Do crazy headlines really work?

This is true to an extent that established online marketing experts who do not use such headlines are undersold compared to new "gurus" who use these crazy headlines..

Did anyone say greed?

Thanks Alex,

Just like writing content for your market, copywriting has to be prospect/market centric. I guess the question is - do outrageous titles like the ones above, which may play into the prospect's needs or feelings, disappoint and eventually alienate your market?

Some rambling thoughts on this subject...

A lot of marketers Louise are like sheep, they tend to follow the herd, what everybody else is doing.

The headline though, it's single minded purpose is to gain the attention of the reader and this is important... to get the reader to read the first sentence.

Now, some very exaggerated (crazy) headlines they're obviously screaming out... 'It's all about me! (Me, me, me, me, meee'.)

And the marketer concerned? S/he is forgetting one crucial point, that the reader/s on the receiving end has/have personal emotion/s.

Emotions which can either be played or tapped into. But many marketers fall down because they don't tap into the embedded collective consciousness of a lot of people with their headlines. They don't tap into the underlying, underpinning story which resonates most strongly with a large segment of their target audience.

There are many ways to twist a headline though to make it unique and original. Unfortunately, too many don't realize that all they're doing right from the very get go, is introducing a very large glaring filter, which, more often than not - is simply going to act as one giant filter for the audience they're targeting.

Of course some niches will be more affected than others with the wrong type of headline... If you're targeting a small obscure niche, some of the more traditional glaring (crazy) headlines might still work. On the other hand, if your targeting the IM crowd, it's very unlikely that many of the over used headlines are going to have as much clout as they used to.

So my advice? Try to be inventive. Try to be original.

For tips ask Malcolm Lambe (The Copy Nazi), he's absolutely brilliant at coming up with superb headlines which are like art pieces in their own right. The guy just has a knack for uncovering benefit rich headlines which really grab the attention of the reader! Non of this boring, done to death nonsense - he'll come up with something original every time!

And the main headline, well, it's still perhaps one of the most, if not the most important element of your sales copy.

When writing headlines don't start your sales letter off by writing your headline first. Just jump right into the sub headlines first and continue to write the rest of your copy as you normally would.

When you get to your benefit driven bullet points... one of these will probably stand out head and shoulders above the rest of your bullet points. Now, adapt this bullet point and use it for your main headline.

Use the headline as an interactive amplification device.

Make it emotional so it appeals directly to your targeted readers own emotions. Try and tap into the collective emotion experienced by the majority of your would be readers or target market.

What is this pain?

What is this frustration?

And what is the best possible benefit to switch the negative into a positive emotion?

Never be content with just the one headline.

Write 50 headlines down on a piece of paper or type them out using your keyboard. Set aside an hour to write out these 50 headlines.

The first 10-15 will be very easy IF you understand your product or service very well and if you know what your USP is precisely.

After this initial start... you'll start to struggle a little more trying to come up with those truly creative hooks which nudge your reader (tip them over the edge) to begin the slide down into your sales funnel.

For further inspiration and headline copywriting tips, go to Google and type in Ted Nicholas headline writing tips or something similar. He has some excellent tips too on this very important subject.

Hope this helps you out a little bit.

Best,


Pete Walker

Daniel,
Thanks, that's very true about many things in Internet Marketing, such as site layout (user experience/monetization), quality posts (content/keyword), etc.

I find similar above headlines to be unbelievable.

thanks
Louise

Thanks Pete,

That is indeed very helpful, not just for me but anyone who's reading this.

I would agree with this. Those crazy headlines would maybe grab those just beginning, but I think they would quickly learn that it's more hype than substance.

Sal,

Yes. That's one reason I would like to stay away from the above Headline formula. Even if I was making a true statement, I think I would get thrown out with the rest of dirt bath water.

I guess my opinion on those crazy headlines is quite clear.

Thanks for bringing up the legalities involved.

As for me, I would much rather have customers returning again and again!

travlinguy,

I find the internet and internet marketing in particular is a very exaggerated reflection of the "real world". And it offers tons of life lessons.

Thanks for the feedback,
Louise