Headline Writing Course

How to write near-perfect headlines in minutes (Headline writing course part 1) by Sean D'Souza – Compiled by Flubberlug at TV.bz

The struggle with headlines We struggle with headlines. And the struggle needn’t be a struggle. The struggle starts off with clarity. Or the lack of it. A headline, at the very core, is a series of words. And those series of words have a clear structure. We aren’t able to write a headline because we completely goof up on the structure. And obviously, obviously, we don’t goof up intentionally. We goof up, because we believe in false gods. We believe that headline writing is some kind of skill (when it’s not)

We believe every idiot-marketer who tells us we shouldn’t think up headlines, but just copy old headlines. headlines. We believe that headline writing is frustrating, and it is. Until you discover the structure. This report is meant to stop you from believing in the hoopla you’ve heard before. It’s a start ing point.  Not the whole enchilada. It’s meant to get you started on the journey towards construction. construction. And deconstruction. deconstruction. So that you can become an auditor, as well as a creator. But why take all of this trouble?

Is the headline so very important? Let’s put it this way. If a customer doesn’t read the headline, they are more than likely not to t o read any more information. So it doesn’t matter what information you put in, if the customer doesn’t see a headline, that’s all of that information wasted. And most people don’t learn about headlines because they think headlines are for copy writers. When we want a headline, they think, we’ll get a professional to write one for us. And t here’s where you’re wrong (yup, wrong!), because a headline isn’t about copy. Or advertising. Or marketing. It’s an attraction device

You need powerful headlines for email. You need powerful headlines for a book. You need powerful headlines for a speech. You need powerful headlines for a presentation. You need powerful headlines for your articles. You need powerful headlines on your website. You need powerful headlines when you’re in an interview.

You just need powerful headlines all the darned time. And what frustrates me is that people give up. They think headline writing is for someone else. Well, if you’re still reading this, and I know you are, it’s time to give up that silly thought

Because the very first chapter is going to dramatically improve your thinking. Not your headlines. Your thinking. In exactly ten minutes, you’re going to be able to see how your thought process was all wonky. Wonky thought process leads to wonky headlines. Wonky headlines leads to wonky copy. Wonky copy leads to shonky results. But enough talk. It’s time to put some structure in place. Turn off the radio. Turn off the TV. Barricade yourself from outside interference. You’ll need the quiet. Let's go...

Where are we off to? Headlines are tough, only because no one bothers to explain the details. Well that situation is about to change. By the time you finish this report, you’ll be able t o do the following: 1) Recognize when a headline has too little detail, and put in the exact detail. 2) Recognize when a headline has way too much detail — and what causes the confusion. 3) How to instantly make a headline curious. 4) How to use the power of symptoms to remove the waffle f rom headlines. 5) How to avoid having to slave over dozens of headlines — and get your client to write the headline instead! And that’s just Part One in this headline series. The advice in the pages to follow has been rigorously distilled to be as easy as possible. And if you use the advice well, and ask lots of questions, you’ll soon find yourself writing absolutely superb headlines. headlines. And the ‘superb-factor’ ‘ superb-factor’ is not measured by fancy words, but by the clarity of thought, and the attraction factor of the headlines. So yeah, let’s get this show on the road! It’s time to learn how to write pretttty-darned-purrrfect pretttty-darned-purrrfect headlines! headlines! We’re off into headline land!

The root of all trouble The root of all trouble in your headlines is understanding understanding that headlines aren’t some fancy words strung together. On the contrary, they’re simple words that are put together with a clear thought. But the point where it all goes kaput, is that our thoughts are kinda too vast. What do we mean by vast?

Eg, let’s take an topic such as: ‘Why article writing is the key’

But the key to ‘what?’

Most writers leave out the core detail. They miss out telling you where the article is going in the first instance. And these writers don’t leave out the core detail on purpose. They just don’t realize the importance of the core detail. And the core detail should usually contain what we’d loosely call a ‘tar get.’ A ‘target’ is simply ‘who or what are we speaking about?’ Let me demonstrate what I mean, by doing a little addition. So instead of: Why article writing is the key...

We say: Why article writing is the key ‘to getting strategic alliances.’ We say: Why article writing is the key ‘to getting clients.’ We say: Why article writing is the key ‘to getting paid.’ Notice what happened when we put in that ‘target’?

First, it actually gave your article a solid direction. And hey, it did even more. It created curiosity. Your la-la topic, suddenly spruced up, brushed its hair, and put on a t uxedo. And if you’re amazed at what adding a ‘target’ could do, let’s now add a ‘specific’ to that headline. I’m going to replace just one word/one phrase at a time. And you watch. Watch how the article literally swings from one side to another. Example 1:

Why article writing is the key. Why article writing is the key to getting strategic alliances. Why article writing is the key to getting ‘active’ strategic alliances. Example 2:

Why article writing is the key. Why article writing is the key to getting clients. Why article writing is the key to getting ‘higher-paying’ clients. Example 3:

Why article writing is the key. Why article writing is the key to getting paid.

Why article writing is the key to getting paid ‘in advance.’ So you see what we did?

