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Tips for writing attention grabbing headlines
By Kelly Robbins
By Kelly Robbins
The headline is the first thing people read in everything from advertisements and sales letters to newspaper articles and flyers. How good your headline is affects whether or not your piece is going to get read. Therefore, your headline is one of, if not THE most important part of anything you write.
People quickly glance at the headline, then scan through the headings and subheadings before making a decision to read a piece in its entirety.
Your headline has one purpose -- To grab the reader's attention and entice them to read the rest of your copy.
You can't spend 20 hours on a writing project and not give the headline the attention it deserves. There are several good techniques for headline writing. Some of the most popular ways are to:
·Describe a benefit. This can be tough to do successfully unless your product/service is different than everyone else's
·Use emotion. "Liars, Liars, Liars. I'm tired of doctors telling me surgery is the only cure!"
·Combine a benefit with an emotion.
·Ask a question. "Are you tired of not being able to play ball with your kids because of back pain?"
·Have a how to. "How to bring in 15 new clients a week with a sales letter"
·Give a command. "Stop rushing through your day and missing the little things"
·Pain. Capitalize on a pain your reader has that your product/service solves.
Here are a few samples of great, attention grabbing headlines:
"Have you got these symptoms of (degenerative disks or deviated septum)"
"When doctors are in pain, this is what they do"
"Health secrets that drug companies don't want you to know about"
"5 Ways to get rid of neck pain"
Don't make this copy-killing mistake in your headline.
The most important issue I find when I do copy critiques is that a copywriter writes a great headline and doesn't back it up the facts in the copy. You must answer the question or address the issue you bring up in your headline right away in your copy. When I say right away I mean in the first or second sentence. This is important because if you don't address the claim you are making (which is big enough to grab the reader's attention) you will lose both the readers interest and your credibility.
For example, if you make a bold statement such as "Over 50,000 children die because their mothers love them TOO much", that's going to grab someone's attention and they are going to read the article. However, if you do not back-up your claim immediately in the piece, you will lose credibility with your reader. Clearly show the reader how these mothers loving their kids too much are killing them. And quote it from a credible source.
You MUST continually go back and make sure the headline is explained in the copy. I recommend you write the headline last. A headline is easier to write after you have finalized the rest of the copy. If you HAVE to write the headline first (and some of us do), brainstorm 10 or more headlines and put them off to the side. Put one up at the top of the page if you must. After you've finished writing reevaluate the headlines you came up with and decide on a final headline when your copy is done.
Remember, the headline is what is going to attract the readers' attention...what is going to make them stop everything and read on, or what will make them throw the information away without taking a glance at what you've got to say.
Take the time to ensure your headline is as high quality as the copy you wrote.
About the author
Kelly Robbins, founder of The Copywriting Institute, is the author of Powerful Interviewing Techniques for Healthcare Marketers and The Healthcare Copywriters Toolkit. Kelly Robbins is an award winning healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. Publisher of "The Copywriting Connection", Kelly helps writers and marketers learn to write phenomenal copy. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, "Six things every copywriter MUST know to make high profits in copywriting fast!" at www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com or 303-460-0285. © 2007, The Copywriting Institute
People quickly glance at the headline, then scan through the headings and subheadings before making a decision to read a piece in its entirety.
Your headline has one purpose -- To grab the reader's attention and entice them to read the rest of your copy.
You can't spend 20 hours on a writing project and not give the headline the attention it deserves. There are several good techniques for headline writing. Some of the most popular ways are to:
·Describe a benefit. This can be tough to do successfully unless your product/service is different than everyone else's
·Use emotion. "Liars, Liars, Liars. I'm tired of doctors telling me surgery is the only cure!"
·Combine a benefit with an emotion.
·Ask a question. "Are you tired of not being able to play ball with your kids because of back pain?"
·Have a how to. "How to bring in 15 new clients a week with a sales letter"
·Give a command. "Stop rushing through your day and missing the little things"
·Pain. Capitalize on a pain your reader has that your product/service solves.
Here are a few samples of great, attention grabbing headlines:
"Have you got these symptoms of (degenerative disks or deviated septum)"
"When doctors are in pain, this is what they do"
"Health secrets that drug companies don't want you to know about"
"5 Ways to get rid of neck pain"
Don't make this copy-killing mistake in your headline.
The most important issue I find when I do copy critiques is that a copywriter writes a great headline and doesn't back it up the facts in the copy. You must answer the question or address the issue you bring up in your headline right away in your copy. When I say right away I mean in the first or second sentence. This is important because if you don't address the claim you are making (which is big enough to grab the reader's attention) you will lose both the readers interest and your credibility.
For example, if you make a bold statement such as "Over 50,000 children die because their mothers love them TOO much", that's going to grab someone's attention and they are going to read the article. However, if you do not back-up your claim immediately in the piece, you will lose credibility with your reader. Clearly show the reader how these mothers loving their kids too much are killing them. And quote it from a credible source.
You MUST continually go back and make sure the headline is explained in the copy. I recommend you write the headline last. A headline is easier to write after you have finalized the rest of the copy. If you HAVE to write the headline first (and some of us do), brainstorm 10 or more headlines and put them off to the side. Put one up at the top of the page if you must. After you've finished writing reevaluate the headlines you came up with and decide on a final headline when your copy is done.
Remember, the headline is what is going to attract the readers' attention...what is going to make them stop everything and read on, or what will make them throw the information away without taking a glance at what you've got to say.
Take the time to ensure your headline is as high quality as the copy you wrote.
About the author
Kelly Robbins, founder of The Copywriting Institute, is the author of Powerful Interviewing Techniques for Healthcare Marketers and The Healthcare Copywriters Toolkit. Kelly Robbins is an award winning healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. Publisher of "The Copywriting Connection", Kelly helps writers and marketers learn to write phenomenal copy. Contact Kelly to receive her free report, "Six things every copywriter MUST know to make high profits in copywriting fast!" at www.TheCopywritingInstitute.com or 303-460-0285. © 2007, The Copywriting Institute
