Business owners are often puzzled when they first start to advertise. They wonder why they have spent so much money and got nothing from their efforts.
They look at advertisements in the newspapers and magazines and assume what they see must be what advertising is all about. Surely these large companies wouldn't spend so much money unless it was working for them?
Oh yes they would. To find out why, you must contact the marketing directors of these companies. I for one don't have an answer.
When you read a newspaper, what do you do? You read the headlines. If the headline grabs you, if it is something that interests you, you will read the body copy underneath. The headline determines whether you will read the article below it.
I'm looking through the daily paper today. Let's look at some of the advertising headlines.
Catch Up With Your Feet Up
What's that all about? Beats me. Lets move on to another headline.
Fast Enough For The Whole Gang
That sure grabs you doesn't it. Next?
Listen Up
Yawn. Yawn.
Trust
Just one word. Nice try. But I'm not going to read on. No, headline writer, I'm not curious. Why should I be?
A headline has to grab you by the throat otherwise nobody will read any further. That's just the way it is. You might want it to be different. You might want people to respond to a play on words, to something clever, something original, something funny, but sorry, in the real world, they don't.
It's no different on a website. So often I visit a website to be met with "thank you for visiting our website." People don't want to be thanked for visiting your website. They want to know what's in it for them. And they want to know straight away. What do you offer that they want? They won't spend several minutes on your site to find out. They don't have the time. Your visitors are shouting at you. Can't you hear them? They're hollering at you to tell them what you are selling and what's in it for them. Tell them now.
Let's go back to the daily newspaper. How about this ad.
Instant Hair Removal. Never Shave, Wax or Bleach Again
Hurrah. At last a great headline. It immediately grabs the target audience and appeals to their self interest. It recognises their problem and provides a quick and easy solution. There are a few other winning elements to this headline. There's curiosity. I wonder what can do this. And it also suggests this is something new.
You can't always get all these elements in a headline. But you must above all else appeal to your prospect's self interest. Have you answered the question, what's in it for me? If you have, there's a good chance he or she will read on.
Michael Sellar is a direct response copywriter who writes advertising that makes money. Sales letters, website copy, email copy, newspapers and magazines. His website is http://www.michaelsellar.com
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