Personally, I’m seriously considering boycotting salesletters with template headlines….
You know the ones -
- They laughed when I took out my wallet but when they looked inside….
- How to get zillions of dollars in just 10 microseconds…guaranteed!
- Who else wants to make millions while they sleep!
Yep, you can see them coming a mile away. And..that’s why they don’t work. Not because they are horrible headlines (well these are);but because most online niches have mature audiences. This is what I mean…
A mature audience niche is one that has been fed a steady littany of bold claims for years. These folks have heard it all and they probably already own a product that claimed to solve their problem. They are cynical. They may have even been burned before.
They also have highly tuned and sophisticated “ad radars”. So, they can see your headline for what it is…a headline for another ad for a product that they don’t want or trust.
Take a look at the headline for your product. Is it hiding in plain sight? Does it holler – “I’m another ad! Come look!”
If so, then your salesletter or squeeze page is probably dying a slow death.
How to Bring Your Headline Back to Life
First scrap it.
Second – use curiosity, provocation, and good ole’ fashion flirting to get your prospect to take notice. Consider taking your benefit out of your ad – and teasing it instead.
For example, my hero Clayton Makepeace made a bundle with this headline…”There’s a Devil in the Dow!”. Irresistible.
Another great one…”The Handwriting is on the Wall”…or how about this one I just wrote for a client…”Busted and Broke at 65″
Got your attention right? Why? Because these headline tickle your “Why Bone”. They get you wondering – what does he mean?
And that’s the magic question that gets a prospect pulled into an ad -
By the way….there are certain times when a direct benefit headline will still work well. Feel free to use it when your market is unaware of a problem they have or your solution for that problem. For example, the green(energy conservation) market is relatively young and benefit headlines are still working well.
Go and take a look at your headline right now. Freshen it up a bit with a little curiosity and see your sales soar.