Category: Copywriting

Copywriting is not the only factor to make the reader buy. It works with reader want. It relates what seller want with reader want. Copywriting makes adjustment their products to need, want and expect.

A copy cannot create a desire for a product. It can only take the hopes, dreams, fears, and desires that already exist in the hearts of millions of people, and focus those already-existing desires onto a particular product. This is the copywriter’s task: not to create this mass desire—but to channel and direct it.
—Eugene Schwartz, Breakthrough Advertising

There are examples of the good headline that persuade existing desire.

1. “Join the 10,088 entrepreneurs that signed up last week”
   That copywriting is good. It has several points to persuade. But it only persuades for the businessman. Student doesn’t like that headline.
2. Drink an orange.
   That is famous headline in the history of copywriting. In that time, usually, people eat an orange, not dringk an orange. It is only for people that interest to orange and healthy.
3. We make tools for thinkers.
   This copywriting headline offer tools. Copywriter knows that many people feel disappointed because tools make fool product. I think people that
4. Trello is free, flexible, and visual way to organize anything with anyone. This headline of Trello. The headline makes people interest the offer if the reader intends to organize easily. Usually, the worker needs to organize something.
5. The shoe work if you do. That is Nike headline. It is not about shoes. It is about doing. Their tagline is “just do it”. It is about doing. The headline use people’s desire to sell shoes.
6. “To be or not to be? , that is two questions.” This is the headline of the university of Oxford. It reminds us to original Hamlet Shakespeare plays, “To be or not to be? That is a question. People who like challenge established knowledge will be surprised about this. Surprise because no one thinks that Hamlet word is wrong. People that thinking critically will found Shakespeare fault. People who already interest to improve their reason will be interested to this copy.

Maybe you say, “News Headline Model” is not creative. In other words, the idealist person avoids cliché. That attitude is also applied to copywriting. However, copywriting is not a poet or art that appreciate originality. It is writing to sell. Therefore, it is no problem if we use cliché that tested over time. There is the headline formula that we can use for.

We can create headline by learn headline model that we can modify. For instance, John Caples create headline formula that applies to advertisement. Even though it also can apply to another format, like story, article, song, drama and so on.

News Headline Formula

News headline formula use human pretension to update something new. For example:

• introducing the new …
• announcing a new …
• new …
• now …
• at last …

“Introducing the new …” Headline

People like updating information about something
new in the environment. Maybe you are an inventor that doesn’t like artificial new, like packaging, little touch. But the market is not like you. It is examples of headline that inform something new.

• announcing a new way to drive
• announcing a new way to learn English
• announcing a new way to create a beautiful home
• airline proudly introduce something shocking amazing
• Now you can get money by your smartphone
• New paradigm in Marketing

We can use “at last” to begin headline. It give impression that it is a hard work invention.  For example:

• at last, new way to write headline quickly
• at last, you can get money, from home
• at last, you can travel Europe in one hour
• at last, we can buy home for 1000 USD

Unbelievable? Maybe. You know more about it is unbelievable or not. Best headline is believable. That is just examples of headlines. You can make it believable.

Put a Date Headline Model

Put a date headline model give impression about news and scarcity. Therefor, it can get attention to target market.

• 25 December Sale
• 24 hours to learn python
• Black Friday Sale at Amazon

In sum, news headline model has several option.

It is challenging time to write a headline that sell. Message in digital internet medium explode. So many messages are in our gadget. Usually, we ignore most of the information include ads. Ads create a message to sell products. We read the headline first. If the headline is interesting, we read more the ads. Therefore, a headline is the first important bridge to all advertising. Fail in the headline is fail in all advertising. Whatever amazing offer we say in the body, the reader does not give attention if the headline fails.

Great advertiser, Ogilvy said, he spends more time on headline. Good headline improve number of readers. In addition, John Caples said “But even the greatest writer can’t save an ad with a poor headline.”

Headline exists in almost every ads or copywriting. In magazine ads, it is the title of advertising. In the email, it is subject of the email. If you write copywriting on Facebook, it is in a status post.

What are criteria of good headline? How to creates the headline?

Criteria of a good headline

Good headline make reader read next text. Copywriting job is to sell, but headline has task to make audience stop and read body copy. If selling in the headline is not get their attention, don’t do it.

Good headline only want to get attention from target market. Get attention to all people is not necessary. It select audience by mention target group or by specific offer.

The headline offer a reward for reading the advertising. It give benefit for time reader spent.

It is better, if benefit in headline related to the offer. If it is not related to products, it can distract and get false target market.

Originality is not necessary. But good headline has to persuasive, convincing, memorable. So it is not problem if we use cliché headline if it is work to sell.

How to make good headline

Good headline get reader’s attention. How to creates the headline? If headline offer helpful information or promises that matter for reader’s self-interest. Famous Advertiser, John Caples said that 3 way to get good headline. First, it is appeal self-interest. Second, it is like news style. Third, it is curiosity headline.

Self Interest Headline

Audience has interest. Then he give attention to headline that connects to the interest. For instance, audience interest is money, relationship, power, prestige, et cetera. Famous headline in America is “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. That is headline of Dale Carnegie book. It offer benefit to self-interest, relationship and power. Another headline is, “How to Get Money from Home”. It is also give promise something that satisfy self-interest.

Self-interest headline usually use words, such as free, take, get, money, health, enjoy, avoid, save, result and so on.

News Headline

News headline offer new situation that reader need to update. People need news about their society, development of economy, technology, social and culture. For instance, news headline often use  words now, here, announcing, breakthrough, discover, new invention, at last, new way, and so on.

Curiosity Headline

Curiosity headline use hilarity, mystery, intrigue. The headline usually using word, secret, must,  why, how, what, when, where and so on.

A Digital Copywriter is a salesperson using a keyboard.  Computer or smartphone keyboard. He creates words to sell. So, Copywriting is not art or humor to entertain. Copywriting can use art or humor to sell.  However, that is not necessary. That is not the purpose of copywriting. Some festival of advertising judge advertising and copywriting by creativity criteria. That is not the essence of copywriting and advertising. Good copywriting is to sell.

Richard Kirshenbaum, Co-Chairman said that “Humorous ads are troubling because you have to create a link to the product and its benefit. Often, people remember a funny ad but they don’t remember the product.”

  If simple words sell better than beautiful words, use simple words. If beautiful words make people remember and want to buy, no problem to use the word for copywriting.

How copywriters do their job? He do their job by understanding target market, then create suitable copywriting for them.  To do the job, copywriting must  to get attention, communicate, persuade.

Copywriting Character in digital media

Is digital media  change advertising? Digital media change not only advertising , but also  market characteristic. Digital media has interactive communication feature.  Then, it allows people to skip information or announcement. This media is  also cheap for everyone to be message sender. Therefore, market is not just audience.  The implication is:

• Human attention span is shorter than before.
• Market can show their disagreement for copywriting claim
• Information is overload.

So many marketers compete to get target market attentions in digital media.  Promotion cost by using email is cheap. Meanwhile, people attention is scare.   Therefore, market use spam filter in email.  They also label interruption promotion as spam.  

To face that challenge, digital copywriting has several specific character. The copy has to easy for short attention reader. it usually a brief copywriting for that purpose. It is also relevant for need, want and expect of the target market.  The copywriting is also winning their attention and interest.  Without their attention, copywriting is useless.