In our last blog, we looked at creating the features and benefits for an entertainment company. Now that this is done, it means we’re now up to the exciting stage of writing the first word of copy. And that would be copy for the headline, one of the most important aspects of any advertisement, brochure or webpage.
Can you see from the work you’ve already done how much research you need to do before you even start writing?
I always recommend you start with the headline because it’s the easiest part to write, and it sets the scene for what the rest of the copy will say.
Now, you may or may not know, but there’s a stack of headline formulas out there that you can use. Professional copywriters use them all the time – you’d be mad not to as they are already tried, tested and proven – and they save you hours of time and effort.
There are at least 19 of them, but we’ll just cover a few of the most popular and successful ones here.
Here’s the first one:
The How To Headline:
This is by far the most popular headline.
Using our school entertainment show as an example, you could have:
- “How To Entertain 300 Of Your Students At The Same Time In The Same Place For The One Low Price”
Here are a few examples using other products:
- This one’s to promote car dealers: How To Buy A Car Without Buying A Lemon.
- This one’s for health and well-being experts: How To Live To 100 And Love It!
- Here’s one web developers can use: How To Set Up Your Website Without Spending A Fortune.
- This one’s for financial planners: How To Choose A Financial Planner You Can Trust.
- This one’s for online dating: How To Find Your Soul Mate Using Internet Dating.
- How about this one for beauty therapists: How To Get Rid Of Unsightly Freckles.
Take a look at the next blog to get some more headline formulas and see how you can apply them to your business.