Writing and Speaking > Copywriting > Persuading People to Buy – Copywriting Questions Answered for a Business Owner – Part 1
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Carol Bentley
In a recent consultation a client, who is a business owner, asked questions about writing compelling letters and adverts.
Here are some of the questions he asked about headlines for Sales Letters and the answers I gave…
Question:You advise people to spend the majority of their time creating headlines – in fact you recommend writing 100 before choosing the ones to test.
What are the crucial points to take into account when formulating a headline and why are these key to gaining the highest response from your letter or advert?
Answer:
There are 7 crucial points you should bear in mind when developing your headlines:
1 – Be results focussed. Clearly indicate the benefits the reader can expect to get by taking up this offer. For example increased sales; weight loss; feeling fitter; reduced productivity costs etc.
2 – Be specific, quote actual figures if appropriate, e.g. "How to Increase Your Productivity by 23% within 28 Days"
3 – Use 1 or more proven response words or phrases. Certain words attract people; such as Announcing; Revolutionary; Unique; Valuable; At Last; First Time Ever; Phenomenal, amongst others. Creating headlines using 1 or more of these words makes them compelling and eye-catching.
4 – Don't restrict the length of your headline. It should be as long as it needs to be to get your important sales message across, even if that is 3 or 4 lines. Fi the headline seems excessively long, see if it can be sensibly split into two, with the first leading onto the second.
5 – Avoid asking questions that can be answered “No!” or elicit a glib comment without drawing your reader into the letter.
Let me give you an example:
My Father received a letter from the local water company with the headline "What would you do if you had a burst pipe?" This headline had obviously been thought about before being sent out and was probably considered to be a good one. My Father said "Fix it!" and he threw the letter away. Perhaps a better headline may have been "Here's What To Do if Your Water Pipe Bursts."
However, there are certain types of questions that can be powerful in a headline:
"Who Else Would Like to…" implies someone else has benefited and perhaps the reader could too.
6 – Avoid trying to be clever, cute or obscure – if people have to think about what you mean, you’ve lost them. Don't use clichés – people often ignore these type of headlines.
7 – Your headline must be relevant to the people you are writing to. And to what is being offered – an inappropriate or curiosity headline that doesn’t relate to the rest of the letter or advert makes your
reader feel cheated and they won’t trust the rest of your message – even if they bother to read it!
Question:How do you get started on writing 100 headlines – it seems an insurmountable task?
For people who are new to writing sales letters and adverts it can seem a bit daunting. And as with any big task it is easier when it is broken down. When I'm running my copywriting workshops I get students to take the response words I mentioned in point 3 of the previous question, and another 72 I give them, and write a headline for each response word.
It doesn't matter how crazy each headline seems at this stage, the process gets your brain working and the headlines you do write act as a catalyst to bring out the real winning headlines for you.
After you've done this exercise for a few letters you'll find that you start to write headlines without having to use this technique.
Question:Where else do these techniques apply?
1 - Use headlines you've created, but not used as your main headline, within your sub-headlines – they catch the reader’s eye – especially if he or she is skimming your letter – it can pull them back into reading it. As a minimum they should deliver the main points of your message... a bit like a telegram.
2 – Creating 100 headlines often throws up a good P.S. The P.S. is usually the third thing that people read in a letter. First the reader checks the letter is addressed correctly; name; spelling etc. Then he or she looks at the end of the letter to find out who sent it – and that's when your P.S. is seen.
The intention is to encourage your prospect to actually read the letter as well as remind them of the main benefit of responding. Encapsulate your offer, the real benefit the reader gains by responding and any bonuses they will receive in your P.S.
©2005 Original Work by Carol Bentley
Author of 'I Want to Buy Your Product... Have You Sent Me a Letter Yet? (How to create powerful sales letters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, web pages and newsletters that persuade hundreds, or even thousands, of additional customers and clients to buy from you!) by Carol A E Bentley (Rated 5-star on Amazon.co.uk) This book is available at a special offer at http://www.CarolBentley.com/offer
Subscribe to your free reports, with no obligation, at
http://www.accelerateyoursales.co.uk or visit http://www.CarolBentley.com
Carol is one of the highest paid direct response copywriters available. If you would like to talk to Carol's office about having her work on your current or next sales project send an email to info@CarolBentley.com.
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