We took the core topic. We added a target. We added one specific such as ‘active’ or ‘higher-paying’ or ‘in advance’. And we instantly intensified the power of the headline.  Not surprisingly, the change in the headline did a lot more. It made the article easier for you to write. Without the ‘target’ and the ‘specifics’, the headline was weak, and the re sulting article would be a soggy waffle. But as we put in the ‘target’ and the ‘specific’ it actually forced you to focus on that specific, thus resulting in a much superior article. Instead of the article being general and vague, it’s now specific. You’re either going to be writing about ‘article writing’ and ‘active strategic alliances.’

Or ‘article writing’ and ‘higher-paying clients.’ Or ‘article writing’ and ‘getting paid in advance.’ You’re most certainly not going to write about all t hree (not right today, at least!) Because as you can plainly see, they’re three completely different articles, going in three completely different directions. But when you have a vague headline, it’s almost impossible to keep the content of the article focused. When you have a specific headline, it’s darned impossible to go off track. What’s more is that your audience is more focused too, because the rest of your article is delivering exactly what the headline promised. The specificity of the headline is what drew the reader in, and it’s the specificity of the rest of the article that will keep the reader reading. And if you don’t believe me, remove those measly words...

Remove the specifics. Chop off the target. Then write your article. The headline loses power. The article weaves, then stalls. What’s worse is that the entire article becomes so much harder to write. And even if you were to actually complete and publish the article, your reader would not experience a sense of clarity. And you get that clarity with just two measly words.

The the addition of just a measly word or two, and your article is vrroooming down the road. And hey, in the right direction too! Summary

Your initial thought is incomplete, because it’s too vast. It’s not easy to write about a whole topic. You have to get more specific. You get more specific with two simple tweaks. First you add a target. Then you add a specific. And tah, dah, you’ve now clarified the thought process. As a result your headline will be stronger, and your entire article will be focused instead of r ambling all round the countryside. Exercise: How would you make these thoughts stronger?

Write at least five headlines filling in the blanks. 1) Why _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Won’t Buy Despite _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2) Why _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Won’t Buy Despite _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3) Why _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Won’t Buy Despite _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4) Why _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Won’t Buy Despite _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5) Why _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Won’t Buy Despite _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Closing Note: See? You should get five different thoughts. And hence five different articles. And every thought – and consequently, article is headed in a completely different direction. Now this takes us to the next lesson. Where we start to analyze how there could be a whole bunch of specifics. And a clear target audience. And still the headline turns to custard. How could this be possible? Let’s find out in next week's lesson.

How too many thoughts ruin headlines (Headline writing course part 2) So how do you confuse a reader? Hey, it’ s really easy. You remember what we did in part 1? We put in a clear target, and then we added a specific, ri ght? Well, two’s company. Three’s just chaos. You’re about to find out how to systematically create chaos. So that when you do you can chop, change and get yourself the headline that you really want. Let’s say I told you to go down to the supermarket. And I gave you directions.

Take the first left, and then take a right at the fifth corner. After which you take a u-turn at the traffic lights. But don’t miss the right hand turn, which you’ll see right after the roundabout. Huh? What just went on there, you wonder...

You see I confused you on purpose. And you knew that. But most of the time, you’re not seeking to confuse customers with your headlines. And yet, t ime and again, you end up writing headlines that seem to confuse the heck out of everyone. What’s worse is that you CAN fix the headline in a flash. If you knew what to do, that is. So let’s cut the chatter, shall we? Let’s look at why most headlines are confusing. And headlines are confusing, simply because we confuse the thoughts. Huh, what do thoughts have to do with headlines?

Ok, so why were you confused when I gave you directions in the first paragraph? Yes, there were way too many thoughts involved. So while your brain was trying to hold onto one thought, the second thought stomped in, quickly followed by the third and fourth. So let’s look at a confusing headline shall we?

Example: Is your personal services business struggling to find enough new clients because you are making these classic mistakes with your best clients? So how many thoughts did you detect in the line above? Let’s see. Thought 1: Struggling to find enough new clients. Thought 2: Making classic mistakes with your clients.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Now let’s separate these thoughts and rewrite them. Headline 1: Are you struggling to find new consulting clients? Headline 2: Are you making these classic mistakes with your clients?

But, but, but you say...

Because what I’ve effectively done is treated the concept as two headlines, when in fact the writer wanted to write one headline - and convey the exact thoughts above. So how do we use both thoughts without losing the gist of the concept? Why, that’s easy. You don’t write it all in one headline. That’s the biggest reason why you have sub-headlines.

I’ll say it again. That’s why you have sub-headlines. So yeah, if you’re that peachy keen to get the very same thought in the headline you just go choppity chop, and split the headline down the center! And here’s what you’ll get:

Are you struggling to find new consulting clients? (How to avoid making these classic mistakes when prospecting.) See what just happened above?

We took two mangled thoughts, and separated them. We bathed them, freshened the thoughts up a bit, and re-presented it without any confusion. Confusion that begins once you start exceeding 14-16 words. Or to put it another way, your headlines shouldn’t exceed 14-16 words. Come to think of it, none of your lines should exceed 14 words.

Why? Because a line represents a thought. And when you write a l ine that exceeds 14 words, guess what happens? Yes, another thought sneaks in through the cracks. Before you know it, a couple or even a trio of thoughts have taken residence. And then your brain feels like a grocery list you can’t remember. Imagine having a page, full of grocery lists you can’t remember.

You’re trying to get an idea across, but your client reading the information is inundated with multiple thoughts. And instantly, their brain starts going into shut-down mode. This of course, is the last thing you want. And we haven’t even taken the visual aspect into consideration.

