A Headline Formula that Has Worked Well... Do You Use it?

2 replies
I remember YEARS ago, getting a flyer in the mail where the headline read...

"When Doctors Get Sick, THIS is What They Do"

I thought it was clever... it definitely got my attention with the curiosity angle.

A few weeks ago, another copy group had a sales letter written by a personal trainer,
and the headline I felt was good.

"When Personal Trainers Get Fat... This is What they Do To Lose Weight"

It may not have been that exactly, so I'm paraphrasing a bit.

This morning, I got an email from a huge health company, with the
headline...

"How Doctors Protect Their Own Prostates"

I notice that not many marketers use this kind of headline, at least I don't see it
used a lot. The curiosity headline, in which the expert has the same problem as the
prospect... and reveals how they fixed it.

I'm curious, has anyone else used this headline successfully, or seen it used in other ways that they're free to share?

I just think it's a great headline formula that doesn't seem to be used much, so I was curious if anyone here has used it with success, and IF they can share it, i.e. if it's not a current control, or signed an NDA.
#formula #headline #worked
  • Profile picture of the author TMAjr
    Gary Bencivenga describes the psychology at work in his famous bullets...

    Here: Bullet 3 –

    And here: Bullet 7 –

    If you don't feel like clicking through, here's what's up:

    This headline formula immediately attaches proof to the promise (in the form of a doctor...or some expert/guru).

    It'd be the same thing if you wrote, "How Frank Kern writes multi-million dollar sales letters (in just 2 hours)."

    It's assigning authority and believability to a big or implied promise.

    Hope this provides some insight, Shawn!
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  • I wonder if the reason we don't see that headline more is that it's not really a secret how experts fix the problem they're an expert in. They likely use the mainstream solution they're using on everyone else, so for most offers the reveal to that headline would be disappointing.

    But I imagine it's effective when you can get it to fit your offer. I'll start looking for opportunities to test it.
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