and rhyme to it.)
I am not going to write the whole letter here, but do you see how I already get you agreeing, in your mind, that getting traffic cheaply enough, and without working too hard, can be a bit of a problem? Most people who try internet marketing have these problems so it's a safe bet if you are selling a traffic-generating product these problems fit the bill.
I started out writing about headlines - and I've digressed into body copy, because I want you to understand how the headline is an important PART of the selling process, but it is not where the process really gets going. If you are trying to sell in your headline, you are probably struggling to write good copy. You CAN state benefits in the headline, but when you try too hard to close the sale you'll just turn readers off. Instead use the headline and the introductory copy to draw your reader in and guide him or her, through a series of "Yes" agreements to a point, at the end, where ordering your product seems like a sensible thing to do... and the main objections then will be not whether the argument is valid, but whether the reader believes you and whether your product's perceived value exceeds the price you ask for it.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Friday, 11 May 2012
Headlines Are Powerful Prospecting Tools
Many copywriters will attest to the fact that headlines make or break a sale. A subtle change in a headline can result to astronomical increase in sales. A good understanding of headlines is pivotal in a successful internet marketing campaign.
Headlines will fall into three main categories. There are webpage titles, which appear in Search Engine result pages. For example when you do a search in Yahoo, the resulting page has a list of links to relevant pages. These links are page titles that describe the content in the webpage. These are what the surfer will first read to determine how relevant that page would be to them. These kinds of headlines are input in the HTML code of the webpage within the "HEAD" tag. They are only visible to your browser and Search Engine crawlers.
The second kind of headlines is the PPC titles. These are the bold sentences within a Pay per Click (PPC) advert that appears at the top of the advert. These titles are probably the most challenging to create. Due to design issues and restriction of space where the adverts appear, PPC demand you design your title within a number of characters. In Google Adwords, for example, the title is restricted to 25 characters.
The third kind of headlines is the subject line of emails. In email marketing, the subject of the email acts as the headline. Once the surfer opens their mail box, it is the title that either attracts them to click open the mail, ignore it or even worse delete it.
So what gives headlines such power?
Headlines are probably the most viewed elements on a webpage. Surfers use them to quickly determine a page's relevance. Different wordings communicate differently and as such different headlines communicate relevance differently. This explains why subtle changes have huge impacts. Consequently, headlines are very powerful prospecting tools. They assist in picking out your best fitting customer profile from the crowd.
The secret of harnessing the full power of headlines lies in creating headlines that resonate strongly with your perfect customer profile. Such headlines connect with prospects, draw their attention to click on them to find out more.
You create this resonance by providing the perception of value as being searched for by the surfer. Keep in mind that the surfer is searching for a solution, whether in form of product, service or information. When your headline promises to deliver they will stop to consider you.
Headlines will fall into three main categories. There are webpage titles, which appear in Search Engine result pages. For example when you do a search in Yahoo, the resulting page has a list of links to relevant pages. These links are page titles that describe the content in the webpage. These are what the surfer will first read to determine how relevant that page would be to them. These kinds of headlines are input in the HTML code of the webpage within the "HEAD" tag. They are only visible to your browser and Search Engine crawlers.
The second kind of headlines is the PPC titles. These are the bold sentences within a Pay per Click (PPC) advert that appears at the top of the advert. These titles are probably the most challenging to create. Due to design issues and restriction of space where the adverts appear, PPC demand you design your title within a number of characters. In Google Adwords, for example, the title is restricted to 25 characters.
The third kind of headlines is the subject line of emails. In email marketing, the subject of the email acts as the headline. Once the surfer opens their mail box, it is the title that either attracts them to click open the mail, ignore it or even worse delete it.
So what gives headlines such power?
Headlines are probably the most viewed elements on a webpage. Surfers use them to quickly determine a page's relevance. Different wordings communicate differently and as such different headlines communicate relevance differently. This explains why subtle changes have huge impacts. Consequently, headlines are very powerful prospecting tools. They assist in picking out your best fitting customer profile from the crowd.
