Copy Tip 18: Headlines III
Goooooooooone!! He’s out!
You bewdy, the wicket of Graeme Smith has just fallen, and the South Africans are now 4 for 126. Thank you Peter Siddle!
It wouldn’t be late December in Melbourne without the Boxing Day test on the telly!
(If you think I’m talking in an alien language, it’s Day 2 of the 2nd cricket test, at Melbourne’s MCG between Australia and South Africa).
Actually, if this post was just for cricket fans, they’d know exactly what I was talking about.
And that’s related to today’s copy tip — qualifying your prospect (and later one we’ll cover making sure you’re speaking their language).
With my mind on the cricket, it’s a shorter copy tip today — but an extremely important one.
You can use your headline to qualify your prospect.
But that might raise two questions, and I’m ready to answer them for you!
Firstly, you might ask why would you narrow down your market … isn’t everyone your prospect?
No. If “everyone” is your prospect, then the ability to target your prospect with a message that resonates with them is extremely hindered.
So even if you do have lots of different prospects to market to as part of your strategy, you should still focus your message to help get attention and keep them reading.
Secondly, you might be thinking “if I qualify my prospect, not everyone will read the rest of the copy!”
That is exactly what you should be doing!
You want to create a conversation ONLY with people who are qualified to be your prospect, with the capability to buy your product or service.
You might have seen headlines that do this.
They start with something like:
“Attention Home Owners:”
or maybe:
“Attention Boat Owners:”
That turns away non-prospects, which is good, because it means only qualified people will keep reading.
Your overall response to your offer may be lower — but that’s okay, because it means your cost per lead will be lower and you’re likely to convert more leads into sales.
So you’re spending your marketing dollars on the right people instead of the wrong ones (used car salesmen would probably call them “tyre kickers”!).
And that’s a good thing.
It also means you can look at increasing the value of your offer, as you can afford better marketing because your costs of sales are lower and your conversions are higher.
If you can test a headline where you qualify your prospect, it may prove to be a very effective and responsive strategy for you.
Another wicket taken by Siddle! The South Africans are 5 for 132!! The wickets are tumbling! And the MCG crowd is at full voice!
(And AB de Villiers — when the bails are missing from the top of your stumps, it’s time to walk!)
Time to get back to the cricket! Here’s what cricket looks like at The ‘G:
Copy Tip 17: Headlines II
It’s the end of Boxing Day here in Australia and I’m just about to head off to bed … but first, a Copy Tip for you!
Yesterday’s Copy Tip was pretty special … highlighting one of the resources that I rely on for its goldmine of expert articles. I can’t believe it’s FREE – it’s worth a whole lot more and I often read and re-read the articles for several days.
It should be daily reading for you too!
Anyway … we’re back on headlines today!
We’ve already covered that headlines should get attention and keep your prospects reading. You know too headlines are designed to sell you on the rest of your copy, not necessarily selling you yet on the product or service. And also that believability is improved when your copy is as specific as possible (with lots of media examples).
And I’ve given you an easy way to source your own free headline resources.
Wow, that’s a lot on headlines … surely that’s all you need?
No way, we ain’t finished yet! I’ve got a whole lot more to share with you about headlines!
I want to supercharge your headlines so you get MAXIMUM response and effectiveness!
That’s the whole point of this Copy Tips series!
As I’ve mentioned … headlines are critical … and we’ve got plenty more to cover. This will really give you a better understanding of your headlines.
Today’s tip covers … personalisation
If your copy is directly sent to prospects and you know their name (or other personalised information, such as:
- their job title
- their company name
- suburb/town
- industry (eg “firemen” “teachers” “travel agents”
… then using this information in your headline is a great way to help grab attention!
Here’s a quick example (that had very effective results).
Back in February 2001, one of the big news stories was that Tom Cruise had filed for divorce from Nicole Kidman. It was all over the news.
So, for Valentine’s Day … one of my projects was to create a small “thinking of you” mailout for a client.
On the envelope, I used as my headline …
“Who cares about Tom and Nicole?
All we’re thinking about is you, John.”
Now there were several other elements (not related to the headline) that helped get attention for this small mailing — and I’m not revealing them yet! — but the headline really helped get the envelope opened.
We only had a small list, and knew who we were writing to, so we personalised every envelope (changing “John” to whatever name was needed).
And it worked a treat … there were 38 out of 40 replies that same day — an incredible 95 percent response!
Where you can use it, personalisation will help you.
Here’s why:
It helps create a “one-to-one” personal conversation … because it appears to be talking to just a single person.
