Without a powerful headline, your message stands little chance in an increasingly competitive marketplace. If your headline doesn’t capture attention and pull prospects inside, the rest of your marketing effort is meaningless.
Nothing is more important to getting your message noticed than your headlines. If you’re not allocating a sizable percentage of your time and creative effort to your headlines, you could be losing out on a large chunk of business.
Top copywriters understand this concept well. They know how essential it is for the headline to capture attention by literally stopping prospects in their tracks. Here are five good reasons why headlines deserve greater emphasis and attention.
1) Headlines Are Natural Attention-Getters. We all have a tendency to read headlines first, before delving into any body copy. They stand out visually, thus compelling people to pay attention to them first. Headlines act as leads that are set above and separate from the rest of the text. This naturally attracts the eye of the reader and pulls him towards the headline.
According to advertising legend David Ogilvy, 5 times as many people, on average, read headlines as read the body copy of an ad. With 5 times the readership, headlines have a unique opportunity to make any message many times more successful.
2) Headlines Serve As Valuable Guides. Headlines tip off readers. They provide a clear signal to help readers decide whether they should stick around for the full message, or dash off to something else that’s better suited to their own special interests.
As a quick summary of the entire piece, headlines either attract continued interest and readership, or they repel it. Without a headline, the reader is forced to wade through a portion of the text to understand the meaning. When you force readers to do this, you risk losing them altogether. In effect, having no headline will cost you at least 80% of your potential audience!
3) Headlines Prepare The Reader For What’s Coming. Headlines fuel interest. They start the reader’s motor running. A good headline sets up a feeling of expectation as the reader anticipates discovering more and can’t wait to get it!
Successful headlines address a specific audience. They open the reader’s mind to new possibilities and expand his level of enthusiasm and interest. The best headlines involve the reader in some way which virtually guarantees sustained attention– at least until the reader finds the information he seeks, loses interest, or places an order.
4) Headlines Simplify The Learning Curve. Every headline serves to introduce whatever follows. As an opening or a lead-in, the role of the headline is to succinctly communicate the essence of the message it precedes.
Effective headlines and sub-headings reveal key bits of information-often with the added power of emotion. A review of the various headings alone can often provide one with the gist of a given message. This makes it faster and easier to understand and remember.
When you make it easier for your prospects to read and comprehend your messages, you increase the chances of your own success.
5) Headlines Allow You To Deliver Your Biggest Bang Up-Front. You have the opportunity to capture attention and interest at the outset, by using your most appealing selling point in the headline. If your strongest, most desirable product attribute fails to pull prospects in, surely nothing else you could ever say would do the trick, either.
The stronger your headline, the more readers that are exposed to your message will read on. Create every headline to command attention and inspire interest. The more alluring and irresistible you can make it, the more genuine prospects you’ll attract and ultimately, the better results you’ll achieve.
Headlines are powerful marketing tools when used correctly. Take a good look at the headlines you’re using in your own ads, brochures, sales letters, and web pages. Keep an eye out for additional headline and sub-heading opportunities. Make your headlines impossible to miss and difficult to ignore and watch your results soar!
Robert Boduch is the author of Great Headlines Instantly! How
To Write Powerful, Attention-Grabbing Headlines That Pull In
More Prospects, More Customers And More Profits, NOW! which
features hundreds of helpful tips, techniques, strategies, and hands-on
formulas for writing successful headlines for any purpose, on demand.
Click here to master the skill of writing explosive, attention-grabbing
headlines in mere minutes!
Copyright 1999, 2000 by Robert D. Boduch
