The Three Cs of Writing an Excellent all Purpose Headline


Since the headline is the first contact your readers have with your message, it must reach out to them. Promise them a benefit. Tell them how they will be better off if they read the rest of the ad. Use action verbs. Save ten dollars is a stronger heading than Savings of ten dollars because of the verb.

Headlines can be classified into the following five basic types; effective headlines frequently combine two or more of these kinds.

News Headlines

This form tells the reader something he or she did not know before. Using the word news does not make it a news headline. "Now - a copy machine that copies in color" is an example of this type headline.

Advice and Promise Headline

Here you are promising something if the reader follows the advice in your ad. "Switch to Amoco premium, no-lead gasoline, and your car will stop pinging."

Selective Headline

This headline limits the audience to a specific group. For example: "To all gray-haired men over forty." Caution! Be absolutely sure you do not eliminate potential customers with this type of headline.

Curiosity Headline

The intent here is to arouse the reader's interest enough to make him or her read the ad. The danger is that this headline often appears "cute" or "clever" and fails in its mission. An example: "Do you have trouble going to sleep at night?"

Command or Demand Headline

Watch out for this one as most people resist pushiness, especially in advertising. "Do it now!" or "Buy this today!" This headline generally can be improved by changing to less obtrusive wording such as: "Call for your key to success!"

One common misconception about headlines is that they must be short and easy to understand. This is not always true. Here is a headline that was used extensively in print ads by Ogilvy and Mather for one of their clients: At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.

Illustrations

There are three primary reasons for using illustrations in an advertisement.

Everyone has heard, A picture is worth a thousand words; in advertising, the illustration frequently helps the reader visualize the benefits promised. You can almost feel the warmth of the tropical sun when you see the photos in January travel ads. Cost and practicality may dictate whether your ad uses photographs, artists' drawings or merely canned artwork. Any of these can make the ad more appealing to the reader's eye.

Copy

If you follow the three principles of good copy, your ads will be effective:

Clear, crisp and concise . . . the three Cs of copy writing suggest that the words in your advertising message merely do a good job of communicating. Do not use big words when small words can make your meaning clear. Use colorful, descriptive terms. Use the number of words necessary to make your meaning clear and no more-but also no less! Selecting the right words is critical to the success of the ads. Recent research conducted at Yale University found that the following 12 words are the most personal and persuasive words in our language.

You Discovery Safety

Money Proven Results

Love Guarantee Save

New Easy Health

Notice the overused word free is not on the list.

REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOUR MESSAGE IS PRINTED IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS INSTEAD OF UPPER- AND LOWERCASE LETTERS, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE READER TO FOLLOW AND REMAIN INTERESTED. EVEN IN HEADLINES ALL CAPITAL LETTERS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.

About The Author

Steven Boaze (Chairman) is The Owner of The Corporate Headquarters Boaze.com Which houses and controls 5 websites including Web Development services. Steven is also the author of "Hidden Secrets To Business Marketing" and "12 Step Remedy To A Successful Ezine" along with numerous articles on Marketing and Advertising published by Boaze Publishing. http://www.boazepublishing.biz

Copyright © 1998-2003 Boaze.com

owner@boazepublishing.biz

MORE RESOURCES:
RELATED ARTICLES
Power Writing 101: Tips and Tricks to Get You Taken Seriously!
In my ten years as an advertiser, I've encountered plenty of folks with a flair for writing. They were born having some idea of where to put the words within the sentence, and the sentences within the paragraph.
Check Your English Grammar With This Easy Technique
As an International language, English has been used widely in online world. Whether you use it to write a sales letter, a follow up, ads headline, an article, and so on, you need to use it correctly.
A Plan
All writers should use a plan whether written or reflected. This includes the initial idea, the content or main points, and the conclusion whether it is an article, a short story, a chapter, or a complete novel.
Top Ten Ways to Write a Book That Sells
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why don't you write it? Or, if you've already written a book, wouldn't you like to sell more? So many of you have a great idea for a book, even a dynamite title, but much more is needed to write a book that sells. Here's the top ten ways to write a book that sells: 1.
Uncommon Advice for Beginning Novelists
1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If you don't succeed, proceed to number 2.
Advice for New Writers
With the advent of email communications in the workplace, it's not uncommon to exchange dozens of messages daily. Sometimes, I sense a writer's "voice" in such messages.
Get Published: The Nuts and Bolts of Good English, and How to Impress a Publisher (1)
Not all writers write good grammar. That's a fact.
Top 10 Common English Goofs by Web Authors
In reviewing and browsing web sites over the years, I have compiled a list of the most common misuses of English by web authors. Here they are in Letterman (reverse) order.
What Is The Single Worst Mistake Most People Make When Writing Classified Ads?
All sales begin with some form of advertising whether it's word of mouth or printed media or even electronic. To build sales, this advertising must be seen or heard by potential buyers.
Home Business Writing Made Simple
Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Ever written an outline for any project you were about to start? What about a shopping list? If you have, and I imagine most have, you can then write focused, brief, content articles for your online home business.Why write? Well, of course you can spend lots of money to drive traffic to your site with absolutely no guarantee that you will obtain a single sale.
Story Structure - Final Conflict
Beyond three and four act story structure, lies the Hero's Journey.The Hero's Journey is the most usable story structure consisting of at least 106 stages and the template for successful contemporary stories, from Star Wars to Al Pacino Scarface to The Incredibles to War of the Worlds to The Dirty Dozen to Midnight Cowboy.
Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book
You are far more likely to successfully write and publish your book if you follow these tips before you write a single chapter.1.
Formats for Writing Life Narratives
Q and A.Best choice when subject is very verbal or there are two or more people being interviewed or taped at the same time.
Under The Leaded Sky in Serbia by dr Mirjana Radovic
When one population in one century survived five wars, two wars in just ten years, enforcment by self a question it`s the war destiny of Serbian people or his dare. With what a Serbian people has merit this - with his frankness, levity, with collective and national damnation or just with that fact which they are living in the territories which from its geopolitical consideration always were interesting orbit of much other populations.
Why We Dont Write Our Books
In the ten years that I've taught people how to get on with their books, I've noticed a phenomenon that I'll call "Author's Block." Would-be writers can, indeed, sit down and work when pressed to it.
How To Write Your Book Within A Week
Everyone has a book inside them, or so the saying goes. But few people get that book out.
Getting Published Is Different For Everyone: Two Paths Among Many
One obvious question that can get overlooked in the process of seeking publication is, Why do you want to publish this book, article, story or poem? Most likely, the answer involves some combination of artistic or spiritual vision, desire for recognition, need to communicate an idea or body of knowledge, feeling a compelling urge to shift consciousness around a particular topic, seeing a knowledge gap in the general society and feeling called to fill it, and of course receiving a little or a lot of financial compensation for one's efforts.As writers, as creative people, it can be difficult to join the artistic and spiritual sides of what drives us with the practical and business concerns.
How To Break Into Print Publishing
The big question. Do you submit directly to the publishers, or do you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal evidence I've heard, it can work either way.
Turning Your Journal Into An Idea Bank
A few magazines refer to their written idea sources in assigning articles to reliable, experienced writers, or even allow those writers to peruse them for topics to write about.And for awhile, I kept an idea book that was similar to a writer's journal.
Freewriting: A Strategy That Will Bring Your Writing To Life
Freewriting is a release from the prison of rules. It allows the fastest and deepest improvements to a writer's creative process.