I read recently that in print advertising, 75% of decisions to buy are made from the headline alone. Now, I don’t believe everything I read and depending on the source, I tend to believe even less of what I read online. However, I do believe the headline is the most important factor when determining the effectiveness of an advertisement.

Your headline conveys to readers whether the information being presented is important and worthy of their attention. A compelling headline will entice your audience to continue reading the body copy of your ad, a major feat in itself. Clyde Bedell (one of the first advertising copywriters to translate product features into clear benefits for the consumer) says your headline needs to have at least one of these five proven headline ingredients:

1. Mention your prospect and/or their interests. (Are You Balding?)

2. Use a benefit of what you’re selling in your headline. (Feel more confident and attractive.)

3. Make your headline newsworthy. People usually read the paper/magazine to get the news. (Use words like: New, At Last, Just Arrived.) Better yet, tie your headline into actual current events.

4. Use curiosity in a pertinent way. (Are you tired of.., or Five quick steps to…)

5. Mention the copy favorably. (Instead of, “We love trucks” try, “You’ll find the truck you love”)

The reasoning is simple. If your headline is of no interest to the reader, why would they keep reading? The best headlines don’t always appeal to the masses. They appeal to the specific market for which that product or service is intended.

The body copy is where the actual selling is done. The body copy needs to support the customer’s emotional decision to buy. It should contain rational information that supports the emotional decision. Furthermore, people are most likely to buy if you translate each of your product or service features into clear and persuasive benefits.

Use your body copy to tell interested customers the next steps to take. Literally spell it out for them. Not giving our readers a call to action is like running a department store with no one at the point of sale.

Since your product or service is not in the physical presence of your prospects, your copy needs to do the selling for you. The better your advertising copy, the better it will sell for you.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 10:46 pm and is filed under Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.