Many professional copywriters estimate that the headlinecontributes to 80% or more of the success of any ad, article, orsales letter.
One direct marketing expert goes so far as to credit the headlinewith 100% of the success or failure of any ad or sales letter,because if the headline fails to pull the reader into the mainbody of the ad or sales copy, then there is no chance of success!
And they are both right! If your headline fails to perform its'function of getting the reader to read further into your copy,then the headline is fully responsible for the failure of the ador sales letter.
However, if the headline is successful, then other sales copyfactors come into play, such as the benefits presented, theguarantee, the offer, the close, etc. Now they all share in theeffectiveness of the sales copy as well. But if the headlinefails, they then play no part.
Think about how you read a newspaper or magazine. Do you startwith the first article and then read every word from front toback of the publication?
Of course not!
Instead, you quickly scan the headlines, looking for somethingthat interests you, either because of curiosity or because theremight be something in it for you. You skip over all the rest!
Well, guess what. That's the same way your readers view your ad,article, sales letter, or sales page.
So, here are the three main reasons for headline failure.
1. You Fail To Grab Your Reader's Attention!
Your headline serves as the ad for your ad, article, or salesletter. Its' mission is to grab the reader's attention, stop themdead in their tracks and get them to want to read further downinto the article. If your headline fails in its' purpose, thenthe whole ad, article, or sales letter will fail because theywill never get read!
2. You Fail To Tell The Reader What Is In It For Them To ContinueReading!
Where possible, your headline should present your strongestbenefit to the reader. If the reader can identify a want theyhave with finding a solution to that want in your ad, article, orsales letter, then they will continue reading. If they don't seeany benefit to reading on, they won't. Remember, it is all aboutwhat is in it for them, the reader.
3. You Fail To Connect With The Reader!
If your headline is not addressed to the reader, they will not beinterested in what you have to say in the rest of your ad,article, or sales letter. There must be a match between themessage and the target audience, of which the reader is a member.
So, in summary, if your headline doesn't stop your reader dead intheir tracks and get them to read further into your copy, thenall is for naught!
The time it takes a reader to scan most headlines and decidewhether or not to stop and read your copy or move on is less than3 seconds!
As a result, many professional copywriters spend as much timecreating their headlines as they do for the rest of their copy.
Creating 100 or so headlines before picking the headline whichthe writer feels is most likely to succeed is not uncommon.
Alternative headlines can often be used as subheadlines in longcopy. These subheadlines help pull the reader further along intothe copy and towards the ultimate goal of a sale.
Be sure to give your headlines the time and effort they deserveand they will reward you with sizable sales.
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