Before you begin reading this I suggest you to check my previous post to understand the full story of this amazing post. course 101 this is 102.
NOW ... HOW DO WE GET THERE?
with this simple framework in mind, the stage is set for drilling down deeper into the nitty gritty of the "step by step."we're now in a better position to more fully appreciate the specific techniques that apply to all of the various elements of strong copy.
For example, we can now see:
why a strong, compelling headline is critical
why immediately focusing on the benefit to the reader is so crucial
why you must make a promise to the reader that you later fulfill, and
why you must back up everything you've said with very specific proof.
IF NO ONE READS, ALL IS LOST.
And the key to getting someone to read is one sentence at a time, so compelled by that sentence that they want to read the next.In other words, how you say it is how you get there.
And while I did get you to read this entire blog, I wouldn't exactly recommend the strategy employed here. It worked, but pulling cheap stunts like this won't help you in the long run.
Besides ... my four year old daughter staged a daring rescue of the kitten when I wasn't looking.
Kids!
To Be, Or Not to Be
Now that's a question.
The first six words of Hamlet's Act III, Scene 1 soliloquy are without doubt the most famous line william shakespeare ever wrote. It's also one of the most recognizable quotes in the English-speaking world.
And not a single word over three letters long.
The lesson? Keep it simple. Good copy is written in clear, concise, simple words that get your point across. It's conversational.
You can also fracture the occasional rule of grammar, if it helps to make your writing more digestible. Sentence fragments, one-sentence paragraphs, beginning with conjunctions and ending in prepositions are all fine, even desirable.
And don't forget use plenty of bullets and numbered lists. Think your audience is too sophisticated for this? Don't be so sure.
A recent study shows that more than 50 percent of students at four-year schools and more than 75 percent at two-year college in the united states could not:
Interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure;
Understand the arguments of newspaper editorials; or
Compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees.
The bad news is that these kinds are more literate than the average us adult, which is not that surprising considering that the vast majority of US adults have less education.
So ... keep it simple and clear. No one will ever complain that your writing is too easy to understand.
HOW TO WRITE HEADLINES THAT WORK
Your headline is the first (and perhaps only) impression you make on a prospective reader. Without a headline or post title that turns a skimmer into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.
But a headline can do more than simply grab attention. A great headline can also communicate a full message to it's intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.
At its essence, a compelling headline must promise some kind of benefit or reward for the reader, in trade for the valuable time it takes to read more.
In The copywriter's Handbook, Copywriter. Bob Bly sets forth eight time-tested headline categories that compel action and rake in sales:
Direct Headline go straight to the heart of the matter, without any attempt at cleverness. Bly gives the example of Pure Silk Blouses -30 Percent Off as a headline that states the selling proposition directly. A direct blog post title might read Free SEO E-book.
An indirect Headline takes a more subtle approach. It uses curiosity to raise a question in the reader's mind, which the body copy answers. often a double meaning is utilized, which is useful online. An article might have the headline Fresh Bait Works Best and yet have nothing to do with fishing, because it's actually about writing timely content that acts as link bait.
A News Headline is pretty self-explanatory, as long as the news itself is actually, well ... news, A product announcement, an improved version, or even a content scoop can be the basis of a compelling news headline. Think Introducing Flickr 2.0 or My Exclusive Interview With Steve Jobs.
The How-to Headline is everywhere, online and off, for one reason only - it works like a charm. Bly says, "Many advertising writers claim if you begin with the words how to, you can't write a bad headline." An example would be, umm ... oh yes... the title of this blog post.
A Question Headline must do more than simply ask a question, it must be a question that, according to Bly, the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered. He gives this example from Psychology Today: Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even when You're the Only One Home? Another example used in Internet marketing guru-ville is Who Else Wants to Get Rich Online?
The Command Headline boldly tells the prospect what he needs to do, such as Exxon's old put a Tiger in Your Tank campaign. Bly indicates that the first word should be a strong verb demanding action, such as Subscribe to this blog Today!
Another effective technique is called the Reason why Headline. Your body text consists of a numbered list of product features or tips, which you then incorporate into the headline, such as Two Hundred Reasons why Steemit will Beat other currency. It's not even necessary to include " why."This technique is actually the underlying strategy behind the ubiquitous blogger "list" posts, such as 8 ways to Build Blog Traffic.
Finally, we have the Testimonial Headline, which is highly effective because it presents outside proof that you offer great value. This entails taking what someone else has said about you, your product or service, and using their actual words in your headline. Quotation marks let the readers know that they are reading a testimonial, which will continue in the body copy. An example might be "I Read QC blog First Thing Each Morning," admits Angelina Jolie.
Hey, we can dream, can't we?
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I am Quick Cash and this blog is all about how to succeed online and make that cash quickly as possible.
In the Next blog we will take a look at why headlines are so important (with some surprising statistics and stories) and get more tips on how to improve your headline writing skills.
