How To Write A Sales Headline
If you know anything about headlines, it’s the most important thing you have to get right on any page, offer or advertisement.
Without a captivating headline, your prospect isn’t going to read-on (which means you just lost $$$’s). So how do you write a good one that’ll get conversions?
Some sales copywriters will tell you that you need bold, FULL CAPS, underlines and lots of exclamation marks (!) to have a good headline.
THAT’S COMPLETE BS! (See how that makes it look like I’m screaming at you?).
A great website or landing page headline utilizing the latest Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) techniques follow 3 simple rules:
1. 8 words or less – Don’t bore your prospects before they’ve even read the offer on your page. Write your headline, then remove any words you can while still keeping the meaning. Remember, if you can say something using less words, then use less words.
2. Say WHAT your service/product is about – If you’re selling cloud servers, make sure you actually say ‘cloud servers’ in your headline. When I’ve googled your service, I shouldn’t have to guess if you’re selling what I’m looking for. If I can’t figure it out from your headline, I’ll simply go for the next search result.
3. Include a BENEFIT. (Yes, in 8 words).
“Get immediate onsite plumbing service today”
“Deploy scalable cloud servers in just 5 minutes”
“Look younger today with our exclusive facial serum”
See, it’s not that hard, it just takes some thinking. And did you notice they are all 8 words or less? Just make sure they’re short and also meet rules #2 and #3.
Writing headlines might seem challenging, but here’s how to find the perfect one:
- Start with a small list of keywords that describe your service (i.e. plumbing, cloud servers, accountancy)
- Add a second list of emotive/descriptive words that you can use to talk about the benefit (fast, dreamy, enjoyable, reliable)
- Then write 20 or 30 variations on a page until you come up with the right combination
Time spent doing this before anything else will mean that (1) your offer gets read and (2) you’ll actually make more money. Seriously, make a coffee and spend 20 minutes doing this – it could mean that if you were actually being paid on an hourly rate to do it, you might have earned yourself the equivalent of $50,000 or more for the hour.
But if you don’t have time (and I get it, many of my clients have money, but are time-poor), then get in touch. I write professionally every day for many different brands, selling everything from insurance and superannuation to water filters and blockchain ICO’s. Just email me at rob@getcopy.com.au and I’ll come back to you the same day.
Let’s get your headlines PERFECT so that you start seeing better results from your efforts.
[Rob Sattler – Direct Response Sales Copywriter]
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