That helps get attention and gets someone to keep on reading!
Be careful though … you can OVERUSE this personalisation technique. If every second paragraph of your copy is personalised, it might create the perception that your conversation is TRYING to be overly personal, especially when you’re sending a message to prospects who don’t know you yet.
Another reason the envelope worked was that it was related to topical news — it’s always good to “enter the conversation” someone is already having.
Tomorrow, we’ll cover how you can use your headline to help laser-target the right prospects … to grab the attention of the right people.
Copy Tip 16: Must-Have Resource
Christmas Greetings!
It’s nearly time for our Christmas lunch (prawns are thawing, chicken and ham ready, yummy salads) … but first, the latest Copy Tip!
As promised yesterday, it’s another resource… and this one really is a “must-have”.
Best of all, it’s FREE.
I’ll readily admit that as a “constant student” of marketing and copywriting, I use the leverage of coaches and mentors, along with the resources provided by online copywriters and marketers.
This particular resource is one of the VERY FEW email subscriptions that I let land in my inbox. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And if it wasn’t free, I’d happily pay for it!
Today’s resource to share is US copywriting giant Clayton Makepeace’s “Total Package”.
Each day, Clayton and his stable of experts add a new, free, blog post and the topics are well worth reading for any marketer (online or offline) or business owner.
Like Clayton says, each article “is jammed with brainstorms other online coaches charge a freaking fortune for – all for free.”
Clayton has asked his loyal readers for help… and knowing the incredible value he offers, I’m most willing to comply!
Here’s part of his compelling offer (so we’re all winners):
It’s like a double-karma thing. You’ll help others by introducing them to The Total Package. And you’ll help me … by helping me help them. How can you possibly lose on a deal like that?
The inside copy, marketing and business tips I’ve been getting over the last couple of years have really helped to creating some winning marketing campaigns. I refer to this resource every week: and read the posts every day. For me, it’s must-read content that is simply priceless.
You could pay $5,000 and not get
as much value as this free resource.
If you were a business owner,
and you could marry a website,
this would be THE ONE!
Not only are the tips and expert knowledge easy to understand, it’s content you can instantly apply to your business along with some proven examples of how it works in the real world.
Here’s an example of the value you get:
Troy White’s posts recently on the lobster fishermen — they are worth their weight in gold. If you can’t find at least 5 good ideas to use in your own business (here’s part 1, part 2 and part 3), then you’d better check if you have a pulse.
And that’s just 3 of almost 600 articles on The Total Package.
Here’s What To Do NOW …
Go to this web page: http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/bonus/holiday-referral-signup.html
When you do, you’ll also get four valuable reports just for joining: 1) Why Your Advertising Never Makes Money … 2) The Eight Components of Irresistible Direct Response Offers … 3) How to Decide Where to Advertise and … 4) How to Write Killer Ads and Compelling Sales Copy
(So along with my 101 Copy Tips, you now have a treasure chest of gold to make your business even more profitable than ever).
You simply can’t go wrong if you read The Total Package every day.
It’s the best free resource I could give you… a gift from the golden sleigh of Santa “Clayton Makepeace” Claus!
Okay, it’s back to regular Christmas Day activities now for me … see you tomorrow!
Copy Tip 15: Headline Swipe Resources
If you thought Copy Tip 14 was going to make things a bit hard for you — then it’s time to relax! You’ll want to devour today’s tip!
As it’s Christmas eve here in Melbourne … a couple of extra special “gifts” for you over the next couple of days.
These may be two of the shorter posts I’ll make in the Copy Tips series … but in all humbleness I think they’ll be explosively valuable for getting your copy right.
These are things I do myself to fast-track my success.
I’m talking about the power of leverage.
Archimedes talked about it as a way to move the world: something like “Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world.”
Here’s the power of leverage used in action today.
You can name the Number One ranked male golfer in the world right?
Yes, it’s Tiger Woods (he maintains his ranking despite spending most of this season recovering from a knee injury after winning the US Open in June — that’s how successful he has been. No wonder he has been the PGA’s Player of the Year nine times!).
I saw a documentary on Tiger once on TV and was incredibly impressed — but not really surprised — by his rigorous training and practice schedule.
Not only has he shown incredible skill to earn the No. 1 ranking, he leverages the skills of other to stay there. His success comes from determination and hard work, not from “luck”.
Even though he’s Number 1, he trains incredible hard and uses the skills of his coaches and mentors to keep his golf game — physically and mentally — at its peak.
Take note … even the “best in the world” use coaches and mentors as a way to be the best at what they do.
