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Make Your Headlines Scream "Benefit! Benefit! Benefit!"
by Ron Knowlton
When it comes time to write your headline, be it for
your sales letter, web page, or advertisement; always
ask yourself: "What's in it for the customer?"
If you can successfully answer that question, then
you're well on your way to making the sale.
Why is this so important? Because that's exactly the
question your web site visitor will ask: "What's in it
for me?"
Put yourself in his or her shoes for a moment.
"What would you want from this if you were the
customer?"
What will your customer receive? How will it meet his
wants and needs?
Don't assume that because the web site visitor really
doesn't need the product that he won't want it.
If he likes it and it's cool and convenient, he'll
probably get it.
It's your job to help him realize just how cool it
is, just how convenient it is, and just how much he
could really like it!
So now it's time to get to work.
Make a list. List the greatest benefit first. Then
list the second, third, and so on.
Once you have your list, you can start writing your
headline and then your copy.
Try to include a great benefit in the headline if you
possibly can! There are bonus points, of course, if
you can include more than one great benefit!
Here is an example to illustrate my point.
Suppose you are selling lemonade from a lemonade
stand on a hot summer afternoon. (C'mon, admit it,
didn't you do this when you were a kid? It was great
fun, wasn't it? Except when business was really slow -
then it could get borrrrrrrring fast!)
So what should an enterprising young entrepreneur put
on his or her sign?
"Buy lemonade, 50 cents!"
No! No! No!
Why not?
Because it really doesn't say much. And it doesn't
entice little Suzy (who probably doesn't really like
or trust you anyway) and her mom to want to buy.
Is there a great benefit in this headline for your
two customers?
Lemonade?
Well, yeah . . . but you didn't really say anything
about the lemonade.
It's kind of like advertising new software with a
headline like this: "Software, $19.95".
Would you really buy software just from reading this
headline? (Now, come on, be honest!)
Probably not.
Here's a better message for your sign:
"Ice cold lemonade!
(Fresh-Squeezed)!
50 cents!"
Would that entice Suzy and her mom to buy on a hot
hot hot summer's day.
You bet!
>From this second headline, you can see the ice cold
lemonade! You can smell the lemony juice! You can see
the lemons! You can even taste the tart juice swishing
around in your mouth! You want a glass right now
(because it is a hot day and you are thirsty! And
because it sounds so good!).
In fact, I just now got up from my computer and got a
cold drink. (See the power of good advertising copy!)
>From this second headline the customer knows right
off that the drink is ice cold.
If it's hot outside, this information is really
important to your customer and a great benefit!
The second benefit is that the drink was made fresh
from lemons - not from powdered drink mix.
Freshness and newness will always be a great selling
point for a product and can be a big motivator to buy!
And of course, the customer knows the price - 50 cents.
So Suzy and her mom stopped and bought two cups each
of lemonade because it was so good!
You answered several of their questions right off the
bat just with your headline! They didn't even have to
stop and ask you these questions!
You told them that: 1) the juice is ice cold and 2)
you told them what type of lemonade you were selling
(from freshly-squeezed lemons) 3) and finally, your
headline told them the cost for one cup of lemonade.
And as a result, you made the sale (even from Suzy,
who stuck her tongue out at you as she left!).
Now you get the idea!
So the next time you sit down to write your
advertising copy (or your headline for your lemonade
stand) think about Suzy and her mom. Think about how
hot it is outside. Think how they want an ice cold cup
of freshly-squeezed lemonade!
Isn't that what you would want as well?
Then put it into your headline!
Make your headlines scream: "Benefit! Benefit!
Benefit!" (And they'll probably buy from you!)
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding
editor at http://www.soaringprofits.com Subscribe to Articles To Boost Your Success Online!
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