The Silent Avatar Speaks

No two ways about it… An eye catching headline is a MUST is you want your site visitors to read further, after all if the headline “speaks” to your visitor they are more inclined to dig deeper into what your site has to offer.

The battle for getting visitor’s to your site is won or lost with the headline.

Sadly statistics show on average 8 out of 10 will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read further. Pretty sobering stats, so it makes sense to give your headline the attention it deserves in order to get your visitor reading further.

Your headline is your first opportunity (and maybe your only opportunity) to turn a browser to a reader.

Am I offering a foolproof way to rake in the big dollars? Well.. no, but what I am have shown you is how a good headline catches attention.

Great Headline Formula 101
So is there a formula I am using to “bait” you that you can use to effectively capture your site visitor? Read on…

There’s a saying.. “if it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it”, and this saying rings true for creating a great headline. You only have to surf Internet marketing sites to see great examples of good headlines which capture attention, and the truth is a lot of copywriters “steal” great headlines, change a few words here and there and Viola! Great headline to go!

However writing great headline is not difficult if you start utilizing known tips and tricks for creating a great eye catching headline.

Use “you” in your headline.
Using “you’ personalises the headline and increases the level of your reader’s interest since yu are aiming the headline to them personally.

Use powerful and engaging words
Your title should be able to tell people that they “need to do something” or they “need to act immediately”. Prompt your readers to do so will cause them to read the content of your post or site.

Write “How To” headlines
“How To” headlines are particularly useful when you want to target readers who are looking for instruction or guidelines for a specific subject or topic.

Write “Reason’s Why” headlines
Use “Reasons Why” when you want to address specific questions or topics.
10 Reasons Why You Need to Drink More Water
5 Reasons Why

Use numbers. People identify with numbers, percentages and statistics. Using numbers like…
10 Ways to…
101 Ways to…
$30K in 60 Days!

Write “Question” titles.
Think like a reader who wants to find out about something interesting on the internet.

• “What Are the Simplest and Most Effective Exercises That Can Help You Lose Weight Fast?”

• “How Can You Save More Money Without Taking The Scissors To Your Credit Card?”

Write headlines that address your readers problem/s.
Your headline should address your readers specific problem and offer a quick, easy solution.

• “Finally! The Quick, Easy Solution To Nail Biting”
• “5 Surefire Exercises to Alleviate Your BackPain”

Use “How I Did It”Headlines
Readers respond to titles that have a personal appeal to it. A title that says “how the writer did or found something” by himself is a unique way of delivering the information to your readers.

• “How I Lost 20 Pounds in 5 Weeks”
• “How I Made $3000 Per Week Using XYZ Software”
• “How I Got Promoted in Less than 10 Months”

Write about “Myths”.
Readers love demystifying conventional ideas. Your content should clear the myths that surround your topic.

• “10 Marketing Myths that Marketers Will Not Tell You”
• “5 Myths about Opt In Pages”

More headline head-starts

• Who Else Wants…
• The Secret of…
• Little Known Ways To…
• Get Rid Of [Problem] Once And For All
• Here’s A Quick Way To [solve a problem]
• Do [something] Like [world class example]
• What Everybody Ought To Know About [Blank]
• Learn [something] and increase your [blank]
• Discover The Truth of [blank]

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If you’re just starting out in business and don’t have the cash to splash around on a copywriter and struggling to write your own, here’s the formula for creating great sales copy for your product. Whilst the steps are simple, refining the copy can take quite some time.

I good idea is to brainstorm all of the steps on paper first so you can build your sales copy from all of the ideas you have gathered.

Here are the steps:

1. State the problem
2. Agitate the problem
3. Propose the solution (sell the benefits)
   
4. Prevent and invalidate very solution but yours.

Remember: Sell the benefits not the features. That is sell what the product can do for them. (Remember ‘What’s in it for me?’)

For example:
A feature of of an e-book is it can be downloaded instantly.
A benefit is they can be reading it within minutes

A feature could be a 30 day money back guarantee.
A benefit is no financial risk to the purchaser.

It also pays to know what words “hook” your site visitors, and use those words through your sales copy. A resource I use constantly is one put out by by Strategic Profits called “Phrases that Keep Attention”. You can download the PDF here

Another worthwhile resource to help with copywriting is “Copywriting For The Web” Download the PDF here

Oh yeah… one more thing. If you would like a critique of your sales copy just post a comment with a link to the URL.

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I just had to get this out of my system.

Lets be real. Who actually reads every word in long sales copy?

I know long sales copy has been proven (they say) to hands down beat any other copy for converting, but have some marketers gone overboard? Really.

I was just reading my Simpleology News emails, (and by the way I subscribe to this newletter because I really like what it offers) and clicked on a link which took me to a sales page for a course in how to draw.

Well let me just say (with utmost respect to Mark Joyner), this sales copy read like the Gettysberg Address. Man was it long!

I kid you not… it would take atleast half an hour to digest this sales pitch.

Of course they used all the elements synonymous with excellent sales copy, but do they really think that people have time to read all of this … this… pitch!?

I think not.

More and more I see epic tales masquerading as sales copy, as though some “guru” said its the way to go – so  everyone has fallen in.

In this fast paced world with information overload afflicting the masses, it now refreshing to see sales copy which can be read in under 10 mins.

We’re all time poor, and the way we can elminate these god awful long sales copy sites is to insist that video is the way to go.

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather sit down and watch a video. Video turns around what is a facless, emotionless transaction into something more personal.

I’m able to look at their presentation, their mannerisms, their body language and use the same inate talents we all have in getting a “feel” for the deal. (aka offer)

So much more can be said in a short time frame. It’s so much more entertaining. And with broadband speeds  increasing and more and more people  opting for broadband I’m sure we are going to see a lot more of it in the next 12 months.

R.I.P Dialup

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