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:
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