Advertising Advice
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How to Write Great HeadlinesAccording to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important! An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. It will also target the audience for which it was intended. But the number one thing a headline should always do is answer the question, So what are the characteristics of a good headline? First and foremost, an effective headline must be believable. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." However, if your product really can make me: jump higher than Kobe Bryant, attract as many women as I want, or make me millions while I sleep; if you put it in your headline, you had better be able to effectively prove it in your copy. Many experts believe the shorter the headline, the better. I don't necessarily agree with that. However, keeping your headlines to fifteen words or less is probably a good idea. Make sure your headlines are easy to read. When typesetting your headlines don't use fancy fonts, reverse type, all caps or italics. I recommend you utilize a simple, easy to read type style such as Times Roman. You can see an example of this on my website. Headlines that evoke some type of emotional response are the most effective and generally make more sales. Emotions motivate people into action. The stronger the emotion, the quicker the action. Therefore, headlines that make the reader afraid of losing something or excited about gaining something will invariably produce the best results. Using the proper words and phrases is critical. Below I've listed just a few of the words and phrases that, over the years, have proven to be very effective at grabbing the readers attention: Save... Amazing... Finally... Love... Secrets Of... Announcing... Free... Luxury... Security... At Last... New... Bargains... Obsession... Breakthrough... Protect... The Truth About... Discover... How To... Rewards... Yes... Sale... You... Are You... Sex... Win... Improve... Do You... After grabbing your readers attention, this is where you want to answer the question, "What's in it for me? " To do this, you have to know a little about your target audience. What are they interested in? What are their priorities? What makes them respond? Craft your headlines to use words and phrases that will pique your potential buyers interest. If you are targeting people interested in starting their own home business, try phrases such as "Stay Home And Make Money" or "Kiss Your Job Goodbye Forever". If your product happens to be diet pills, try "Lose 10 Pounds In 10 Days". A word of caution here. This is the point where headlines tend to get unbelievable. Make sure that your claims are truthful and that your copy supports their truthfulness. Once you have a firm grasp of the aforementioned basics, look around your house and select several different products, and write as many headlines as you can think of for each product. Write variations of the same headline until you have exhausted all the ideas you can think of. This will be both frustrating and difficult at first, but it will become easier with practice. Remember, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. After you have your list of headlines, make sure each one passes the test for the following criteria for a good headline. 1. Does it grab the readers attention? 2. Does it answer the question, "What's in it for me? " 3. Is it truthful? If a potential headline does not meet these three criteria, rewrite it or eliminate it from your list altogether. Continue using the process of elimination, one headline at a time, until you're left with what you feel are the three best and strongest headlines, based on the criteria presented in this article. How will you know which headline is the best overall? Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure until you test them against each other. The headline that pulls the most sales or responses is your winner! About The Author Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net Website: http://www.lets-make-money.net
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Advertising - Google News | | | | RELATED ARTICLES Can I Write and Print My Own Business Brochures and Business Cards? If you have a computer and a printer, preferably one that can print in color, then you can make your own brochures and business cards that are very professional-looking! Be sure to use good quality paper (that is available at any office supplies store like Office Depot or Staples) for anything that you are going to hand out or send to potential customers and clients. Writing Text for Your Brochure and Business Card - The very best thing to do is to get a few examples of business brochures and business cards, preferably from the same type of business as the business you are starting. The Man With The Grasshopper Mind The title of this article also happens to be one of the "20 Greatest Headlines Ever Written."Did you know, just changing the headline has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent? 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Classified Ads That Get Results Classified ads do not have the big market appeal that a full color display ad has, but they are still one of the most economical ways to get your business into the public eye. And, because classifieds do not demand expensive eye-catching designs or ingenious wording that you often see in direct-mail campaigns, they are a perfect marketing avenue for even new entrepreneurs. Localized Advertising - Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly! Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your business? Have you ever employed door-to-door sales techniques to increase your brand awareness? Have you ever had to walk mile-after-mile repeating the sales pitch, over and over? Have you ever had to stand outside of an arena event and pass out flyers to exiting patrons? If you stop to think of the cold calling technique of door-to door advertising, you would discover how sometimes humiliating it is to have a disinterested and irritated individual slam the door in your face, yell insulting things toward you, or be escorted off of their property. To combat this instantaneous humiliation, the idea of door-hanging advertisements gives the sales person a means of getting the word out to more people faster than before but more importantly, it saves the person the anguish of the advertised becoming irate over the interruption. 5 Tips for Hot Yellow Pages Ads Yellow Pages advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising in the country today. Almost every home in America (96. Electronic Score Boards Wide range of electronic Key venues around the globe has turned to Electronic score boards that not only look breathtaking from every angle and distance, but provide consistently reliable performance year in and year out. 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Mortgage Marketing - Broadcast Advertising vs Direct Advertising Do you know how to design and deploy a marketing campaign? Even if your ad budget is small you should still plan and measure the results of you advertising. This process is the key to your ultimate success. Direct Mail Rules of Thumb First and foremost - You should identify your target market. Target your direct marketing lists. Tips for Using Paid Advertising Quite a few business out there can't survive without some type of advertising and/or brand recognition, so advertising your business is one of the most important aspects in running certain types of business. It's also one of the most frequently asked questions for "how to". How to Create Ads that Sell with Little Effort One of the main problems people find with marketing, is the actual selling. How can you create ads which sell? Well there are tons of articles, and pay for e-books to help you create ad copy, but there is a free and easy way to create your own ads which sell, sell sell. | |||||||||||||||
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