Learn How to Write Better Headline
September 16, 2018
Headlines are the most crucial piece of every copy that you write.
But how do you write good Headlines?
You need headlines for Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Sales Letters, Emails, Blog posts and much more. With all these different places that need headlines, some require a different length.
Headline Analyzers
There are a few of headline analyzers out there. I typically will run my headlines through them just to see what their algorithms tell me.
However, these are not 100% and should not be relied on as the best!
As you can see below I tested out the same headline in 2 different analyzers and they both got a dramatically different score.
Copywriting Handbook
One tip that can be applied to any copy I recently read in a book called, “The Adweek Copywriting Handbook” by Joseph Sugarman.
In the book, his key message is that each line of your writing is to serve one purpose and that is to read the next line!
Example: Headline is only to get you to read the sub-headline. Sub-headline is to get you to read the first sentence. First sentence to get you to read the second sentence.
You get the point. And this goes on until you have captured your audience and they no longer need a reason to continue reading. When you get to this point, you can then begin to introduce your product and start to sell them.
Why would this work in any copy?
- For Ads, your headline is definitely the first thing they will see. In some cases, it will be the only thing that they see, google ads.
- For Sales Letters, no one wants to be sold something, so you have to get them to not think in terms of being sold a product.
- For Emails, your subject line is your headline! Everything is dependent on that one line for them even to consider reading the next line.
How will this help you write a better headline though? Well, it will help you by step back and look at your headline from a different angle.
Instead of using the headline to summarize the copy, you can now look at it as 1 line. And this 1 line is only meant to create curiosity to read the next line.
20 Headlines
Another tip I sometimes apply to my headline creation is writing as many headlines as possible for the copy.
I once read that you need to write 20 headlines for everything, to get the best headline possible.
That’s not to say that your first one won’t be a rock star, because it might very well be the winner. If you stop with your first headline every time, then you may be missing the real winner.
The idea behind this is that the first 10 headlines are going to be the real apparent headlines. Then as you start running out of the obvious ideas your brain is forced to start becoming creative and writing new and unique headlines that you would have never thought of at first.
You might be thinking, “I don’t have time to write 20 headlines for everything I do!” And neither do I.
I only use this technique when I am really struggling to find the right headline. However, I do typically write at least 5 headlines for everything and then a split test a couple different ones.
What helps you write better headlines? Leave a comment below.
