A headline in advertising grabs the attention much like a newspaper
headline. An advertising headline is declined to be the first copy the
potential customer read. A headline must be written in order to be effective and
draw the reader in to the ad.
8 different types of headline which sell
1.
The news headline
If your product or service offers
something news worthy announce it in your headline. You would normally use this
to introduce a new product or the improvement of the existing product.
Eg) ‘at last a toothpaste kids will love”
‘new diet burns off more fat that if you ran 98 miles a week’
2.
The guarantee headline
These state a desirable benefit and
guarantee which the product offers. If you offer a powerful guarantee let your
prospects know by stating it in the headline.
Eg; hands which feel as smooth as silk in
24 hours.
‘Makes money in 90 days’
3.
The how to headline
These type of headline promise your
prospect a source of information, advice and solutions to their problems.
Eg; how to win friends and influence
people.
4.
The benefit headline
“Benefits sell features do not”. To write
a successful benefit headline you must know your market so well, you can offer
them a powerful benefit driven headline which they can’t get somewhere ells.
Eg; “ it cleans your breath while it
cleans your teeth”
“ stops diarrhea in 30 minutes “
5.
The question headline
We have to be very careful when using
this kind of headline. We must know our market backwards otherwise we can low
our whole ad campaign. The best type question to ask are questions which get
your prospect (customer) involved.
Eg; “ do you make these mistakes in
English”
“ do you make these mistake in marriage”
6.
The reason why headline
These give your prospect specific reasons
why they should read your ad, sales letter or websites. These are very
effective because they contain facts and specific numbers
Eg; 25 reasons why you should go for
martins spoken English course.
7.
The testimonial headline
This is just what it sees. It uses a
customer testimonial for a headline. This gets your customers to sell for you
by talking about the benefits they receive.
Eg; how I reduced weight in 100 days.
8.
The command headline
This tells your customers what to do.
Your command should encourage action by offering your prospect a benefit which
will help them. The most effective command headlines starts out with action
works.
Eg; stop baldness today before your head
looks like a bowling ball.
6 tips for creating effective headlines
-
Say it simply:
Be straight forward ad avoid complex word
play. Get to the gist and the firmly stage the business or key offer being made
in the communication.
Eg;” pure cotton shirts…31% off”
Minimize ambiguity and use words that
readers can easily understand and remove redundancy.
-
Be relevant to your target audience:
The headline should aim to engage and
involve the target group and quickly convince them that your message important
to them personally. Use positive language and aim to motivate them to read the
headline.
-
State a benefit:
If a benefit can be describe briefly,
include a key selling point or proposition.
Eg) buy 3 peter England shirts and get 2
free.
Know your audience views and buying behavior and always look at a
problem from their point of view.
-
Announce news:
Its human nature to curious and interested
in news. So use this aspect to your advantage. Avoid over promising or
exaggeration.
-
Appeal to the readers inquisitiveness:
A good headline may appeal to our desire
to find a quicker or easier way of doing things. To eliminate problems, tochallenge
ourselves or to improve our lives in some way. One approach is to use the “ how
to “ technique.
Eg) how to grow your business.
-
Be direct
In a world of access messages and
advertising explosion busy people seek brevity and help in maintaining control
over the burden of information over loud.