One way YOU can do that with your copy is to leverage or “swipe” the success of others and use it for yourself.
This is especially useful to do when it’s time to create attention-grabbing headlines.
Now when I say “swipe” I don’t mean steal or copy word-for-word.
You should “borrow and adapt” a concept, not steal words.
I have dozens of headline swipe files and resources I use to help me come up with my headlines. They’re “proven winners” and worth adapting whenever you can.
One very famous headline example by John Caples (there are books of his that should be on your shelf) used in an ad in is this:
They Laughed When I Sat Down
At the Piano
But When I Started to Play!~
That has been adapted many times since … using these words as a “formula” …
“They __________ When I __________, But When I __________!”
Now in a future post I will go through some of these classic formulas. You have to be aware though: there are pitfalls to consider (and I’ll cover those too).
In the meantime, here’s your Christmas-eve gift.
There are vast amounts of FREE resources available online for you to start building your own swipe file. You can cut-out, copy and collect your own headlines as you see them (along with other copy elements) … but a great way to start is with someone else’s collection!
And best of all, many are available free online!
Here’s what I did just now to find several great resources to keep.
It took me just 3 minutes and an internet connection!
- I went to Google and typed in:
headline swipe +filetype:pdf
I used the “+” with “filetype:pdf” to make sure I got ONLY pdf files in my results. Here’s a link to do it yourself! http://www.google.com/search?q=headline+swipe+%2Bfiletype%3Apdf
- Within just a few seconds, I had links to several high quality content pdf files to download with hundreds of winning, proven headlines ready to swipe!
It doesn’t get any easier than that to start your swipe file of headlines! Not every link is relevant, but many are.
Study what you find … see how you can ADAPT the headlines to suit your own needs.
We’re really just touching the surface here on headlines, but this technique to create a headline swipe file — totally for FREE — is a great way to get started.
There are other ways to create swipe files we’ll also cover (that go beyond just headlines), and I look forward to sharing those techniques too!
I better go for now … I can hear reindeer and sleigh bells …
Season’s Greetings to
You and Your Family!
Copy Tip 14: Headlines I
Just 2 sleeps until Christmas and here we are on headlines!
Work has wound down, it’s time to focus on catching up with family — but first, another juicy copy tip to help your response soar!
The headline.
We already know a couple of things …
- The headline’s primary job is to get you to keep reading … to see you on reading the next sentence.
- In Copy Tip 10, I also mentioned one little tip on headlines: being specific increases believability.
We’re assuming you have already prepared knowing your MOOVE research, objective, offers and vehicle/s… so first things first, your headline must …
GET ATTENTION!
And specifically, it must get the attention of potential prospects.
At this point, you and your product or service really mean nothing to your prospect.
It’s all about THEM.
Your headline will be competing with thousands of other messages that your prospect is exposed to each day.
In fact, you’re an interruption to their day.
Whether it’s work, time with family, friends are visiting, whatever is going on … your prospect is not sitting silently, waiting, hoping that today is the day they’ll see your headline.
They’re doing other things much more important to them!
(That’s why the strategy of choosing your vehicle is so important — so much of your planning is intertwined and you cannot afford to skip any preparation).
Depending on the vehicle you use to get your offer out to your market, you may only have a few seconds – at most — to stop them in their tracks and give them reason to pay attention to your message.
So before you write anything else — you can see here that your headline is critical to your success.
It’s the quarterback on your football team. It’s the putter in your golf bag. It’s the engine in your car.
Now you know more about why copywriters love resources like books and publications full of winning headlines.
But before you start thinking this task is impossible, I have some good news: many different good headlines can work well at getting attention: you will still get results from a number of headline choices: it’s not just that you need a single headline that works.
Like the putter in your golf bag, many of them can successfully get the ball into the cup for you … some particular putters just feel much better and work much better for you in your particular situation.
So before we look at specific headline options, I want to make sure you realise how important your headline is in getting attention for your copy.
Remember too that your offer will affect your response (along with lots of other factors). So even if you grab attention successfully, and you have a terrible offer, your sales will be much lower than they could be.
The same goes with knowing your market: if you write an awesome headline, and have an awesome offer, but don’t get it in front of qualified prospects, you still won’t get a response.
That’s why we covered MOOVE first: each of the elements really do work in together and it’s not just a matter of whipping out some cheap software and knocking up a sales letter.
So you now know your headline is aimed at getting attention and getting your prospect to keep on reading.
We’ll dive further into headlines tomorrow and I’ll be drawing on my expert resources to share more insider headline tips with you.
Until then … keep smiling!