Copywriting Techniques for Headlines that Grab Attention

Every professional copywriter understands the importance of a powerful headline but with more people moving into the industry everyone has to become a bit of a copywriter. This article is for the businessperson who has to wear many different hats for their business. After reading this article you’ll have a better understand of copywriting techniques for headlines and how to use them to get results.

Copywriting Techniques that Get Results

Every successful copywriter that I know believes in a few rules and uses certain copywriting techniques in their work. They use these rules and copywriting techniques because they work.

The 50/50 Rule

Half of the entire time that you spend working on a piece of content should be dedicated to crafting a persuasive and attention grabbing headline.

The headline is the most important part of your copy and great headline can mean the difference between feast and famine.

You must develop Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when it comes to crafting the headline. Ok, maybe I went too far with that but you’ll find that the more time you spend working on that headline the better your results will be.

The 80/20 Rule

When I think of copywriting techniques and the average businessperson I know that they need some data to understand how a headline works

The 80/20 rule works like this.

8 of every 10 readers will read your headline.

But…only 2 of those 10 will bother to read the rest of your copy.

While writing a exceptional headline may not guarantee that every reader will take the time to read the entire piece it will tip the odds in your favor.

A great headline with marginal content is much better than a bad headline and great content.

Copywriting Techniques for Writing a Headline

Keep The Four U’s in mind when writing headlines.

Be USEFUL to your readers.

Give your readers a sense of URGENCY

Give the reader the impression that your main benefit is UNIQUE.

Be ULTRA-SPECIFIC while doing this.

A While back I read an article by Clayton Makepeace and in that article he gave a list of 6 questions that you should ask yourself when considering the value of a headline that you have written.

1. Does your headline offer the reader a reward for reading?

2. What specifics could you add to make your headline more intriguing and believable?

3. Does your headline trigger a strong, actionable emotion the reader already has about the subject at hand?

4. Does your headline present a proposition that will instantly get your prospect nodding his or her head?

5. Could your headline benefit from the inclusion of a proposed transaction?

6. Could you add an element of intrigue to drive the prospect into your opening copy?

When you are writing headlines keep The Four U’s in mind and make sure that your headline fulfills each of the questions listed above.

With the headline being the most important part of any piece of copy it is important that it is powerful. For more information, guides, and articles on copywriting techniques head over to my blog, where new information is published daily.