Even the most powerful advertising copy on the planet is useless without an effective headline. Not just talking about print advertising here. Headlines are essential in online advertising, TV infomercials and TV commercials. An overlooked headline can mean the difference between failure and success of an advertisement. You must grab your reader’s and viewer’s attention with something that appeals to them and forces them to want to learn more, otherwise you won’t make the sale. Here are some tips to developing more effective headlines for your advertisements, whether for print, TV or online.
Start with a Good Grabber
Combine a grabber with your headline and you will get better results. Grabbers are small gadgets and offers that are attached to your advertisement that get the prospect’s attention. The key is to tie in your grabber with your offer in a clever and inviting way. Also, if you combine a headline above your grabber, you will add a lot of power to the advertisement.
Newsworthy Headline
“How To Get Your Tax Refund In 3 Days!” is a benefit oriented headline, but you could test a newsworthy approach like: “Local Tax Consultant Gets Customers Over $500,000.00 In Tax Refunds!”. Just make sure it is accurate and not an exaggeration (and meets advertising regs).
Testimonials are Powerful
Get the best testimonial you have and use it as your headline. This makes the advertisement very appealing because it’s real and credible, and you can attach a real person to it.
Use the Best Benefit
Use the best benefit your product or services provides as your main headline, and then inside the ad follow with the how to and the why.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Don’t make your headline too large or big. Many advertisers believe that bigger headlines get a better response. Bigger is not always better. A big headline can reduce your credibility because it can look like too much hype.
Put an Exclamation Point at the End of a Headline
Never, ever, end your headline with a period. If you end your headline with an exclamation point, you will add excitement and anticipation to the ad.
Correctly Use Dollar Amounts
If you use dollar amounts in your advertising, these tips can be quite effective. Let’s say you help people save or make an extra $500 with your product or service. Attach a decimal point to it, such as $500.00. Now that dollar amount looks like more money! Conversely, if you are stating a price for your product, put as few “0′s” in the price as possible. For example, if your product costs $1,500, you don’t want to print, $1,500, or $1,500.00. You want to print something like $1,499. This looks less threatening and a lot less money.
Headlines are Key in all Mediums
Whether your advertisement is in print, an infomercial, a TV commercial, or online, headlines play a pivotal role. Headlines are visual and grab or keep a reader’s/viewer’s attention long enough to get the key advertising message across.
Tags: Advertising, Infomercial Advertising, infomercial company, infomercial production, Internet Marketing, local advertising, marketing, Television Advertising, tv advertising