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“Headline Cheat Sheet” Inspiration to get you going and stop you from

staring at a blank screen all day!

**Web Tech Club Members Only** Introduction note from Karen Skidmore I had fully intended to sit here and write my own original Headline Cheat Sheet. But when I went through my swipe files and box set of “printables” (articles that are so good that I click to print and keep for future reference for me to scribble on and add my own notes), I realised that I couldn’t write something on headlines that was original! I would be trying to re-write and re-create just for the sake of trying to be original … which seemed quite ridiculous when I am recommending that you too should not be starting from a blank screen when creating your own headlines. The easiest and simplest way to create a headline for your sales page – and to make sure it has the best chance of grabbing your target customer by the you-know-whats and getting them to read on - is to take inspiration, copy and adapt from headlines that have already worked. So this is why I realised that I was better off giving you my favourite articles on headlines for you to print out, scribble on and refer back to time and time again when creating your own headlines. This way you get the full links to the articles and this gives you the opportunity to head over to these authors’ websites and sign up for their stuff too, which I highly recommend! Enjoy and I hope you take as much inspiration from these articles as I have over the past few years and months.

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10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work

By Brian Clark, Copyblogger.com So, you’re seeing too many of those “how to” and list headlines, and want to try a few different angles? Let’s move beyond those common headline formulas you see over and over, and add some new blood to your attention-grabbing arsenal.

1. Who Else Wants [blank]? Starting a headline with “Who Else Wants…” is a classic social proof strategy that implies an already existing consensus desire. While overused in the Internet marketing arena, it still works like gangbusters for other subject matter.

§ Who Else Wants a Great WordPress Theme?

§ Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?

§ Who Else Wants More Fun and Less Stress When on Vacation?

2. The Secret of [blank] This one is used quite a bit, but that’s because it works. Share insider knowledge and translate it into a benefit for the reader.

§ The Secret of Successful Podcasting

§ The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation

§ The Secret of Getting Your Home Loan Approved

3. Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank] Simply identify your target audience and the benefit you can provide them, and fill in the blanks.

§ Here is a Method That is Helping Homeowners Save Hundreds on Insurance

§ Here is a Method That is Helping Children Learn to Read Sooner

§ Here is a Method That is Helping Bloggers Write Better Post Titles

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4. Little Known Ways to [blank] A more intriguing (and less common) way of accomplishing the same thing as “The Secret of…” headline.

§ Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill

§ Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail

§ Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely

5. Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All A classic formula that identifies either a painful problem or an unfulfilled desire that the reader wants to remedy.

§ Get Rid of Your Unproductive Work Habits Once and For All

§ Get Rid of That Carpet Stain Once and For All

§ Get Rid of That Lame Mullet Hairdo Once and For All

6. Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem] People love quick and easy when it comes to solving a nagging problem.

§ Here’s a Quick Way to Get Over a Cold

§ Here’s a Quick Way to Potty Train Junior

§ Here’s a Quick Way to Backup Your Hard Drive

7. Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance] The is the classic “have your cake and eat it too” headline — and who doesn’t like that?

§ Now You Can Quit Your Job and Make Even More Money

§ Now You Can Meet Sexy Singles Online Without Spending a Dime

§ Now You Can Own a Cool Mac and Still Run Windows

8. [Do something] like [world-class example] Gatorade milked this one fully with the “Be Like Mike” campaign featuring Michael Jordan in the early 1990s.

§ Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat

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§ Party Like Paris Hilton

§ Blog Like an A-Lister

9. Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of Appeal to vanity, dissatisfaction, or shame. Enough said.

§ Build a Body You Can Be Proud Of

§ Have a Smile You Can Be Proud Of

§ Build a Blog Network You Can Be Proud Of

10. What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank] Big curiosity draw with this type of headline, and it acts almost as a challenge to the reader to go ahead and see if they are missing something.

§ What Everybody Ought to Know About ASP

§ What Everybody Ought to Know About Adjustable Rate Mortgages

§ What Everybody Ought to Know About Writing Great Headlines

To  read  the  full  article  online  and  read  more  articles  go  to  http://www.copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/

 

