Magnetic Headlines - by Brian Clark (from www.copyblogger.com )

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Are You Writing Headlines That Sell? Stop!

by Chris Garrett

stop sign

Are you stressing over writing killer headlines?

Do you write your copy and then agonize, tweak, and rewrite the headline, only to rewrite it again?

Do you often go so far as to publish your article or sales page even though you’re still not sure the headline is the best it can be?

Well, you’re not alone. People who know how important headlines are often do overly dwell on them, and for good reason.

But… it could be that you’re trying to make your headlines work way too hard.

What are headlines for?

  • Grabbing attention?
  • Filtering the target audience?
  • Generating curiosity?
  • Promising benefits?

You guessed it, all of the above!

What they are NOT for is selling. A headline alone cannot convince anyone to do anything other than one thing (and I’ll share that one thing below). Yes, a headline can have a deep impact on conversion rates by putting the reader in the proper frame of mind, but they do not lead to the sale, subscription, download or other action all alone.

Headlines Are Stop Signs Not Buy Signs

OK, there might be marketing geniuses out there who can accomplish attraction and conversion all in one sentence. For the rest of us a headline has just one real job to do.

And that job is?

To get people to keep reading.

Focus all your headline-writing efforts on getting the readers attention and holding it. The remainder of your copy should do the rest and get the reader to take the desired action, but only if they actually read!

Don’t overburden your headline, just let it get on with the job it was meant to do.

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Why You Should Always Write Your Headline First

by Brian Clark

Want to write great headlines and even better content?

Start with the headline first.

You’ll of course have a basic idea for the subject matter of your blog post, article, free report or sales letter. Then, simply take that basic idea and craft a killer headline before you write one single word of the body content.

Why?

Your headline is a promise to prospective readers. Its job is to clearly communicate the benefit that you will deliver to the reader in exchange for their valuable time.

The thing about promises is, they tend to be made before being fulfilled. Writing your content first puts you in the position of having to reverse-engineer your promise. Turn it around the other way and you have the benefit of expressly fulfilling the compelling promise you made with the headline, which ultimately helps to keep your content crisp and well-structured.

Trying to fulfill a promise that you haven’t made yet is tough, and often leads to a marginal headline. And a poorly-crafted headline allows good deeds to go unnoticed.

You know, like your content.

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10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work

by Brian Clark

Magnetic Headline Formulas

So, you’re seeing too many of those “how to” and list headlines, and want to try a few different angles?

Let’s move beyond those common headline formulas you see over and over, and add some new blood to your attention-grabbing arsenal.

1. Who Else Wants [blank]?

Starting a headline with “Who Else Wants…” is a classic social proof strategy that implies an already existing consensus desire. While overused in the Internet marketing arena, it still works like gangbusters for other subject matter.

  • Who Else Wants a Great Blog Template Design?
  • Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?
  • Who Else Wants More Fun and Less Stress When on Vacation?

2. The Secret of [blank]

This one is used quite a bit, but that’s because it works. Share insider knowledge and translate it into a benefit for the reader.

  • The Secret of Successful Podcasting
  • The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation
  • The Secret of Getting Your Home Loan Approved

3. Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]

Simply identify your target audience and the benefit you can provide them, and fill in the blanks.

  • Here is a Method That is Helping Homeowners Save Hundreds on Insurance
  • Here is a Method That is Helping Children Learn to Read Sooner
  • Here is a Method That is Helping Bloggers Write Better Post Titles

4. Little Known Ways to [blank]

A more intriguing (and less common) way of accomplishing the same thing as “The Secret of…” headline.

  • Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill
  • Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail
  • Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely

5. Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All

A classic formula that identifies either a painful problem or an unfulfilled desire that the reader wants to remedy.

  • Get Rid of Your Unproductive Work Habits Once and For All
  • Get Rid of That Carpet Stain Once and For All
  • Get Rid of That Lame Mullet Hairdo Once and For All

6. Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]

People love quick and easy when it comes to solving a nagging problem.

  • Here’s a Quick Way to Get Over a Cold
  • Here’s a Quick Way to Potty Train Junior
  • Here’s a Quick Way to Backup Your Hard Drive

7. Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]

The is the classic “have your cake and eat it too” headline — and who doesn’t like that?

  • Now You Can Quit Your Job and Make Even More Money
  • Now You Can Meet Sexy Singles Online Without Spending a Dime
  • Now You Can Own a Cool Mac and Still Run Windows

8. [Do something] like [world-class example]

Gatorade milked this one fully with the “Be Like Mike” campaign featuring Michael Jordan in the early 1990s.

  • Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat
  • Party Like Paris Hilton
  • Blog Like an A-Lister

9. Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of

Appeal to vanity, dissatisfaction, or shame. Enough said.

  • Build a Body You Can Be Proud Of
  • Have a Smile You Can Be Proud Of
  • Build a Blog Network You Can Be Proud Of

10. What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]

Big curiosity draw with this type of headline, and it acts almost as a challenge to the reader to go ahead and see if they are missing something.

  • What Everybody Ought to Know About ASP
  • What Everybody Ought to Know About Adjustable Rate Mortgages
  • What Everybody Ought to Know About Writing Great Headlines

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7 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates
That Work

by Brian Clark

Since people truly seemed to find my 10 Sure-Fire Headline Templates That Work useful for coming up with headlines and post titles that don’t follow the typical “how to” and “list” conventions, I thought I’d share a few more.