The secret of harnessing the full power of headlines lies in creating headlines that resonate strongly with your perfect customer profile. Such headlines connect with prospects, draw their attention to click on them to find out more.
You create this resonance by providing the perception of value as being searched for by the surfer. Keep in mind that the surfer is searching for a solution, whether in form of product, service or information. When your headline promises to deliver they will stop to consider you.
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Terrific Titles, Happenin' Headlines
You've probably heard the slogan, "You never get a second chance
to make a first impression." It may be a sales pitch, but in the
world of advertising and promotion, it's right on the nose.
Believe it or not, a bad title or headline will turn your
prospects away quicker than bad breath. When you're trying to
promote a business, product, or yourself, you need people to
stick around long enough to hear your sales pitch, right? Well,
a bad article title or sales letter headline will turn people off before they (or you) even realize what's happening.
When you're looking for interesting articles for yourself or your ezine, what's the first thing you read? When you receive a sales letter in the mail, what do look at first? When you stop to think about it, your title or headline is your very first
opportunity to make an impression on your prospects. If that
impression is a positive, creative, and exciting one, you're off
to a very good start. Similarly, if that first impression is
boring, worn-out, or confusing, your prospects probably won't
even bother reading beyond the first line.
Before you start writing, think about your audience. No matter
who they are, titles should flow from the lips easily, and give
readers some idea of what they'll learn by reading on. At the
same time, they should be short enough to be memorable.
Energizing a wimpy title can be as easy Kindergarten, if you'll
just think back that far. Remember when you learned about rhyme?
Well, rhyming is an essential tool for writing headlines and
titles. A rhyming title is catchy, and fun, almost compelling
your audience to keep reading.
Rhyme isn't the only useful titling tool. Alliteration is a great way to dress up a plain-jane title. Alliteration is the
repetition of a particular consonant sound at the beginning, end, or middle of two or more words (i.e. terrific titles). An alliterative title is easy to say, easy to remember, and just plain fun to read.
to make a first impression." It may be a sales pitch, but in the
world of advertising and promotion, it's right on the nose.
Believe it or not, a bad title or headline will turn your
prospects away quicker than bad breath. When you're trying to
promote a business, product, or yourself, you need people to
stick around long enough to hear your sales pitch, right? Well,
a bad article title or sales letter headline will turn people off before they (or you) even realize what's happening.
When you're looking for interesting articles for yourself or your ezine, what's the first thing you read? When you receive a sales letter in the mail, what do look at first? When you stop to think about it, your title or headline is your very first
opportunity to make an impression on your prospects. If that
impression is a positive, creative, and exciting one, you're off
to a very good start. Similarly, if that first impression is
boring, worn-out, or confusing, your prospects probably won't
even bother reading beyond the first line.
Before you start writing, think about your audience. No matter
who they are, titles should flow from the lips easily, and give
readers some idea of what they'll learn by reading on. At the
same time, they should be short enough to be memorable.
Energizing a wimpy title can be as easy Kindergarten, if you'll
just think back that far. Remember when you learned about rhyme?
Well, rhyming is an essential tool for writing headlines and
titles. A rhyming title is catchy, and fun, almost compelling
your audience to keep reading.
Rhyme isn't the only useful titling tool. Alliteration is a great way to dress up a plain-jane title. Alliteration is the
repetition of a particular consonant sound at the beginning, end, or middle of two or more words (i.e. terrific titles). An alliterative title is easy to say, easy to remember, and just plain fun to read.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
How to Write Titles and Headlines Like a Top Paid Professional Copywriter
Getting their message out to their audience is unquestionably the single biggest desire I hear voiced by my clients. Bigger even than making lots of money. (Although the money is nice, no doubt about it.)
Is that true for you too?
