Most advertisements are never read. Do you remember scrolling and ignoring all those ads? Why? Because of boring, vague, and meaningless headlines.
Headlines are the most important part of any advertisement. Not only advertisements, think about where you come across headlines. They are not for nothing everywhere.
Imagine you own a high-end steakhouse.
The restaurant is a masterpiece. The air is filled with the rich smell of perfectly cooked steaks, the sizzling of the grill, dimmed lights, and a beautiful interior contribute to the anticipation. You also offer the best service.
But if the sign outside only says “steakhouse”, will passersby rush in?
Certainly not!
You need a headline that makes their mouth water and triggers their desire for a steak.
“Prime Wagyu Beef, aged to perfection, melts in your mouth.”
This sketches a good picture of what your customers can expect. It makes them crave your product. Now your steakhouse is not just offering steak, but a luxurious culinary experience.
You can write the best article in the world but, if your title is bad, no one will ever read it.
The headline is your promise.
Do not mislead and exaggerate. If you fulfill the promise in your headline, you build trust and credibility. That’s the basis for a good long-term relationship with your audience and potential customers.
What Makes a Headline Good
To understand what a good headline is, we need to look at the purpose of headlines. Giving information about the content is the easy answer. And it is partly correct.
Giving information alone is not enough. You should always avoid ‘blind headlines’. They’re headlines you only understand if you’ve read the rest of the content. You NEVER want to use them in ads.
A GOOD headline does more than just giving information. A good headline immediately grabs the attention of the reader and gives them a reason to continue reading.
When creating an ad, it is extremely important to make sure that the headline grabs the attention of your target audience. For this, you need to have a clear idea of who your target audience is. You can read all about identifying your target audience in this article.
How do you grab that attention? Simple. If you want to reach mothers, you put the word “mothers” in the headline. You want to reach people with cars? You put “drivers” in the headline. Additionally, you want to make your headline appeal to the self-interest of the reader. If you promise them an attractive, desirable and powerful benefit if they keep reading, they will read on.
How to Write the Perfect Headline for Any Ad
The Headline is THE place to show how you distinguish yourself. Mention the benefits of your product or service. Tell the reader how it can make their life a little easier and better. If you’re sharing educational content, tell them what they can learn by reading on.
So, never forget to mention what benefit(s) the reader gets from your content.
If you apply this, your target audience will have no choice but to read your stuff. They are about to find a solution to a problem they are dealing with!
Incorporate your promise or guarantee into the headline. Make it as applicable, desirable and beneficial for the reader as possible.
A Good Start Is More Than Half of the Work
At least, when it comes to advertisements. By improving just the headline, you can make any advertisement perform 20 times better. With a good headline, you have already won most of the battle.
In advertising, that is the battle for the attention of your prospect. And the headline wins you 80% of that battle. Once you have the attention, you can use the rest of your ad to score the last points. But if you lose the battle for attention, the rest of your ad doesn’t matter. it will never be read.
Are you curious what kind of headlines I’d use to help you win this battle?
Feel free to contact me here.
Talk soon,
Tim