by 6 people |
Stop! Do Your Headlines have this Effect?
So, how do you expect anything you write to capture your prospective readers attention? How can you convince them to take time out of their lives to read your message?
Of course the first step is to engage them, and the best weapon at your disposal is a killer headline. A headline that screams 'Stop! You must read this!'
I will cover three proven psychological headline triggers (I will refer to as Stop Sign Effects) that cause a reader to stop and take notice, and teach you exactly how and why they work.
Stop Sign Effect #1: A Question as a Title
Examples:
Do you make these common web design errors?
Do you know the reasons why most titles suck?
Is your email inbox driving you crazy?
Consider this, which would be more likely to capture your attention:
Consumer Study: findings on average bank fees.
or
Are you paying higher bank fees than the rest of us?
Why does this work? The answer is simple and you are probably already aware of it - you want to know the answer to the question. An unanswered question irritates the brain, the only relief is to know the answer.
Stop Sign Effect #2: A Problem as a Title
Most advertising is solution based. However, problem based titles are far more alluring to readers than solutions.
Examples:
Struggling to make Affiliate Sales with CJ?
Is your websites bounce rate off the chart?
Want to increase your Adwords CTR?
Including a problem in the title irritates the brain even more, and identifying with the problem in the title means you are much more likely to read on to discover the solution and put your mind at ease.
Stop Sign Effect #3: Curiosity in the Title
'How To' and lists are also great way to get a reader curios.
Examples:
Do you make these 7 common Adwords mistakes?
Do your titles use these killer tactics?
3 easy ways to improve your copy writing in under an hour
The Stop Sign Title - Bringing it all Togther
A lot of people make the mistake of learning a new skill, understanding and appreciating it completely but never put that new skill to use.
Practice makes perfect, you should have many opportunities every day to practice - whether you're submitting an article to Digg, writing a Blog post or even chirping away on Twitter, you can put these title effects to use.
Books I have Read and Recommend
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials)
Amazon Price: $12.23 (as of 07/06/2009) 
Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words
Amazon Price: $12.97 (as of 07/06/2009)
The Copywriter's Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells
Amazon Price: $12.24 (as of 07/06/2009)
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/06/2009)
Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/06/2009)
What Say You?
MonkeyWrench wrote...
Thanks SweetPeaches, another commonly used way to attract attention is to use an attractive avatar :)
Posted August 07, 2008
sweetpeaches77 wrote...
Interesting concept. An intruiging title does have this effect. (Made me click this lens after all) :)
Posted August 07, 2008
Gusher wrote...
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Thanks a lot. :-)
Posted July 15, 2008
qlcoach wrote...
This is important information. Thanks for sharing it. Also welcome to our club:
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/publishingclub
Gary Eby, author and therapist
Posted July 11, 2008