We are visual creatures. When we see t oo much, our brain presses the ‘exit, exit’ button and wants to get out in a massive hurry. The longer, denser, and more clumped your headlines, lines, and  paragraphs turn out to be, the less it’s going to get read. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that you write less. What I’m suggesting is that you do the following: a) Keep your headlines (and lines) focused on one thought. b) Keep your lines visually short. It helps readability. c) Keep adequate spacing between your paragraphs to avoid overload.

This simple act of brevity causes your reader to focus on what you really want t o tell them. Don’t get intimidated with length or lack of length of your headline. Concentrate on the power of the thought.

Um...one, one thought will do just fine! Closing note: Thoughts are important. In the first part of this course, we realized that the topic was way too vast, and the specifics just didn’t seem to exist. Well in this part, you see quite the opposite. The topic is not that vast, but there are so many thoughts that not only are you, the writer confused, but the reader is totally confused. And there you have it. You can have too little. You can have too much. It can be too vast without specifics. It can be so specific that it’s confusion confounded. Ok, so we’ve dealt with thoughts. But are there other components to headlines? You bet there are. For instance, there’s the factor of curiosity. And curiosity is one of a headline’s greatest allies. So how do we make a headline super-curious in a millisecond? Find out in next week's lesson.

How to create intensely powerful headlines (Headline writing course part 3) Sean d’Souza explains how to use the power of ‘new’ and ‘knew’ to write intensely powerful headlines. Hint: ‘new’ is including something new and intriguing; ‘knew’ is using the familiar so you’ll be understood. Read on to learn how to weave them together. Will it? Won’t it? That’s the power of curiosity. And once you’ve mastered (or even played around with the earlier two concepts) you’ll now be ready to tweak your headlines just a tiny bit. And yes, mon ami, that tiny bit will send those curiosity levels sky-high. And you’re probably wondering if this curiosity is possible without having to remodel your brain. Yes, it is. And I know that millisecond is up, so let’s get down to the meat of 'curiosity’ - and how you can make your headlines a lot more curious. Headline-writing for articles is like witchcraft. You have to know the spells, and chant before you can create awesome headlines, right?  Nah! What you really need is a factor of ‘new’. And ‘knew.’ So what do I mean by ‘new’ and ‘knew?’

‘New’ is kinda obvious. If you have something ‘new’ in the headline, then the reader is instantly interested. The curiosity trigger is launched, and the reader wants to know what’s next. But if your entire headline had a factor of ‘new’ you’d cause anxiety, not curiosity.

And let’s look at a few examples to see what I mean. Let’s go back into the last century to the year, 1999. And being 1999, you’ve heard nothing about the iPod. Or podcasts. Or RSS. And your headline read: How to create RSS podcasts with the iPod.  Aha, it’s all ‘new’ information, if you’re still stuck in 1999, right? So why did it cause your brain to go waka-waka?

Because it’s all new. And running into all new, i s like running into an InDesign Toolbar with five hundred palettes. Or a strange city where you don’t quite know your way round. Notice what I just did?

I put two scenarios in front of you: 1.  InDesign Tool Bar with five hundred palettes. 2. A strange city where you don’t know your way around. And if you know ‘InDesign’, you’ll have coasted through both the analogies in a few seconds. But even if you didn’t know what the heck ‘InDesign or palettes’ are, the second example of the ‘ strange city’ would be something you could quite easily relate to. The concept of the ‘strange city’ is the factor of ‘knew.’ And ‘knew’ is something you know. While ‘new’ is something that’s kinda unknown.

So how do we use this magic spell for article headlines?

We mix the ‘new’ and the ‘knew’. Throw a bat wing or two. And some shitake mushrooms. Et voilà, we have a bunch of headlines that looketh like this: 1) Why the ‘Yes-Yes’ Factor Helps You Raise Prices. 2) Is There Too Much Sugar In Your Testimonials? 3) The Critical Importance of Sandwiching Your Articles. 4) How Segues Reduce Friction in Sales. 5) Why Consumption is More Important Than Attraction and Conversion. You noticed, didn’t you?

There were ‘new’ elements in the copy. And there were ‘knew’ elements. Some things you recognized right away. And others that did drive you to curiosity. The factor of ‘new’ attracted you, but equally important, the ‘knew’ signalled what topic was being covered. So you can clearly see that the five topics are about:

1) Raising Prices. 2) Testimonials. 3) Something to do with Article-Writing. 4) Reducing Friction in Sales. 5) Something that’s more important than Attraction and Conversion. When the ‘new’ and the ‘knew’ mix, they create dynamite.

Too much ‘new’ and the headline is intimidating as hell. Too much ‘knew’ and a yawn, and a siesta come to mind. But the question will no doubt arise: Do you need to write every headline with ‘new’ and ‘knew?’

And the answer is no. This article isn’t a formula for every article headline. There are other ways to get curiosity. And a smart way to write article headlines is to mix and match. Headlines with a ‘How To’ factor do really well.

Headlines with questions do really well. But headlines with ‘new’ and ‘knew’ have a certain magic, and cast a spell. But use the spell sparingly, ok? Exercise: Take any headline you’ve written. Drop in a new. Drop in a knew. Stir well.

