Random Thoughts On Effective Headlines…
This morning as I was getting breakfast for my kids, I noticed an interesting saying on the side of the box of Apple Jacks cereal. It said “Life is better when your kids are healthy.”
That grabbed my attention because of course its true. You don’t want your kids to be sick, and life is much easier when they are healthy. And God forbid you feed them something unhealthy so they get sick or malnourished!
This got me thinking about an old slogan for Jiff Peanut Butter. This is showing my age I guess, but the slogan on the commercials and all the print used to say “Choosy moms choose Jiff.” Have you heard this before?
I remember as a kid this being plastered everywhere to where it was virtually branded on your brain.
And if you were a mom, it made you think, “Well, I’m choosy about what I feed my kids. I don’t want to just give them any old food. I probably should give them Jiff!” Maybe not just like that, but you get the point.
You see, I have NEVER liked the headlines people use in Internet Marketing.
Things like, “Discover How I Made $50,376.48 In My Sleep In 2 Hours!” or crap like that. It’s too spammy and I hate when people advocate using headlines like that because in my opinion it’s almost like you are preying on peoples emotions.
But if you break down the above examples I gave for Apple Jacks and Jiff, what are they really doing? Are they also preying on peoples emotions, but in a more subtle way?
Here is the way I think about them – 1) they are attention grabbing because they touch a nerve with something most people already think about themselves (keeping their kids healthy, not just putting any ‘ol junky food into their kids), and 2) people reading the headlines have to agree with the statements otherwise they would be “bad parents.”
I am no psychologist (but I love psychology), but my guess is that if the headline states something they CAN’T disagree with and implies what just about every parent wants (to be a good parent), then the copy below it ties in the product and BINGO, they now associate the food with being a good parent. Make sense?
It’s brilliant in its simplicity.
So, how can we use this type of knowledge to become better Internet marketers?
I think first you have to know and understand your prospects deepest and darkest fear, belief and/or desire about a given ailment or problem they have. Then you have to state the obvious in your headline, something they cannot disagree with.
Finally, in your copy, you have to tie in your product as the perfect solution to reinforce their beliefs.
I am doing this off the top of my head, but let’s say we take anxiety as an example. I know for a fact that people who suffer from anxiety believe that life would be better if they did not have anxiety and they look for “cures” to their disorder. So, maybe the headline could somewhat copy the Apple Jacks example:
“Life Is Better When You Are Cured of Anxiety And Panic Attacks…”
Or…
“Life Is Fuller When You Are Cured Of Anxiety And Panic Attacks…”
Or…
“Life Is Full Of Opportunity When You Are Cured Of Anxiety And Panic Attacks.”
Like I said, these are just off the top of my head and I plan on testing some of them in my campaigns.
But I like it better than the same old “See How I Cured My Anxiety In 5 Minutes!!!” kind of garbage.
Do you think it would be more effective, less effective? Is it as attention grabbing as the spammy headlines? What would make it more attention grabbing? Is it also “preying” on peoples emotions?
I’d love to hear your feedback.
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2 Responses to “Random Thoughts On Effective Headlines…”
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I remember that Jif slogan. I actually thought they still used that one.
I think you are on to something here. There is a fine line though that I don’t want to cross. I want to influence but not manipulate. Sometimes hard to tell the difference.
Exactly, that is how I feel as well. To me at least, a lot of IM type headlines cross the line into manipulation, which I can’t stand because that’s how so many people get scammed or discouraged by IM.
It is hard to tell the difference sometimes whether you are writing it OR reading it. And you walk that fine line because you have to get someone’s interest enough to keep reading, yet be honest and truthful.
Thanks for the comment.