In addition to everything else, I’ve been playing around with learning how to make better headlines over the past couple of days.
Too many copywriters think that handwriting is the only thing they need to do, and if they do that, they’ll be brilliant.
Well, they probably will. But copying out ads by hand has one flaw: You don’t get to really concentrate on any one particular thing if you’re copying out a whole ad.
So, you will get better at copywriting. But to get really good, you’ll need to go in-depth with things at some point.
Here is how to do that with headlines.
Who Remembers The Title Anyway?
The first thing you need to know about effective headlines is that it doesn’t matter if they are true, accurate, or relevant to the topic.
Sure, you need to give it some lip service, so don’t title your article about investing in a quail farm as, “Is Kim Kardashian’s Ass Bigger Than Ever?” but the purpose of a headline is getting someone to click. Or read the first paragraph at most. So things like;
“Is this the most adorable rabbit ever?”
“Did Donald Trump Lie In His Latest Speech (We Reveal The Blunder That Could Cost Him)”
“Are You Making This ONE MISTAKE With Your Writing That’s Costing You THOUSANDS?”
Could all have the answer, “no.”
They could also just simply not address the question, or address it at the very end of the article. Just open up your paragraph with something only vaguely related so nobody feels cheated, and you’re away. That’s something that’s called a “nested loop” in various persuasion circles.
(I know, those headlines are terrible. I’m writing this as I go.)
Tongue In Cheek
I’m not sure how many of my readers from elsewhere have heard of “The Sun” newspaper. It’s a UK newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch, media monster. I know in various countries you have “The X Sun” but I don’t know if it’s the same tabloid.
Anyway, in the UK The Sun is famous for numerous things – it’s the most read newspaper, it’s the newspaper of the working man, until recently it had top-heavy, mostly naked girls on Page Three – but it’s also pretty famous for having funny headlines.
The Sun adopts a pretty useful approach to headlines – being tongue in cheek.
When you have a headline that’s funny or a play on words, you’re automatically going to give yourself even more leeway in terms of “The Truth.” You’re also giving people another reason to click on your link. Like it or not the headline, “Man gets attacked by a small dog” is going to get a lot less views than “This Tiny Pug Almost Ripped A Man’s Throat Out, But Then Fell Asleep.”
(I know, that’s not funny. I’m writing this as I go.)
Three Diverse Benefits
We’re back to your cat loving you.
If in doubt, your headline needs to confer some benefits of the product – frame it in a way that’s going to make a person say, “Really?”
What I mean by that is; you need them to click or read. Don’t put;
“Drinking a glass of wine will make your heart stronger.”
If I read that headline, I’m either going to mentally say “Ok,” “I know” or “That sounds rubbish.”
But the headline, “Will Drinking A Glass Of Wine Make Your Heart Stronger?” is a single word change, but works better. Or you could write, “Expert Finds A Secret Ingredient In Wine That Alters Your Heart Rate.” This would grab people who think wine is terrible as well as brilliant and everywhere in between.
If in real doubt, you can use two or three benefits like I’ve done for this title. It helps if they are diverse benefits, because people will want to automatically join the dots.
For instance:
“Why Spinach Makes You Remember Things AND Increases Your Sexual Performance.”
“How Investing In This Business Can Save You Money AND Get You A Free Holiday.”
That sort of thing.
Remember, if you link your benefits to the bottom of the pyramid, you’ll get more general clicks.
P.S.
Your cat doesn’t love you… it thinks you’re its servant.
P.P.S. More on Headlines Tomorrow.