DAY #4: YOUR HEADLINE – YOUR PAGE’S MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCE
The success of your headline will determine the success of the entire page. Your headline’s job is to catch your reader’s attention, get them to stop what they’re doing and pay attention to what you’re saying. Your reader’s natural inclination is to close the page and move on to the next thing. The headline has to stop them in their tracks.
Even a small improvement to your headline can result in significant boosts in conversions and profits. So, how do you improve your headlines?
Write Different Headlines
To really write a home run headline, you need to get your creative juices flowing. You also need a number of different options that you can choose from. Invariably, the world’s top copywriters generally write between 20 to 100 headlines for any major piece, before choosing the one they use.
If the sales piece you’re writing is important, then it’s essential that you write at least 10-20 headlines before you choose the final one.
Testing New Headlines: Start Big
When you’re ready to start testing new headlines, start big. Test completely different ideas and approaches. For example, let’s say you’re selling a product that teaches men how to find love online.
Completely different approaches might include:
- A benefit-oriented headline that promises to help them find a girlfriend.
- An attention catching headline with a “shocking statistic” about the percent of women who’re single and looking for someone like them.
- A story-based hook. “He thought he’d never find love online – until …”
- A fear of loss headline. What if they ended up single forever?
And so on. Avoid testing similar headlines, or even headlines that take the same approach. First, test big then narrow it down.
The Headline’s Font and Color
What font and what color should your headline be?
- The most commonly used font for headlines is Tahoma. Occasionally Impact is used for very short, high impact headlines. Tahoma is a good bet, unless you have a good reason to use another font.
- In new and emerging markets, the traditional red headline works well. Red catches attention. On the other hand, in established and competitive markets, red headlines can actually decrease conversions. It tells people it’s “yet another” salesletter. Instead, trust building colors like dark blue can work better.
Remember to Refine and Micro-Test
When you’re testing headlines, you want to start big. But once you have a headline that’s clearly winning, you still want to micro-test and refine it. In other words, you want to test minute details to find the perfect form for that headline.
For example, let’s say your headline is “Discover How to Find True Love!”
Refinement and micro-testing might include:
- Removing the exclamation point and having no punctuation. Also test ending it with an ellipses (“…”) or a question mark instead.
- Replace the word “discover” with a similar word, like “learn”
- Try adding a word or two before the headline. For example, “Finally, discover how to find true love!”
- Experiment with emphasis. For example, “Discover how to find true love!” – with the word “true” being bold.
- Try adding credibility. For example, “New Harvard Study Reveals How to Find True Love”
Having a winning headline means you’ve hit a nerve, a powerful core idea. Now refine the exact wording to maximize the impact of that idea. To help get you started with creating winning headlines, download our headline swipe file here.
Your Assignment
- Write 20 or more different headlines for your page.
- Choose 3 very different ones to test right away.
- Once you’ve found a winner, start micro-testing it to find out what will make it even better.
>> We’ve also included a sub-headline swipe file that you can use to get started.
What We’ve Covered
Day #1: Examine Your Audience and Your Core Offer
Day #2: Optimizing Your Call to Actions
Day #3: Improve Your Lead Forms and Increase Signups
Day #4: Your Headline – Your Page’s Most Important Sentence
Coming Up Next
Day #5: Keep Attention With Strong Transitions
Day #6: Web Design Tips for Better Conversions
Day #7: Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment by Improving Your Checkout
Day #8: Boost Conversions by Managing Expectation and Relevance
Day #9: Master the Art of Creating Urgency
Day #10: Use Video to Boost Trust and Conversions
Day #11: Add Social Proof to Your Sales Process
Day #12: Accessibility Makes You Real (and Improves Sales)
Day #13: Tailoring Your Guarantee and Return Policy
Day #14: Getting Started With A/B Split Testing
Day #15: More Ideas for Better Conversions