Sean’s note: So who’d think curiosity was that simple, eh? Well as you can see, it is. You’ve gone  from too few thoughts in a headline to too many, and then we’ve tweaked those thoughts to intensify the curiosity. And hey, you’ve done quite well, and you haven’t yet broken into a sweat. Well, we may have done all of the above, but there may still be some waffle in your headline. Waffle? Yes, waffle.

Why being specific is critical for headlines (Headline writing course part 4) Sean D'Souza asks 'why customers buy?' and headline writing is a key part of his answer. Here, Sean tells you how to write specific, jargon-free headlines that will help you sell. You may believe you're being specific, but in reality, you're just using jargon. And it's jargon you think your audience can understand, but in reality they can't. Headline writing is an art, right? No it's not. But you can't be vague. So how would you define vague headlines? Vague headlines have terms like this:

Does your office have workplace-stress? So what's vague about that headline? Well for one, what's the meaning of stress? The word 'stress' doesn't trigger off any specifics in my brain. Intellectually, I can work out what stress means, but if you get specific, then I know 'EXACTLY' what you mean.

So let's say you deal with workplace stress What does workplace stress mean? Does it mean that people are screaming at each other? Does it mean that everyone seems to send BCCs on every email and 'cover-their-you-know-whats?' Does it mean that the staff seem to take too many days off for no apparent reason?

Stress is like 'crime'. What is 'crime?' Is it murder, or arson, or rape, or burglary? If you're not specific, and you said the crime rate is going up in the neighbourhood, then I understand that the crime rate is going up. But if you said 'arson' was a problem, then I'd make sure I have sprinklers and fire extinguishers. If you said 'burglary' then I'd have a burglar alarm installed. If you said 'murder' then I'd probably leave the neighbourhood.

Of course, each of the examples is just an example, but understand what's happening Each situation is bringing up a different response. And so it is with stress. If you say stress, you get a response that's general. And non-specific. But if you say something specific, then it makes a world of a difference. What you really want to get across to me is the symptom. Something I can really measure.

So people in the cancer business don't say 'cancer' They first isolate the cancer. For i nstance, 'skin cancer'. Then they literally talk about 'moles.' And how to inspect moles. People can intellectually process the word 'cancer', but they can see a mole and how it changes. I can understand a mole. I can see how it relates to cancer. And I can either act on it , or ignore it, depending on my/or the doctor's diagnosis.

But writers who don't understand this concept of being specific, continue to be vague They use words like 'stress,' or 'cancer', or 'pain', or 'crime' or whatever. Which I can understand, but can 't act on. And the action, aha, that's what you want from the customer.

So how do you get specific? You simply ask: "But what does it mean?"

Workplace stress: What does it mean? And when you get the answer, ask, "What does that mean?" And then "What does that mean?" And you can use the 'what does it mean' concept several times, till you get to the specifics. Just because you've been writing copy for a while doesn't mean that you're getting specific enough in your headlines. It's only when you specifically drive home the 'what does it mean?' f or EVERY headline, do you get headlines that get customers to react, and act.  Exercise: Look at your headlines. Yup, go and audit t hem. Do they have words like 'stress?' Now, now, that's not specific enough. Go right down to the symptom. And you'll find that customers respond to a headline with a clear symptom a whole lot better.

How to avoid pot luck headlines - 200 headlines, anyone? (Headline writing course part 5) One headline may work 50 times better than the next. But how do you actually know which headline is really going to work? Shouldn’t you be testing? Oh golly, you should be testing, but what if you had just one shot at sending out a sales letter? How could you make that shot really count? Let’s find why most copywriters goof up, and goof up consistently. Ask any copywriter how many headlines they write for a single sales letter or ad, and they’ll come up with a fanciful number. Something like 75 headlines. Or 150 headlines. Or worse, 200 headlines. So pray, why would you need to write 200 headlines?

I’ll tell you why. You need to write 200 headlines, because you don’t have a clue who your audience really is. Ooh, did I say audience? I didn’t mean to say audience. Because when you start to think of your customer as an audience, you’ve already mucked up your headline writing. Because the concept of target audience is a myth

And yet, every single day a discussion between copywriters and clients goes like this: The writer (stupidly) asks, “Who’s your target audience?” And the client (stupidly) says: “Mothers who juggle home with a growing business.” And then (stupidly), they go about merrily writing headlines for ‘young mothers who juggle home with a growing business.’ And this exercise seems perfectly logical, until you start to slice and dice that so-called audience. Are we talking about Lisa?

Are we talking about Aditi? Are we talking about Gulnar? Are we talking about Katie? Are we talking about Britney? Because Britney (as in Britney Spears) is indeed juggling home with a growing (or shall we say, dwindling) business. And so is Lisa. And so is Aditi. Not to speak of Gulnar or Katie. And when writing that headline they’d all be clumped together

Which of course, is a mistake. Because while they form a tidy demographic of young mothers  juggling homes with a growing business, they’re not at all alike. They don’t exactly have the same problems, and most certainly don’t have the same pri orities. And yet, like dumbos, we’re off to write a headline that encompasses the lot. We’re writing for 200 mothers. Is it any wonder we have t o write 200 headlines?

Ok, so how do we get to writing a single headline?

