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They Laughed When I Told Them I Could Write A Headline, But When I...

by Scott Murdaugh
18 replies
Is it just me, or is that headline the most swiped headline on the planet?

I've seen it used in at least like 15 sales letters lately, and usually pretty badly.

Yeah, it worked to sell piano lessons, and was great at the time... But I can think of very few products where this would still be effective.

I know I'm a jaded copywriter and I spend the majority of my life reading/writing ads, but I've got a hunch that this one has run it's course.

A lot of old/common stuff is still good, like the "IF.... THEN" headline, that can be effective in certain situations.

Anyone else have an over used headline that makes you cringe when you see it?

Peace,

-Scott
#headline #laughed #told #write
  • Profile picture of the author icering87
    I'm immune to it, If I see it it has a negative effect on me, because I'm like you...I'm in the copywriting world. It might have some effect in the bowling market or something small and out the way, but for anything internet marketing I question it's effectiveness and it's just stupid to use it for a copywriting product.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hesster
    I think that even a newb copywriter in training like myself has seen the piano lesson headline so many times and butchered in so many ways it just rolls right off. But keep in mind that except for copywriting products, for the most part copywriters aren't the target market. Who knows? Maybe it still works on people who don't study ads every day.

    Maybe it converts better than anything else the person has tried. But yeah, for a copywriting product, nothing screams 'I have nothing original to offer' like a recycled headline.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cherilyn Woodhouse
    Haha - guilty of that myself... I ran out of ideas and threw that up on a page for the time being. Oops! LOL

    My worst is the "who else wants..." because it is usually followed by a monster of a headline.

    "Who Else Wants to Read This Incredibly Long, Crappy Headline Over and Over Again On Half of the Sales Letters Found Online, While Other Copywriters Are Actually Putting an Effort into Their Sales Pages, Which Was Written By a Copywriting Novice or an Internet Marketer Without a Budget for a Copywriter -- All Without Having to Actually Use Your Brain!"

    *barf*

    - Cherilyn
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Murdaugh
      Originally Posted by Onslaught View Post

      for me it's usually-

      "They Laughed at me After They Read My Headline"
      Haha, nice.
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      Over $30 Million In Marketing Data And A Decade Of Consistently Generating Breakthrough Results - Ask How My Unique Approach To Copy Typically Outsells Traditional Ads By Up To 29x Or More...

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  • Profile picture of the author Star Riley
    I have been out of copy writing so long I am rusty as a nail left in water for a month outside on a hot summer day.

    The secret to my amazing recovery from copy writing limbo revealed..

    No really copy is as copy does I was told by a copy writing master speaking to your audience is what its about no?
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    Star Riley ---> Support Local Movement USA<----***

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  • Profile picture of the author Headfirst
    if its not that then it's "Who else wants..."
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    Golf Outing Sponsor Signs, Banners and Flags||Plymouth, MI Marketing || Plymouth Dentist
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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Dhuli
    Who else wants another
    "who else wants" headline?


    [
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  • Profile picture of the author CreativelyScrappy100
    So funny! Even today that headline is still be using on satellite radio ads... and repeatedly!
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  • Profile picture of the author Harry Behrens
    Hahaha hilarious thread. But I think the issue is to copywriting circles the same as the infamous 'Papyrus' font is to typography circles... it is overused, repeated and clicheed, but the fact is that "normal" people don't care, and as long as it gets results, it will continue to be used... "They laughed at me" isn't going to have an effect on me, but depending on the topic I can still see it having a big effect on say, my sister or mother.
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    - Harry Behrens

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  • Profile picture of the author askmichaelknowles
    Hi Harry,

    And just what would those topics be and what are you sister and mothers email?

    lol
    Michael
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    Let Me Do Your Backlinking For You! 5 - 125 High PR Sites WILL Link Directly To You!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyrus Antas
    They laughed at me when they saw my giant hemorrhoid, until I showed them how my Hemorrhoid
    Survivors Group was pulling in more than $18500 each month while "working" only 2 hours a day!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Dhuli
    They laughed at me when I wrote a
    "they laughed at me" headline

     But when my conversions went through the roof,
    it was I who had the last laugh!!!



    '
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    • Profile picture of the author CreativelyScrappy100
      Bottom line: unless we assume that all of these these ads are not being properly tracked... the headline still works... goodness knows I've seen more shocking things in ad results!
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  • Profile picture of the author vistad
    Guys I am relatively knew here. Why don't some retired folks log in the most common headline phrases used in the past 2 years across a dozen publications.
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  • Profile picture of the author garyf
    Well, that headline worked for 13 readers here.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      My favorite headline is "I will pay you $1,500. 'IF'...".

      Agreed. Some of these old headlines are way over marketed, but I guess the proof is in the sale. If you make sales from them, why fix something that isn't broken?
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