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Warning: Use These 5 Headline Formulas at Your Own Risk By Brian Clark, Copyblogger.com There’s no doubt that my previous two posts on headline formulas have been extremely popular. But they’ve also caused me to take a lot of flak. First off, you still have the doubters who wonder if 80-year-old headline structures can possibly work in the modern social media environment. Truth is, I used one such structure for a post this summer that received over 1,600 Diggs, while also making an appearance on just about every social media news site around and bringing in over 70,000 unique visitors. And I never had a doubt that it would work. Why? Because Do You Make These Mistakes When You Write? and the original Do You Make These Mistakes in English? are literally about the same thing—grammar. It was an absolute no brainer, because Maxwell Sackheim did the work for me over 80 years ago, and his ad ran successfully for 40 years. But keep in mind that I, and plenty of others, have successfully used the “these mistakes” template in many other contexts as well, because the specific promise contained in the headline makes it irresistible if used properly. That brings me to the other complaint I’m hearing—too many people are using the same formulas over and over, badly. This is likely because people did not heed the warning about headline templates that you’ll hear from any copywriter, which is to understand why they work before trying to use them. When you understand why the original headlines worked, you’ll be able to select an appropriate structure, and you’ll be a better headline writer in general. If you don’t, you might not only write a bad headline, you might come off looking bad in general. So, here are 5 more headline templates that work, but use them at your own risk. If you don’t match up an appropriate headline structure with your content, you might crash and burn worse than if you just came up with a headline off the top of your head.

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1. Warning: [blank]. If you’ve read this far, I guess it still works. Starting a headline with the word warning will almost always catch attention, but it’s what you say next that will determine how well it works for your particular content.

§ Warning: If You Depend on Google for Both Traffic and Advertising, You Pretty Much Work for Google

§ Warning: Two Out of Every Three People in Your Industry Will be Out of Work in 5 Years—Will You Be One of Them?

§ Warning: Do You Recognize These 7 Early Warning Signs of Blogger Burnout?

2. How [blank] Made Me [blank]. Use this structure when relating a personal story. The key to the most effective use of this template is for the two blanks to dramatically contrast, so that the curiosity factor goes way up and people feel compelled to read more.

§ How a “Fool Stunt” Made Me a Star Salesman

§ How an Obvious Idea Made Me $3.5 Million

§ How Moving to Iowa Improved My Sex Life

3. Are You [blank]? A nice use of the question headline, designed to catch attention with curiosity or a challenge to the reader. Don’t be afraid to be bold with this one.

§ Are You Ashamed of Smells in Your House?

§ Are You Ready to Learn Chinese for Your Next Job?

§ Are You a Courageous Blogger?

4. [Blank] Ways to [blank]. One of the best list structures, because it’s really a “how to” headline enhanced by specificity that either impresses the prospective reader with how many tips you’ve got, or at minimum let’s them know exactly what to expect.

§ 101 Ways to Cope With Stress

§ 21 Ways to Live a Better Life With Less

§ 5 Ways to Write Killer Headlines

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5. If You’re [blank], You Can [blank]. Another great use of specificity, this headline addresses a particular type of person with the first blank, and the beneficial promise to that person in the content or body copy with the second.

§ If You’re a Non-Smoker, You Can Save 33% on Life Insurance.

§ If You’re an Accountant, Our Frequent Flyer Program Really Adds Up

§ If You Love Scuba, You Can Dive Belize This Week Only for a Song!

 To read the full article online and read more articles go to http://www.copyblogger.com/headline-swipe-file-3/  

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15 Twitter Headline Templates That Pull Twitter Traffic by Derek Halpern, SocialTriggers.com Your tweets are the only way for you to make an impression on your Twitter

followers. With only 140 characters to make that impression, it may seem

impossible.

However, crafting tweets that encourage people to visit your website is easy. And,

I will provide you with sure-fire Twitter headline templates that help you do it.

Here are some great headlines I have gathered from several copywriting books

and websites. Additionally, below each headline, there is a remixed version

showing you how you can use it for Twitter and Social Media.

1. “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

§ Example 1: How to Win Friends and Influence People on Twitter

§ Example 2: How to Attract and Influence People on Twitter

2. “The Secret of Making People Like You”

§ Example 1: “The Secret of Making Tweeple Like You”

§ Example 2: “The Secret of Making Your Community Like You”

3. “How a New Discovery Made A Plain Girl Beautiful”

§ Example 1: “How Social Media Made A Small Business Big”

§ Example 2: “How a New Discovery Made A Boring Business Exciting”

4. “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?”

§ Example 1: Do You Make These Mistakes On Twitter?

§ Example 2: Do You Make These Mistakes In Social Media?

§ Example 3: Do You Embarrass Yourself On Twitter?

5. “How I Improved My Memory In One Evening”

§ Example 1: How I Improved My Business In One Evening

§ Example 2: How I Gained 500 Followers Overnight

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6. “Six Types Of Investor — Which Group Are You In?”