So here are 7 more sure-fire headline templates that will work when you’re aiming to score more readers:

1. Give Me [short time period] and I’ll Give You [blank].

This headline promises a strong benefit to the reader, like all good headlines do. But this one is especially effective because it promises to deliver in a very short time period.

2. If You Don’t [blank] Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.

We love to belong, but feeling excluded is a real bummer. Whether it be a financial opportunity or the social event of the year, we simply hate it when we get left out.

  • If You’re Out of the Market Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.
  • If You’re Not at SXSW 2007, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.
  • If You Don’t Edit Your .htaccess Now, Google Will Hate You Later.

3. The Lazy [blank’s] Way to [blank].

This headline has always worked well with time-pressured people, and that’s certainly true for most people today. No one likes to think of themselves as lazy, but everyone likes to save time and effort.

  • The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches.
  • The Lazy Dad’s Way to Quickly Getting Dinner on the Table.
  • The Lazy Blogger’s Way to Write Great Post Titles.

4. Do You Recognize the [number] Early Warning Signs of [blank]?

OK, technically this is still a list, but it’s wrapped up in a much more compelling structure than your typical “Top 10” article. People want to avoid problems, and this headline promises the critical tips before it’s too late.

  • Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Pressure?
  • Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of an Employee Meltdown?
  • Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of Digg Addiction?

5. See How Easily You Can [desirable result].

We love quick and easy when it comes to learning something new or gaining some advantage.

  • See How Easily You Can Learn to Dance This New Way.
  • See How Easily You Can Own a Lamborghini Miura.
  • See How Easily You Can Increase Traffic With Social Media.

6. You Don’t Have to Be [something challenging] to be [desired result].

People almost always have preconceived notions about things, and this can be a barrier to taking action. Remove the barrier that stands between them and the desired result with your headline, and people will flock to read what you have to say.

  • You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Retire on a Guaranteed Income for Life.
  • You Don’t Have to Be a Geek to Make Money Online.
  • You Don’t Have to Be an A-Lister to Be a Kick-Ass Blogger.

7. Do You Make These Mistakes?

This is always a powerful attention grabber, since no one likes to make mistakes. If you’ve targeted your content well for your intended audience, helping people avoid common mistakes is a sure-fire winner with this type of headline.

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Warning: Use These 5 Surefire Headline Formulas at Your Own Risk

by Brian Clark

Magnetic Headline Formulas

There’s no doubt that my previous two posts on headline formulas have been extremely popular. But they’ve also caused me to take a lot of flack.

First off, you still have the doubters who wonder if 80-year-old headline structures can possibly work in the modern social media environment. Truth is, I used one such structure for a post this summer that received over 1,600 Diggs, while also making an appearance on just about every social media news site around and bringing in over 70,000 unique visitors.

And I never had a doubt that it would work. Why?

Because Do You Make These Mistakes When You Write? and the original Do You Make These Mistakes in English? are literally about the same thing—grammar. It was an absolute no brainer, because Maxwell Sackheim did the work for me over 80 years ago, and his ad ran successfully for 40 years. But keep in mind that I and plenty of others have successfully used the “these mistakes” template in many other contexts as well, because the specific promise contained in the headline makes it irresistible if used properly.

That brings me to the other complaint I’m hearing—too many people are using the same formulas over and over, badly. This is likely because people did not heed the warning about headline templates that you’ll hear from any copywriter, which is to understand why they work before trying to use them.

When you understand why the original headlines worked, you’ll be able to select an appropriate structure, and you’ll be a better headline writer in general. If you don’t, you might not only write a bad headline, you might come off looking bad in general.

So, here are 5 more headline templates that work, but use them at your own risk. If you don’t match up an appropriate headline structure with your content, you might crash and burn worse than if you just came up with a headline off the top of your head.

1. Warning: [blank].

If you’ve read this far, I guess it still works. Starting a headline with the word warning will almost always catch attention, but it’s what you say next that will determine how well it works for your particular content.

  • Warning: If You Depend on Google for Both Traffic and Advertising, You Pretty Much Work for Google
  • Warning: Two Out of Every Three People in Your Industry Will be Out of Work in 5 Years—Will You Be One of Them?
  • Warning: Do You Recognize These 7 Early Warning Signs of Blogger Burnout?

2. How [blank] Made Me [blank].

Use this structure when relating a personal story. The key to the most effective use of this template is for the two blanks to dramatically contrast, so that the curiosity factor goes way up and people feel compelled to read more.

  • How a “Fool Stunt” Made Me a Star Salesman
  • How an Obvious Idea Made Me $3.5 Million
  • How Moving to Iowa Improved My Sex Life

3. Are You [blank]?

A nice use of the question headline, designed to catch attention with curiosity or a challenge to the reader. Don’t be afraid to be bold with this one.

4. [Blank] Ways to [blank].

One of the best list structures, because it’s really a “how to” headline enhanced by specificity that either impresses the prospective reader with how many tips you’ve got, or at minimum let’s them know exactly what to expect.

  • 101 Ways to Cope With Stress
  • 21 Ways to Live a Better Life With Less
  • 5 Ways to Write Killer Headlines

5. If You’re [blank], You Can [blank].

Another great use of specificity, this headline addresses a particular type of person with the first blank, and the beneficial promise to that person in the content or body copy with the second.

  • If You’re a Non-Smoker, You Can Save 33% on Life Insurance.
  • If You’re an Accountant, Our Frequent Flyer Program Really Adds Up
  • If You Love Scuba, You Can Dive Belize This Week Only for a Song!