Well, if so, effective copywriting (articles, press releases, email, etc.) is one of the simplest ways to leverage your time and reach large numbers of people with your passionate message - so they can experience the transformation you offer.
And the top copywriters agree that the best way to improve your copy is paying close attention to headlines and titles. The job of any headline or title is to induce the reader to keep reading. If the headline doesn't grab'em, they'll never get to the message itself.
Fortunately, writing a snappy headline doesn't have to be a mystery. All you really need to know are 3 things.
1) Who your AUDIENCE is
2) The PROBLEM they're facing
3) What BENEFIT(s) they'll get from your product or service
Once you're clear about those things, you've got the ingredients you need to craft a client-capturing headline or title.
Here are 3 simple tips to make that easy for you to get started.
Tip #1: Talk benefits, not features
The mistake most people make is talking about the process rather than of the results the customer will get. Look at the title for this article. Instead of saying "The Art of Writing Headlines," the title I came up with promises the benefit of writing like a "top paid professional." Sounds enticing, doesn't it?
Tip #2: Create a mental picture for the reader
When you read the famous (and much copied) headline by John Caples: "They Laughed When I Sat Down at The Piano - but When I Started to Play. . .," you get a very clear picture in your mind, right? Kinda makes you want to be the person in that picture, amazing everyone with your new virtuoso skills.
Tip #3: Long and clear is better than short and clever
David Ogilvy's headline for Rolls Royce, "At 60 Miles An Hour, the Loudest Noise in the New Rolls Royce comes from the Electric Clock," leaves nothing to the reader's imagination (except putting themselves behind the wheel!).
Use these simple tips to power up your writing. It's going to have a big impact on your ability to get your message heard - so you can impact more lives. Isn't that really why you're in business?
Is that true for you too?
Well, if so, effective copywriting (articles, press releases, email, etc.) is one of the simplest ways to leverage your time and reach large numbers of people with your passionate message - so they can experience the transformation you offer.
And the top copywriters agree that the best way to improve your copy is paying close attention to headlines and titles. The job of any headline or title is to induce the reader to keep reading. If the headline doesn't grab'em, they'll never get to the message itself.
Fortunately, writing a snappy headline doesn't have to be a mystery. All you really need to know are 3 things.
1) Who your AUDIENCE is
2) The PROBLEM they're facing
3) What BENEFIT(s) they'll get from your product or service
Once you're clear about those things, you've got the ingredients you need to craft a client-capturing headline or title.
Here are 3 simple tips to make that easy for you to get started.
Tip #1: Talk benefits, not features
The mistake most people make is talking about the process rather than of the results the customer will get. Look at the title for this article. Instead of saying "The Art of Writing Headlines," the title I came up with promises the benefit of writing like a "top paid professional." Sounds enticing, doesn't it?
Tip #2: Create a mental picture for the reader
When you read the famous (and much copied) headline by John Caples: "They Laughed When I Sat Down at The Piano - but When I Started to Play. . .," you get a very clear picture in your mind, right? Kinda makes you want to be the person in that picture, amazing everyone with your new virtuoso skills.
Tip #3: Long and clear is better than short and clever
David Ogilvy's headline for Rolls Royce, "At 60 Miles An Hour, the Loudest Noise in the New Rolls Royce comes from the Electric Clock," leaves nothing to the reader's imagination (except putting themselves behind the wheel!).
Use these simple tips to power up your writing. It's going to have a big impact on your ability to get your message heard - so you can impact more lives. Isn't that really why you're in business?
Monday, 30 April 2012
How to Write Attention Grabbing Headlines
Headlines are your article titles.
When people searches for your article and sees it in the listing, the very first thing that they are going to see is the title of the article, or in other words: The Headline.
For this reason, your headlines are of the utmost importance. Essentially, they're going to 'make or break' your article as far as it getting views is concerned. It is more than just a description about the contents in your article; it is a promise you make to build a trusted relationship with your readers. Unfortunately, once you've submitted an article you don't get to edit or tweak the headline, so you have to get it as right as possible at the very first.
