How to Write Headlines that Sells

The headline is everything in copywriting. It catches the readers eye, it draws them in, it interests them and motivates them to read more. It is the bait that brings in the customer that the rest of your copy and marketing campaign should hook. Without a good headline any sales marketing will struggle to get attention, with it and you have won the first battle to increasing sales and performance.

Always make sure you answer the most important question in copywriting.

What is that question? The reader will always ask, even if it is subconsciously, ‘whats in it for me’ when deciding whether to read an article, advert or any other type of sales marketing. So make sure you answer that in the headline.

If you can do that you will have drawn them into the copy with interest, which is what you want your headline to be doing.

Does the headline speak to your audience?

You must know who you are targeting with your marketing campaign. No marketing campaign will ever be successful when trying to be everything to everybody. So look at who your target audience is. What interests them? What products do they use, what type of language patterns are they comfortable with? Any headline that hopes to do well has to speak to its target audience.

Intrigue them and make a promise

Make them want to know more about what you are offering with the headline. Tease then with the promise of more information, or with money off offers or knowledge of new products. Make them want to know what your copywriting efforts are about.

Types of headline that convert

There are a number of tried and tested copywriting tips when it comes to writing headlines for sales marketing. Although they don’t guarantee success they do make sure that you are along the right path.

How to: Start a headline with how to…. anything and people will want to read more. Humans are naturally inquisitive and such a headline will have people wondering if there is a skill here that they didn’t have, or information they didn’t know.

Ask a question: appeals in 2 ways. Either its the question that many are already asking, in which potential customers will read wanting to know the answer, or it is a question they know the answer to and would like to be proven right. Either way you have people reading your part of the marketing campaign and your headline will have done its job.

Lists: give a specific number. ‘6 tips on how to get your teeth whiter’ or ‘8 ways to burn fat’ all draw people in as it promises them information in a length and manner they can easily digest. Lists are a powerful tool for any copywriting (look at what you are reading now!)

Language: Words such as Free, New, Improved, Better, More, etc, etc all create promises that people are interested to see how you will keep. They give the belief that the reader will get more for less by reading the copywriting under the headline

These are all powerful tips for helping in creating headlines for marketing campaigns. But remember a good headline is half the battle, you still have to follow through with it by writing great copy afterwards, and a strong call to action.