We dump the ‘target audience’ concept, that’s for sure. And we look at ‘target profile’ instead. So instead of Lisa, Aditi, and yada, yada, we look at one person. Like Katie. So instead of looking at every single mother who’d wander into that category, we’d look at just one. And we’d see what’s important to her. What does she want from life? What does she want from her  business? And when we start to look at this one person, the fogginess goes away. Because we’ve stopped looking at this ‘f ictional audience’ of nameless, faceless people, and are now concentrating on one person. A person we know.

A person we can talk to. A person we can relate to. And more importantly, a person who can shoot down our headline in a millisecond. Because we could go to Katie and ask her:

Would Katie take a 20% cut in profits to spend 20% more time with the kids? Would Katie not tolerate any cut in profit, and still want to spend 20% more with the ki ds? Would Katie be quite happy to concentrate on her growing business and grow it by 20%, or even 50%, knowing it will be better for the kids later on? Aha, now we aren’t tramping around 200 headlines are we?

Because Katie would tell us. She’d tell us what she really wants. And then she’d go so far as to tell us what her specific problems are. And instead of sitting in our nice, fuzzy headline brain, we’d actually  be talking to a real person, with real issues, that a million Katies would respond to. A million Katies?

Yup, uno million! Writing a headline just for Katie seems like marketing suicide, but actually it’s quite the opposite. Because a million mothers with the very same problem will look at your headline and say, “That’s me! This is exactly the service I wanted.” Weird, huh?

You write for one, but gain the attention of squillions of ‘Katies’. Because while the problem may be universal, the terminology that Katie uses will hit the hot buttons of um, squillions of mothers just like her. And when they see that‘specific product or service’, they’ll instantly realize the ‘specific product or service’ is just what they wanted. But did you notice I said ‘specific product or service?’

Don’t make the silly mistake of building your entire business around one person. You can only build ONE specific service or product around that person. Why?

Because let’s assume we took Katie into consideration. Let’s assume she chose to spend 20% more time with her darlings, and was quite happy to take the 20% pay cut, as long as the business stayed steady. Well, the Katie of the year 2007, isn’t the Katie of 2008. And neither is she going to be the Katie of 2009. And we see this with Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers as well. If you gave Steve an iPod in the year 2002, he’d have wanted a completely different iPod in the year 2005, and quite a different one in 2007. In effect, Steve Jobs isn’t Steve Jobs

Katie isn’t Katie. And your customer is not the same customer, year after year, aft er year. Which means you need to sit down with every one of your products. Every one of your services. And allocate specific ‘target profiles’. And these ‘target profiles’ should be real, live people. If you’re writing for Aditi, you should know Aditi. If you’re writing for Gulnar, Gulnar better be around. If you’re creating a product or service for Steve, you’d better be getting Steve’s input. And then you won’t need 200 headlines

Or 75 headlines. Or whatever. Because ‘Katie’ will tell you exactly what her problem is, and how you can solve it. And that my friend, is the only headline you’re ever going to need.  Exercise: When you’re writing your next ad, brochure or salesletter, pick a person. A real person. Not  just any person who’s a figment of your imagination. A person who can sit in the room with you and eat chow mein off your dinner table. That’s the clarity you need. And that’s the person you need to talk to for a few hours. Because they’ll literally write your headline for you, when they speak.

How to construct headlines (Headline writing course part 6) Your headlines are the doorways to your site. But if you look at headlines, you’ll find that most websites have headlines that are weak, wimpy and uninviting - they are barriers to entry. In part six of his nine-part headline writing course, Sean D'Souza shows you how to make your headlines  prominent, different and free from obstructions. Assume I visited your home. How would I enter? Through the window, or the back door. Surely you’ve reserved the chimney for good ol’ Santa. So where do I enter? Why through the door, right? And when you write copy, what’s your door? Why, the headline. So think about it. How many obstacles would you put in the way if you wanted me to enter? What a silly question, eh? You’d make darned sure you freed up the entry t o the doorway, so I could get in quickly.  Not true. Most websites seem to do just the opposite. They put in barriers. They put in dozens of distractions. And if by chance their customers do get to the door, they’re now confused. Are they standing at the door, or was there a door before? Your doorway is your headline

So if you want the world to see your headline, what should you do? Why, you’d do what any sensible homeowner would do. 1) You’d make your doorway prominent. 2) You’d make your doorway different, somehow. 3) You’d make your doorway free of obstructions. 1) Making the doorway prominent:

So how does this translate to websites, for i nstance? If you look at headlines, you’ll find that most websites have headlines that are weak and wimpy. Look at the headline in this article. You’ll find that it’s kinda Arnold Schwarzwhateverhisnameis. And you’ll find that your eye went to the headline in a fraction of a second. That I didn’t need to put flashing lights and dancing girls around the headline for you to take notice. I just had to make it bold. And prominent. So that you can instantly see the ‘door’ and know that hey, this is a headline. 2) You’d have to make your doorway different

When I say different, you’re probably confused. Yes, you can see the boldness of the headline, but that's not enough. No, no, no, no, no. That ain’t enough. We can do more and so can you. A headline needs to be different. As in, different font. Or different color. Or different size. Not just bold, but different. A boring doorway doesn’t get noticed. And an overdone doorway is laughed at. But a doorway that’s elegant and stands out, is one that’s starting to get (and keep) your customer’s attention. So yes, the font could be ‘serif’ vs. the copy that’s ‘sans-serif’ (Georgia vs. Verdana). The color could be red vs the text being black.