Since the whole purpose of the headline is to attract attention and giving your promise. Why not just put your foot into readers' shoe think of what has grabbed your attention in the past. Certain words may tend to perform better than others, but since you can't be sure without testing... it probably isn't the right place to experiment.
There are few key points you have to consider before you write your headlines:
Your article title should attract readers' attention. It should build interest
or motivation.
Make sure reader can get a clear picture about what you are going to write in your article body from reading your headline.
Don't use very short headlines. The best headlines are the ones that describe your content best.
Here are some types of headlines, with examples:
Lists, such as, "Top 5 Ways to groom your dog."
Questions, such as, "Do You Want To Learn How To groom your dog?"
Commands, such as, "Start to Learn to groom, Now!"
Abstract, such as, "Coming Soon: Fluffed Tails and Trimmed Coats" (careful, it tough to pull these off)
Remember, all that you need to do is use your headline to attract reader's attention. It is up to the rest of your article to build interest, and make readers to click the backlink to visit your site. Make sure your content delivered what you promised in your headline.
Enjoy your article marketing!
When people searches for your article and sees it in the listing, the very first thing that they are going to see is the title of the article, or in other words: The Headline.
For this reason, your headlines are of the utmost importance. Essentially, they're going to 'make or break' your article as far as it getting views is concerned. It is more than just a description about the contents in your article; it is a promise you make to build a trusted relationship with your readers. Unfortunately, once you've submitted an article you don't get to edit or tweak the headline, so you have to get it as right as possible at the very first.
Since the whole purpose of the headline is to attract attention and giving your promise. Why not just put your foot into readers' shoe think of what has grabbed your attention in the past. Certain words may tend to perform better than others, but since you can't be sure without testing... it probably isn't the right place to experiment.
There are few key points you have to consider before you write your headlines:
Your article title should attract readers' attention. It should build interest
or motivation.
Make sure reader can get a clear picture about what you are going to write in your article body from reading your headline.
Don't use very short headlines. The best headlines are the ones that describe your content best.
Here are some types of headlines, with examples:
Lists, such as, "Top 5 Ways to groom your dog."
Questions, such as, "Do You Want To Learn How To groom your dog?"
Commands, such as, "Start to Learn to groom, Now!"
Abstract, such as, "Coming Soon: Fluffed Tails and Trimmed Coats" (careful, it tough to pull these off)
Remember, all that you need to do is use your headline to attract reader's attention. It is up to the rest of your article to build interest, and make readers to click the backlink to visit your site. Make sure your content delivered what you promised in your headline.
Enjoy your article marketing!
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Small Business Owners - 5 Critical Tips For Creating Headlines in Your Sales Copy
Your headline is the single most important piece of your sales copy. It is amazing how much advertising out there does not even contain a headline. Your customers are bombarded by over 5000 marketing messages per day. If you cannot grab them by the throat and get their attention with your headline, they will not stop for a second to read the rest of your ad. Your headline will make or break all of your marketing material. Here are 5 tips that you can use to help with your headline creation:
1. Do not try and win an award, be cute, or tell jokes in your headlines. People don't want to be patronized by "cleaver copy." The only thing they want to know is what the product or service will do for them. Not everyone will find your jokes funny, and you may create a piece that is so cleaver, no one understands it. Your headline needs to be written in very simple, straightforward language. The one and only reason to have marketing material is increase the bottom line of the business. You can be entertaining, but leave it out of your marketing material.
2. The sole purpose of the headline is to get the prospect to start reading the rest of the copy. You must capture their interest, but you do not have to sell the product in the headline. You just want the person to keep reading the next lines below it.
3. You must integrate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) into your headline. Sometimes, your USP alone makes an excellent headline. Your USP is the foundation of your business and it's critical that it's integrated into all of your marketing materials. Your headline must echo the message that you are trying to give in your USP. This will tie your entire business image together in one package that a customer will always recognize no matter what kind of marketing material they are looking at. As soon as they read a headline and recognize your Unique Selling Proposition, if they are interested in your product, they will recognize you.
4. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS in your headlines. It makes them much harder to read. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, just as you would to title an article or book. An exception to this rule would be if you had a one word headline, such as "NEW!" but most of you won't need to go there. Also, it's a good idea to put quotes around headlines. People look at that as a universal sign that someone is talking to them, and it appears as if you are quoting someone.
5. When writing headlines, every time you start a new project, you need to come with at least 100 headlines before you pick your final choice. Writing 100 headlines gets you warmed up and lets you try different renditions of things before it goes into your marketing. Save everything that you write. You 2nd best headlines can be used as bullets and sub-heads in your ad copy later, so you don't have to re-write when you start getting to the body of the sales piece.
1. Do not try and win an award, be cute, or tell jokes in your headlines. People don't want to be patronized by "cleaver copy." The only thing they want to know is what the product or service will do for them. Not everyone will find your jokes funny, and you may create a piece that is so cleaver, no one understands it. Your headline needs to be written in very simple, straightforward language. The one and only reason to have marketing material is increase the bottom line of the business. You can be entertaining, but leave it out of your marketing material.
2. The sole purpose of the headline is to get the prospect to start reading the rest of the copy. You must capture their interest, but you do not have to sell the product in the headline. You just want the person to keep reading the next lines below it.
3. You must integrate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) into your headline. Sometimes, your USP alone makes an excellent headline. Your USP is the foundation of your business and it's critical that it's integrated into all of your marketing materials. Your headline must echo the message that you are trying to give in your USP. This will tie your entire business image together in one package that a customer will always recognize no matter what kind of marketing material they are looking at. As soon as they read a headline and recognize your Unique Selling Proposition, if they are interested in your product, they will recognize you.
4. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS in your headlines. It makes them much harder to read. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, just as you would to title an article or book. An exception to this rule would be if you had a one word headline, such as "NEW!" but most of you won't need to go there. Also, it's a good idea to put quotes around headlines. People look at that as a universal sign that someone is talking to them, and it appears as if you are quoting someone.
5. When writing headlines, every time you start a new project, you need to come with at least 100 headlines before you pick your final choice. Writing 100 headlines gets you warmed up and lets you try different renditions of things before it goes into your marketing. Save everything that you write. You 2nd best headlines can be used as bullets and sub-heads in your ad copy later, so you don't have to re-write when you start getting to the body of the sales piece.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
You're Throwing Money Away If Your Headlines Aren't SHOUTING!
In most articles, regardless of whether it's an online article, a web content or something that you see in the newspaper, the headline of the article or the prelude to a particular part of the content plays a pivotal role in drawing people in. I've been asked before, 'How do you write a headline that grabs at peoples' attention?' I don't have a magical wand to do that and the rules to how to write such a headline changes all the time, so, but there are some rules that I follow when writing headlines.
Including your keywords into your headline when writing
This is part of my rule....I don't know about others. The reason for this rule is because I want it to be a little bit more SEO-friendly and also kick-ass. For example, if the keyword you want is 'cheap business deal', I would probably go with something like CHEAP BUSINESS DEALS SHOCKS COMMUNITY. If it's a new handbag designed for teens and the keyword is handbag, I'd go with something like CHIC TEEN BAGS HITS THE STREETS. Well, you get what I mean, the basic concept is to keep the keywords in the headlines.
Shout, exaggerate and blow things out of proportion
Some people try not to do this and frankly speaking, I don't like stretching the truth too far either but this is how you've got to do it if you want to write a really good headline that grabs people's attention. Nobody would give your news or article a second thought if it was something boring or normal.
If you don't want to exaggerate too much, during the second-edit, go back and 'tone it down a little' without changing it too much; for instance, use a milder word that does not stretch reality too far. Example; change CRAZY to UNBELIEVABLE or GUARANTEE to PROMISE.