§ Example 1: Six Types of Tweeple — Which One Are You?

§ Example 2: Three Types of Social Media Strategies — Which One Do You

Use?

§ Example 3: Four Types of Bloggers — Which One Are You?

7. “To People Who Want To Write — But Can’t Get Started”

§ Example 1: To People Who Want to Want to Twitter — But Can’t Get

Started

§ Example 2: To People Who Want to Use Social Media — But Can’t Get

Started

§ Example 3: To Tweeple Who Want to Make Money — But Don’t Know

How

8. “To Men Who Want To Quit Work Someday”

§ Example 1: To People Who Want To Quit Work Someday

§ Example 2: To Businesses Who Want To Succeed Online

§ Example 3: To Bloggers Who Want To Make Money

9. “Right And Wrong Farming Methods — And Little Pointers That

Will Increase Your Profits”

§ Example 1: The Right And Wrong Social Media Strategies — And Little

Tips That Will Increase Your Profits

§ Example 2: The Right And Wrong Blogging Methods — And Pointers That

Will Increase Your Profits

10. “76 Reasons Why It Would Have Paid You To Answer Our Ad A

Few Months Ago”

§ Example 1: 76 Reasons Why It Would Have Paid You To Use Social Media

A Few Months Ago

§ Example 2: 30 Reasons Why It Would Have Paid To Use Twitter A Few

Months Ago

11. “What Everybody Ought To Know…About This Stock And Bond

Business”

§ Example 1: What Everybody Ought To Know… About This Twitter

Business

§ Example 2: What You Should Know… About This Social Media Biz

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12. “How A “Fool Stunt” Made Me A Star Salesman”

§ Example 1: How A Silly Tweet Made Me A Celebrity

§ Example 2: How A Stupid Mistake Made Me A Lot Of Money

13. “Give Me 5 Days And I’ll Give You A Magnetic Personality… Let Me

Prove It — Free”

§ Example 1: Give Me 1 Week And I’ll Make You Influential On Twitter… Let

Me Prove It — Free

§ Example 2: Give Me Five Minutes And I’ll Give You

14. “Only One Of These Safety Features Can Help You Avoid An

Accident”

§ Example 1: Only One Of These Tactics Help You Avoid [insert anything

here]

§ Example 2: Only One Of These Tips Help You Avoid Twitter Suicide

15. “Do You Have Any IDea How Much Fat Is In This Chocolate

Pudding? None!”

§ Example 1: Do You Have Any Idea How Much Money I Made On Twitter?

Thousands.

To  read  the  full  article  online  and  read  more  articles  go  to http://socialtriggers.com/twitter-­‐headlines/        

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5 Landing Page Headline Formulas You Can Test Today  By  Joanna  Wiebe,        You  wouldn’t  bake  a  chocolate  soufflé  for  your  mother-­‐in-­‐law’s  birthday  party  without  referring  to  a  recipe,  so  why  would  you  craft  a  headline  that  way?      Ever  notice  those  “conversion  copywriting”  techniques  you  read  about  for  ugly,  hard-­‐to-­‐stomach  long-­‐form  sales  pages?    When  you  implement  those  techniques,  you  end  up  with  lengthy,  nearly  impossible  to  believe  headlines,  like  this  one:    

     That’s  great  for  niche  info  products.  Great  for  diet  pills  and  exercise  DVDs.  Great  for  miracle  cures.    But  it’s  BAD  for  the  products  and  services  most  of  us  are  actually  selling  –  like  productivity  apps,  games,  SaaS,  consulting  services,  ebooks,  quilts,  clothes,  hardware…  the  list  goes  on.    Here’s  the  thing:  the  uber-­‐long  headline  above  isn’t  necessarily  wrong  for  short  copy.  It’s  filled  with  some  great  messages.  The  kinds  of  messages  that  could  impact  your  conversion  rate  positively,  like  listing  highly  desirable  outcomes  (e.g.,  “boosting  your  profits”)  and  showing  how  you  remove  a  key  pain  (i.e.,  no  time  for  intensive  marketing  efforts).    So  what  if  we  were  to  take  the  best  of  long-­‐form  sales  page  copywriting…  and  tweak  it  for  our  2.0  or  short-­‐copy  landing  pages?    We  could  then  develop  a  series  of  headline  formulas  that  any  startup  or  small  business  could  use  to  convert  as  well  as  long-­‐form  converts  –  without  gettin’  ugly  or  lookin’  sketchy.    Sound  like  something  you  could  stomach?  Then  let’s  do  it.    