The font size is already much bigger than the body text's. It’s the little things that make it a headline. It’s the itsy-bitsy fundamentals that make it prominent and say, “Hey, you, the welcome mat’s here!” 3) You’d have to remove the darn obstructions

Don’t give me ten lines to read. I don’t want to read that stuff. I want to read your headline. I want to know if I qualify. Don’t put your testimonials in front of your headline (unless the testimonial ‘is’ the headline). Don’t put twenty billion links and stupid photos. Sit down. And count the hoops that customers have to jump through to get to your headline. (Read: http://www.psychotactics.com/artpsycho3.htm) and remove those hoops. Chop anything that’s getting in the way of your doorway, ruthlessly. Yes, chop, chop, chop. Your headline is your main attractor. It’s what most of your customers read. It’s what gets t hem to read the next fifty words, that then slides them down into the next fifty words, and so on. Make your doorway bold, and different, and without obstructions. Us mortals have to find your doorway. Santa on the other hand, can manage quite well, thank you :)  Exercise: Look at the headline on your website. 1) Is it bigger in font size than the rest of the text? (If the rest of the text is 12pt, it should be about 18pt) 2) Does it stand out because you’ve chosen a contrasting color? (Hint: don’t choose pale blue or  yellow) 3) Does it have nasty obstructions? (Your top banner and logo could be a real-pain-in-the-buttdistraction) You’d think these three steps are obvious. They’re not. And I’ve seen site after site after site where the headline is either invisible or is misplaced by a loud, noisy banner. If that’s the case, you’ve got 15 minutes of work to do. (Yup, simplify the banner and make the headline bold, contrasty and bigger). 15 minutes of work, that simply cannot wait. Ok, so you’ve seen the mess on your website, and fixed it. That’s good. Now hang on. This concept of headlines isn’t just for your home page. The other pages matter too. And yes, the same concept applies if you’re using headlines for your brochure or leaflet. But yeah, as long as you have the concept, and have done something to fix it, we can m ove on. And move on we will to the unusual concept of ‘Testimonials as headlines.’ Sure beats breaking your head trying to find a headline, eh?  Now all you need to do is get a client to write one for you. How easy is that? Find out for yourself.

Testimonials as headlines (Headline writing course part 7) In part seven of his nine-part headline writing course, Sean D'Souza shows how using headlines in testimonials can make all the difference when it comes to making them stand out from all the rest. And he doesn't just put testimonials into headlines. He gives them a twist that might transform the  performance of your sales pages. Find the secret in part seven of Sean's nine-part headline writing course So big deal. You have testimonials from your customers. And another business just like yours has testimonials from their customers. What makes the other company’s testimonials work better than yours? It’s called the forgotten art of the headline. Headlines? In testimonials?

Yes indeedy! When a client gives a testimonial, they are saying something, something, something, kaboom, something, something. Noticed the kaboom in the middle of that testimonial?

If you ask the right questions (either over email or the phone), at some point i n the testimonial the client will say something that’s absolutely kaboom. A phrase, a sentence so powerful that you sit up and take notice. Then of course, you hope all your prospects will do the same

Same what? Same as you, of course. You are hoping your prospects will read the testimonial, get to the kaboom, and take notice. Well, you know it and I know it. We will read through our own material with a microscope. At best, our prospects will just glance through the t estimonials. So darn it, put the kaboom where your prospect can see it!

Yes, take the headline out of Paragraph 3, Line 4 (or wherever the kaboom statement sits) and put i t right at the top of your testimonial. And while you’re at it, can you increase the size, colour and  boldness of the headline font, por favor? But, but...I don’t have place to put a headline

Yes, I know. You can’t put a headline on every single testimonial. If you’re running your testimonial in your main text or off a side bar, there’s usually not enough space.

So allocate a space or page for testimonials

Create a special page where your prospect can go and read the testimonials. Put your headlines on that  page.

If you can, put the photos of your customers. And where the customers come from. And make sure there is a balance of sorts in the gender. You’ll find the following factors in a testimonial:

1) Headline: Taken from the body copy itself. 2) The headline is bold, a different color and a different font. 3) What do you do when you have a one line testimonial? The answer is on the page. Yes, scroll, scroll. 4) Notice the gender. One man, one woman, one m an, one woman. Hmmm...Now why do you think that’s important? 5) See the photos? Why do they matter? 6) See where the clients live? Why does that matter? We’ve digressed, haven’t we?

We set out to learn about headlines in testimonials. And we learned so much more. One more t echie thing and we’re out of here. I used to use graphics for my headlines. Not anymore. I now use CSS. If you don’t know how to use CSS, ask your friendly neighborhood web designer, or look up CSS tutorials. CSS loads quickly and makes your headline look smashing!  Now, now, you know what to do next. Go and put some headlines on your testimonials. This article could be called The Forgotten Art of Headlines, not because testimonial headline writing is a forgotten art, but if you don’t get down to putting in headlines for your testimonials, it will soon be ... forgotten. :) This takes us to an oft-asked question. Now that we’ve tweaked the size of our headlines. Now that we’ve gotten great headline testimonials, should we also use our headlines to beckon Google? Yes, you should. But how should the beckoning be done? Let’s find out, shall we?