But keep it big. That's my advice. Then you'd get the attention you want.
Keep to the current and understand the readers
People who are on top of the news snap their heads around when they hear of the latest breaking news....that's how CNN's breaking news work, isn't it? Your readers are always current and up-to-date, therefore, you'll have to do that when you write your headline as well. Boring old news, nothing new, blah. But if you shout at them and say something like ECONOMY DOWNTURN DOES NOT AFFECT THE INTERNET MARKET INDUSTRY, they turn around and look....and then think, why the hell did it not affect the internet market?
When you write, you want to push all the right buttons
In whatever it is that you write, it pays to remember the hot buttons. In each and every one of us, there are hot buttons to push. Words that will just send them into a frenzy whereby the impulsiveness just raises its head in even the most sober folks. FREE is a button. NOW is a button. As for slimming products, PAIN-FREE is a button. When you write, include all these buttons into your writing. It takes some time for you to realize what these words are but every time you publish something, take a look at it and gauge their effectiveness and then slowly try to find words that you have placed inside of that article and things will come to you.
The rule of thumb is this....your readers don't buy the things that they need from the Internet (if you're an ecommerce business owner)! Remember...the get the things that they need from the supermarket, not the internet! When you write, remember to incorporate words that would make then WANT to buy that from you, incite their excitement and desire to have what you're selling.
And you can do all of this with a headline that SHOUTS at the top of its lungs!
Including your keywords into your headline when writing
This is part of my rule....I don't know about others. The reason for this rule is because I want it to be a little bit more SEO-friendly and also kick-ass. For example, if the keyword you want is 'cheap business deal', I would probably go with something like CHEAP BUSINESS DEALS SHOCKS COMMUNITY. If it's a new handbag designed for teens and the keyword is handbag, I'd go with something like CHIC TEEN BAGS HITS THE STREETS. Well, you get what I mean, the basic concept is to keep the keywords in the headlines.
Shout, exaggerate and blow things out of proportion
Some people try not to do this and frankly speaking, I don't like stretching the truth too far either but this is how you've got to do it if you want to write a really good headline that grabs people's attention. Nobody would give your news or article a second thought if it was something boring or normal.
If you don't want to exaggerate too much, during the second-edit, go back and 'tone it down a little' without changing it too much; for instance, use a milder word that does not stretch reality too far. Example; change CRAZY to UNBELIEVABLE or GUARANTEE to PROMISE.
But keep it big. That's my advice. Then you'd get the attention you want.
Keep to the current and understand the readers
People who are on top of the news snap their heads around when they hear of the latest breaking news....that's how CNN's breaking news work, isn't it? Your readers are always current and up-to-date, therefore, you'll have to do that when you write your headline as well. Boring old news, nothing new, blah. But if you shout at them and say something like ECONOMY DOWNTURN DOES NOT AFFECT THE INTERNET MARKET INDUSTRY, they turn around and look....and then think, why the hell did it not affect the internet market?
When you write, you want to push all the right buttons
In whatever it is that you write, it pays to remember the hot buttons. In each and every one of us, there are hot buttons to push. Words that will just send them into a frenzy whereby the impulsiveness just raises its head in even the most sober folks. FREE is a button. NOW is a button. As for slimming products, PAIN-FREE is a button. When you write, include all these buttons into your writing. It takes some time for you to realize what these words are but every time you publish something, take a look at it and gauge their effectiveness and then slowly try to find words that you have placed inside of that article and things will come to you.
The rule of thumb is this....your readers don't buy the things that they need from the Internet (if you're an ecommerce business owner)! Remember...the get the things that they need from the supermarket, not the internet! When you write, remember to incorporate words that would make then WANT to buy that from you, incite their excitement and desire to have what you're selling.
And you can do all of this with a headline that SHOUTS at the top of its lungs!
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