A professional-grade headline gets noticed, clicked, and shared.
Great headlines are, above all else, compelling.
Great headlines dominate your attention, paralyzing you with curiosity.
The human psyche is a slave to great headlines. They're by far the most important words on the page.
The key is understanding your audience.
Great headlines speak to specific people, assuaging their fears or supporting their goals.
Headlines aren't written, they're crafted.
Step by step. Great headlines are:
1. USEFUL: What's in it for the audience?
2. UNIQUE: Is this unlike anything the audience has ever seen?
3. ULTRA-SPECIFIC: Can the audience self-identify?
4. URGENT: Can the audience wait to realize this value?
In fact, that's the frame I used to craft this article's headline.
To demonstrate the process, I've deconstructed its creation below:
As a starting point, I wrote down the bare bones of what this article is about: Crafting headlines.
Then I began running through the steps:
Step 1: Make it USEFUL
"How to Craft Headlines"
Starting a headline with "Learn," "Discover," or, in this case, "How to," instantly indicates value.
It's that simple.
Step 2: Make it UNIQUE
"How to Craft Professional-Grade Headlines"
A "unique" headline is original. It stands out, sparking readers' interest and hooking them in.
There are plenty of articles about headline writing on the Internet, but none of them mention "professional-grade" outcomes.
Step 3: Make it ULTRA-SPECIFIC
"4 Steps to Crafting Professional-Grade Headlines"
You can add specificity to a headline by breaking down its structure.
For example, I replaced "How" with "4 Steps," which is more specific and descriptive.
Step 4: Make it URGENT
"4 Steps to Crafting Professional-Grade Headlines That Won't Be Ignored"
There are two ways to write an "urgent" headline:
1. Make it deadline-driven: "Only 14 tickets left..."
2. Make it consequence-driven: "If you don't fix X, then Y will happen..."
The addition of "That Won't Be Ignored" highlighted the consequences of inaction by the audience.
A "4-U" headline is longer, but it's also more effective.
It's big and heavy, packing a punch. It's also an effective way to set your content apart.
LEARN TO PERSUADE
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WRITE BETTER.
MARKET BETTER.
SELL MORE.
Because copywriters conjure emotion for a living.
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Perfectionists hoard it.
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"Thanks," he said. "But I deserve it. Things could've been different."
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You’ll know you’re good.
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If you aspire to write good copy, watch and read these things religiously.
Make it ugly.
Let me explain…
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Knowing that, here are the words and phrases every copywriter should use…
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As a teenager, I sold magazine subscriptions door-to-door. At first it was hard and I was unsuccessful.
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“I can do that,” said The Copywriter. “But first let me ask you a question.”
“And how many of us have persistence enough in following out our ideas of what is obvious?”
If your goal is to write tighter copy — copy that says more in fewer words — try this 15-minute exercise.
Sometimes that feeling — that mood — is already there, all around, omnipotent and omnipresent.
Joyce was a magisterial novelist, but he would’ve made a miserable copywriter.
Smart writing is clear and concise. It’s easy for the eyes and mind to follow. It’s accessible and unpretentious, easy to consume and hard to create.
Smart writing is readable. Effortlessly readable.
Be a copywriter, not a coward.
If you can back up your claim, write the copy. If you can’t, be a professional and do the right thing.
Don’t write headlines that are flat, invisible, like white paper on a white desk. Write compelling headlines that stand out. Headlines that contain emotion, image, logic, and promise.
Here’s how to do that.
A visceral response is a physical reaction to a non-physical experience, an emotion.
If you feel it, don’t dismiss it. Let it wash over you.
You’ll be a more empathetic person for it — and a better marketer, too.
“We’re talking about him having an accident,” said the man, whispering. “Just walk up to him, put your hand on his back, and give him one big push!”
Don't sell chips. Sell a worldview.
It boils down to a simple three-step process ...
“I was The Onion’s editor at the time so, mainly, I was just punching up or rewriting other people’s work,” said Scott. “And so when I sat down to write the pilot, I was like, ‘Shit! I have writer’s block! I got nothing!’”
CHICAGO—Saying he was ‘more than happy’ to jump on the call, Scott Dikkers, The Onion’s longest-serving editor-in-chief, graciously gave time out of his day to talk to a copywriter about how to overcome writer’s block.
As a copywriter, it’s tempting to get lost in the majesty of your creativity, your ideas.
Looking inward for ideas will burn you out.
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Confident copy says, “Go ahead, you’re making the right decision.”
Great copy starts with efficient questions.
“You have to be more concise,” he said. “You write like a water hose. You need to be a nail gun."