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What Needs to Be in a Headline?  I  think  we  can  all  agree  that  different  headlines  work  for  different  page  and  user  goals.  That  said,  there  are  some  basic  guidelines  that  you  should  follow  in  your  home  page  or  landing  page  headlines:    

• Be  specific  • Be  succinct  • Focus  on  1  thing  that  your  prospects  believe  to  be  highly  desirable  (that  

you  provide)  • Quickly  reflect  the  expectations  of  the  visitor  

 If  there’s  something  unique  about  you  that  you  know  people  want,  that  may  be  the  best  basis  for  your  headline.  For  UserTesting.com,  their  unique  value  proposition  is  easy  testing  with  a  clear  outcome:    

   If  the  average  person  arriving  on  your  page  doesn’t  really  know  much  about  you  –  say,  they’re  coming  from  PPC  ads  –  you  should  probably  use  your  brand  name  in  the  headline  and  say  exactly  what  you  do.    If  you  can  promise  a  great  result  of  some  kind  –  especially  a  memorable  one  –  include  it,  and  use  the  word  “promise”  (because  explicit  is  good).  See  headline  formulas  B  and  C  below  for  examples.    Best  of  all,  if  there  is  a  pain  you  clearly  eliminate  or  an  objection  that  visitors  may  have,  address  it  clearly.  Specifically.  With  proof.  Simply  adding  the  phrase  “without  ____”  to  the  end  of  your  headline  could  move  it  from  good  to  great.  Unbounce  does  this  on  the  home  page,  calling  out  the  lack  of  need  for  IT:    

   As  I  discussed  in  my  last  Unbounce  post,  the  best  headline  copy  will  come  from  the  words  your  customers  use.  When  you  survey  your  customers  to  find  out  about  their  pains,  needs  and  expectations,  you  will  be  better  positioned  than  the  average  person  to  write  a  high-­‐converting  headline.  

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 Before We Talk Formulas, Let’s Talk Formatting  You  won’t  want  to  believe  me  on  some  of  these  formatting  tips,  but  you  should.  Trust  me  here.  I  wouldn’t  lead  you  astray  –  I  get  nothing  out  of  screwing  you  over,  but  I  get  to  be  a  hero  if  I  give  you  the  guidance  that  increases  your  clicks  and  conversions,  right?  Right.    

• Center  your  headlines  • Make  them  big  and  dark,  dark  grey  (or,  when  on  a  dark  background,  

white)  • Use  “Title  Case”,  aka  Capitalize  Each  Word  • Don’t  use  a  period  at  the  end  as  such  visual  cues  present  mental  stopping  

points  for  your  visitors  • Break  up  lengthy  headlines  with  “eye  rest”  punctuation  marks,  such  as  

ellipses  and  em-­‐dashes  • Consider  putting  quotation  marks  around  the  headline  as  this  can  draw  

the  eye  • Support  each  headline  with  a  meaningful  subhead  written  in  sentence  

case,  aka  Capitalize  the  first  word  only    When  you  treat  your  headlines  like  so,  something  amazing  will  happen:  your  visitors  will  actually  NOTICE  them.  Cool,  right?  After  all,  headlines  are  made  to  be  noticed.  Your  visitors  want  to  see  them.  Your  visitors  will  actually  read  them  (yay!).    So  don’t  hide  them  in  the  shadows  or  cram  them  into  tiny  spaces  alongside  big,  meaningless  stock  photos.  Be  bold!  Let  your  headlines  shine!    Without Further Ado, Headline Formulas You Can Use or Test Today  Once  you  have  the  right  meat  for  your  headline  and  the  ideal  formatting,  a  headline  formula  comes  in  extremely  handy  and  keeps  you  from  the  frustration  of  trying  to  think  up  a  headline  without  any  guidance.    Check these easy 2.0-style headline formulas out:  Headline  Formula  A:  All  Gain,  No  Pain    Get  the  [Rarely  Seen  But  Relevant  Adjective]  Power  of  [What  Your  Product  Does]  Without  [Pain]    For  use  when:  Your  prospects  have  a  clear  pain  they’d  love  you  to  eliminate  Example:  CrazyEgg  Home  Page    

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   Headline  Formula  B:  The  Promise-­‐Based  SEO  Headline    [Adjective]  &  [Adjective]  [What  You  Are  /  SEO  Keyword  Phrase]  That  Will  [Highly  Desirable  Promise  of  Results]    For  use  when:  SEO  is  a  major  consideration  for  you,  and  you  offer  a  highly  desirable  outcome  Example:  AppDesignVault  Home  Page    