How to make your email signature a headline - and where to use it (Headline writing course part 8) Headlines don’t always sit at the top of your pages. Sometimes headlines sit right at the bottom of your emails. Email signatures are powerful attractors but what do you put in your signature? And where else can your signature appear? Find out why your signature isn’t quite working as hard as it should in part 8 of Sean D'Souza's headline writing course. Headlines don’t always sit at the top. Sometimes headlines sit right at the bottom. And if you post in forums, or have email signatures, you’ve actually got a headline sitting right there. And here’s why you would consider that bottom headline to be tops. The headline is pri marily an attraction device. It’s meant to draw you from one point to the next. And when a customer has finished reading your email or forum post, a signature does the job of creating curiosity. And in doing so, it more or less qualifies to be a headline. :)** You’re watching TV. It’s Extreme Makeover time. They take this wallflower-looking person. And they cut. And they snip. Boy, do they tuck! And about two weeks later, the Extreme Makeover artists transmogrify their subject into a work of captivating beauty. You watch and say, no…can’t be…can’t be the same wallflower. Ah, but it is. So what say we have the same kinda fun? What say we do the Extreme Makeover on that darned email signature of yours. Yeah, yeah, the one that kinda hides under a bushel every time you send out an email. And what say we do the makeover without all the cutting, snipping, tucking and la-dee-dah! Ready for the Extreme Email Signature Makeover?

You bet you are! And best of all, there’s little or no creativity involved. In fact, you’ll need to look no further than at an article you’ve written, to get all the inspiration you need. So what should you do?

Just paste your entire article in t he email signature?  No, no, no. Pay attention dah-ling! We’re creating magic. And for magic, you need to know the tricks. Stick with me, and you can learn how to have dozens of instant email signatures, based on your articles, in three easy steps.

So what are the steps?

Step One: Find an article you’ve written. Step Two: Create an excerpt. Step Three: Insert drama. Step One: Find an article you’ve written

Just step back in time to your article archives, and pull out an article you thought was pretty cool. Or which customers thought was really thought-provoking. But hey, don’t take all day. Just find an article that works: don’t aim for perfection. Step Two: Create a summary of the article

I went and pulled out an article that spoke about PowerPoint. And sat down, and kinda summed up what the article was all about. The core of the concept was how some PowerPoint presentations work so much better than others. And how other PowerPoint presentations just bore you to tears. So boof… I now had my summary in a few lines. But what’s next? Why it’s time to insert some drama, of course. ** Step Three: Inserting ze drama

To insert drama, all you have t o do is hit on the customer’s biggest concern. In this case, the customer’s real headache is giving a presentation that’s boring. So I have to make sure I get the ‘problem’ smack in the middle and create intense drama. And about 15 seconds later, I have my signature:

Can PowerPoint Presentations Rival TV Ads? Ever wonder why some PowerPoint presentations are head and shoulders above others? Why do some have amazing powers of persuasion while others  simply bore you to death? Here’s the secret to PowerPoint pizzazz. Go to: www.psychotactics.com/artpowerpoint  Notice the flow?

You create the drama by running sequential problems and solutions. And then you drop a dollop or two of curiosity. But remember, the curiosity effect is kinda like a bikini. What it reveals is interesting, but what it hides is vital. In fact, you’ll learn about curiosity, by learning what’s not curious. Of course, nothing like a few examples to show you how it all works, right? Examples Older example:

 Making a difference and making a profit in business.  If you are in business, make sure you get our free newsletter:  Business Heart. It’s full of creative thinking, inspiring stories, and practical, grounded steps on how to make your business profitable, serve the world, and keep your heart.

When you subscribe, you also receive a free 3-chapter workbook excerpt from the book, “Unveiling the Heart of Your Business, How money, marketing and sales can deepen your heart, heal the world, and still add to your bottom line.” Please come get them both: at heartofbusiness.com And the newer examples:

Example 1: In running your business there are things you love to do, and things you don’t... Wondering how to hand off your most hated business tasks?  Read this article: heartofbusiness.com/articles/2006/Apr19.htm And another new example:

Example 2: Ugh! Sitting down to pay the bills, balance your accounts...  Is there an antidote to the money grumblies? The Kitchen Table Financial Summit heartofbusiness.com/articles/2005/July28.htm So what changed in Mark’s signature files?

1. Instead of a long-winded signature, his are short, and evocative. 2. There’s a clear problem; a clear apparent solution; and lots of curiosity. 3. The signature file now has one thought, instead of half a dozen. :) 4. And best of all, it teeters on the edge, forcing the curiosity factor in your brain, and making you want to go clickety-click right away. The best part of all is you never have to put up with drab, wallflower signature files. All you really have to do is let your article create the direction, and you’ll have a signature file 90% done - the moment you finish your article. Then add the curiosity, and you’re ready to run. And voilà, you have your Extreme Email Signature Makeover. Yeah, just like that! And without the la-dee-dah! (Sean’s Note: Thanks Mark Silver from heartofbusiness.com, for permission to use the before/after version of your signature files).  Exercise: You’ve read the information, but hey, you’re going to get tempted to write a whole chunk of information in your signature. So when was the last time you wrote three paragraphs when creating a headline? Never, right? Well, then don’t go about creating these massive signature files. Because  signature files are headlines. And headlines need to attract. Nothing more, nothing less. Which then takes us to part segundo of this article. Where do you use these bottom-up headlines? There are tons of applications. Some are more urgent than others. Find out for yourself...