   Headline  Formula  C:  The  Explicit  Promise    We  Promise  You  This:  [Highly  Desirable  Promise  of  Results]    For  use  when:  Your  visitors  will  believe  a  promise  from  you  (e.g.,  driving  from  email)  Example:  Laura  Roeder  Sales  Page    

     

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 Headline  Formula  D:  The  Comparison    [Known  Competitor]  [Does  This  Undesirable  or  Unimpressive  Thing],  and  [Your  Brand  Name]  [Does  This  Highly  Desirable  or  Impressive  Thing]    For  use  when:  You  know  your  visitors  are  using  or  considering  a  key  competitor  Example:  KISSmetrics  Home  Page    

   Headline  Formula  E:  The  Value  Prop    The  Only  [SEO  Keyword  Phrase]  Made  Exclusively  to  [Highly  Desirable  Outcome  or  Benefit]    For  use  when:  You  offer  something  that’s  both  unique  to  you  and  highly  desirable  to  your  visitors  Example:  Copy  Hackers  Home  Page    

   How  Would  These  Headlines  Work  for  a  Sample  Company?    Let’s  see  how  these  headline  formulas  might  work  for,  say,  Unbounce:    

• Get  the  Conversion-­‐Boosting  Power  of  Optimized  Landing  Pages…  Without  IT  

• Modern,  Sexy  Landing  Page  Templates  That  Will  Bring  in  More  Sales  • We  Promise  You  More  Conversions  When  You  Use  Our  Optimized  

Landing  Pages  • Your  IT  Team  Has  No  Bandwidth  for  Marketing  Initiatives,  But  Unbounce  

Gets  You  Set  Up  in  Minutes  with  Great-­‐Looking  Landing  Pages  • The  Only  Landing  Page  Templates  Made  Exclusively  to  Boost  Conversions  

 Not  every  one  of  ‘em  works…  but  a  few  sure  do,  don’t  they?    Now,  you  may  find  yourself  saying,  “Joanna,  this  is  all  fine  and  good…  but  why  should  I  even  use  headline  formulas?”    Good  question…  but  let  me  ask  you  this:  Would  you  bake  a  chocolate  soufflé  for  your  mother-­‐in-­‐law’s  birthday  party  without  referring  to  a  recipe?  Would  you  

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just  throw  a  bunch  of  eggs  and  blocks  of  chocolate  into  a  pan  and  chuck  it  in  the  oven?    No.  Because  there’s  too  much  riding  on  getting  it  right.    Just  like  there’s  too  much  riding  on  your  headline  to  simply  ‘wing  it’.    It  is  not  your  job  –  whether  you’re  a  business  owner,  marketer  or  copywriter  –  to  work  from  scratch  every  single  time  you  write  copy.  In  fact,  the  more  you  write  copy,  the  more  you’ll  see  that  the  best  copy  doesn’t  come  from  some  magical  creative  writing  lab  in  your  mind.  So  why  force  yourself  to  write  from  scratch  when  you’ve  got  at  least  5  “recipes”  at  your  disposal?    Your Turn  I’m  repeating  the  headline  formulas  below.  Select  at  least  3  of  them,  and  complete  them  for  your  own  product.  For  best  results,  pull  copy  from  customer  surveys,  as  I  showed  in  my  last  Unbounce  post.  Then,  why  not  run  a  test?  Landing  page  headline  tests  are  extremely  easy  to  run  in  most  tools,  and  the  results  can  give  you  the  clear  insights  you  can’t  get  from,  say,  a  button-­‐color  test.    

• Get  the  [Rarely  Seen  Adjective]  Power  of  [What  Your  Product  Does]  Without  [Pain]  

• [Adjective]  &  [Adjective]  [What  You  Are  /  SEO  Keyword  Phrase]  That  Will  [Highly  Desirable  Promise  of  Results]  

• We  Promise  You  This:  [Highly  Desirable  Promise  of  Results]  • [Known  Competitor]  [Does  This  Undesirable  or  Unimpressive  Thing],  and  

[Your  Brand  Name]  [Does  This  Highly  Desirable  or  Impressive  Thing]  • The  Only  [SEO  Keyword  Phrase]  Made  Exclusively  to  [Highly  Desirable  

Outcome  or  Benefit]    To  read  the  full  article  online  and  read  more  articles  go  to  http://unbounce.com/landing-­‐pages/5-­‐headline-­‐formulas/