So you know that email signatures are powerful attractors, right? But what do you put in your signature? And where should your signature appear? Find out why your signature isn’t quite working as hard as it should.

First, let’s handle the minefield of signatures

The purpose of the signature is attraction. Not conversion. (Yup, we covered it in the last chapter). So if you’re trying to convert, you’re jumping too many steps already. But let’s assume you’ve got your attraction factor spot on, in your signature. How do you know what to put in your signature? What are you promoting?

Is it a workshop? Is it a book? Is it a consulting program? Whatever you are promoting at this very moment, you’d want to fill up to the brim, right? So if I’m doing a workshop, then my email signature has a signature that leads to the workshop page. If I’m promoting a book, then my signature has the link to the book. But hang on a second...that’s not the end of the advice. Pay close attention to what the email is saying

If the email is going out from you to a client, then it needs to communicate whatever you’re  promoting. But if the email is sent to you from the client, the rules above go whack out of the window. Because your signature now depends on what the client is saying, and not on your promotion any longer. So if a client writes to me about workshops

What’s the signature going to promote? C’mon you can guess.

You can use a signature that creates curiosity. And that signature can promote a new product, or a new event. Or just something you think is important. Remember, you're not writing a book. All you're doing is attracting, creating curiosity. And draw the customer to the 'next step.' You can have a permanent signature that appears on every post, or you can have a signature that specifically appears as part of the post (with the subject matter relating to that post). You see, you can’t just slap a si gnature in and expect it to work all the time. The usage of signatures depends on the promotion you’re rolling out (and remember, it needs to be an attractor, not converter). But if the client is talking about workshops, and you send out a darned signature of your book  promotion, then the signature doesn’t become a call to action.

It becomes advertising. And advertising that’s so far away from the original question, that it’s a waste of space really. But what if you don’t have loads of products and services?

Well, you got me there, didn’t ya? It’s really hard to tell what you’re going to slap into your signature if you don’t have lots of products/services. But what you can do is see if you can somehow  personalize the signature to match the question of the client. If it doesn’t, ah well, you’re better off simply putting in a signature that’s pre-prepared. Even though the signature may not correspond to the question being asked, it beats having nothing. And finally...

Put your signature wherever you possibly can. In your emails, in forum posts and at the bottom of all your articles. I know I’m going over the top, but remember to attract - don’t seek to convert. Once you follow these simple rules, you’ll start seeing more t raffic, and a heck of a lot more conversion than ever before!  Exercise: Do you have a book you’ve just written? Do you have a workshop coming up? Well, use the headlines in your signature file and get customers interested. Another headline that really helps is when you answer a question, say on a forum, and you post a related product/service at the end. You could always do it, as long as you don’t overdo it.  And finally, every email is an opportunity to get a message across. So go on and write a few headlines and then keep them in stock so you can use them in your email and other places such as forums etc.

Round-up of Sean D'Souza's headline writing course And that brings us to the end of the Sean d'Souza's nine-part headline writing course. So let’s summarize: What did he cover? 1) We started out with the classic vague topic, which makes your headlines weak. Headlines like: The  problem with article writing. Well, that’s too big a topic to cover. If you’re going to cover a topic, you’re going to need to add a t arget and specific, so that you make your headline far more niche, yet far more effective. 2) We then stepped into gooey confusion. Where there were several thoughts in one headline. And we saw that’s where sub-headlines could come to the rescue. But first we had to rescue the headline fr om the mangled mess of two or three thoughts. We needed to get one thought across. And when we did separate the thoughts, we got headlines that were clear, clean and really ef fective. 3) Having cleared up the headline thought-stuff, we decided to fine tune the headline, and sharpen the curiosity factor. And we saw that headlines with a new-knew factor instantly got the attention of the reader. And it did so because the ‘new’ pulled the reader in, while the ‘knew’ gave the reader a context. 4) We then targeted jargon-free. What’s stress? What’s chaos? We think we’re actually getting across to a customer, when in fact we’re not. Words without symptoms mean nothing. So instead of writing: Do you suffer from stress, you should be writing: Do you have sleepless nights and wake up tired?  Now that’s a symptom. And that’s what works for me as a reader. 5) And finally we crossed over to a classic sales letter headline situation. And saw that the pr oblem lay not with the writing of the headline, but the lack of understanding of your target profile. This target profile isn’t some weird audience, or some figment of your imagination. It’s a real person. Ask that person real questions, and get real answers. Those real answers become the headline for your sales letter. And that’s what makes the headline really powerful. 6) We made sure our headlines stood out. In 189 point (oops, 18 point). And then we made sure that the headlines contrasted with the text. And most importantly, that the top banner didn’t wiggle and dance and distract the reader from reading the headline. 7) Testimonials. Now who’d think that testimonials would make good headlines, eh? Well, they make excellent headlines. And all you need is your copy of Brain Audit, a recording device and a happy client. And then with a little editing skills, you’re ready to go. 8) Keywords. If you get hung up on them, you’ll write great keyword based headlines, but your customer won’t read much else. So first write for your customer. Then put in t he keywords later. It works, believe me! 9) We learned how to take a part of your article and make it a signature. And how that signature in turn becomes a headline. 10) And then we went on to find out how events can become headlines. In forums, in emails, and yes, as part of the signature as well. So this bringeth us to the end of of our headline writing course. But nothing will replace you learning how customers think. So yeah, read the P.S. because it’s important!