Raphel Report May 2007

Why Headlines Are On Top!

May 2007, Number 96

     Special Note: Before we start this month’s Raphel Report, we wanted to announce the three winners of our Marketing Rules! blog contest. The winners, who will each receive a half-gallon of maple syrup, are:

      Thanks to everyone who submitted comments on our blog. We liked all the comments and appreciate the time you took to make them. You can see the winning comments and read all our blog entries at www.marketingrules.org.

      And now back to our column:

     When you write an ad for your product –for print, for the web, or for any use --writing the headline is the most important part of the ad you will write.

     Here's why: 75% of people read the headlines. Only 25% keep on reading. What that means: You need a powerful headline to have someone read and keep reading.

     How do you do that?

     Let's look to the experts

     David Ogilvy: The trade magazine Advertising Age wrote, "David Ogilvy stands alone as the creative king of the advertising world."

     He founded an advertising agency with $6,000 and no clients and built the ad agency Ogilvy & Mather to one of the largest in the world. Some of his advice on headlines:

     • " Five times as many people read headlines as read the body copy. Unless your headline sells your product you wasted 90 percent of your money."

    • "Include your brand name in your headline. If you don't 80 percent of your readers will never know what product you are advertising."

     •"Putting your headline in quotes will increase recall by 28 percent."

     One of his oft-quoted headlines was for the Rolls Royce automobile: "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock." He showed it to one of the car's mechanics who, concerned, said, "We have to do something about that damn clock."

     Drayton Bird: Drayton Bird is a direct marketing expert who built his own firm to a great success in the U.K., and later became Vice Chairman and Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather Direct.

     His advice on headlines: "Some of the very best headlines combine the elements of news, benefit and curiosity. Several fortunes were made from a headline on an ad for a special kind of spark plug. The headline was, "Now, run your car without spark plugs." I tried to write a better headline for some months including fuel savings but my new headlines never beat that unusual opening.

     Joe Sugarman: Joe Sugarman believes in the "Slippery Slide" theory when writing a headline.

     The theory: If you have someone read the first 50 words of your advertisement, they will read the next 150 words. He says that the best headlines make the reader go on to the sub headline, which makes the reader go on to the opening copy, which makes the reader continue reading.

     Here are at some of Joe's headline grabbers!

     The Nose (for a smoke detector)

     Jogging Computer (for an indoor exercise system)

     Vision Breakthrough ("When I put on the pair of sunglasses what I saw I could not believe. Neither will you.") This sold millions of his Blublocker sunglasses.

     Bill Jayme: Bill Jayme's irreverent headlines sold millions of magazine subscriptions. When asked about how he wrote ad copy, he said, "65 perrcent of my time is writing the headline and only 35 percent of my time on the letter that comes after it."

     One of Jayme's rules for headline writing is Be Specific. "I once wrote a headline that said, 'Put more pizzazz in your love life.' But most people thought we were selling pizza."

     A classic Jayme headline was written to launch the magazine Psychology Today: "Do you close the bathroom door even when you're the only one home?"

     And this one to launch a magazine for restaurants: "How much should you tip when you know you're going to steal the ashtray?"

     Taken from these experts and more, here are ten basic rules for headline writing. If you follow them, you're likely to write some headlines that will encourage readers to want to know more.

     1. Arouse the reader's self interest (example: "Are You Spending Too Much for Food?")

     2. Provoke curiosity (example: "How Many of These 20 Questions Can You Answer Correctly?")

     3. Direct it to the right audience (example: "How College Students can Earn Their Tuition This Summer")

     4. Make it easy to understand (example: "Twice the Warmth at Half the Price")

     5. Spotlight what's new and improved (example: "Great New Discovery Kills Kitchen Odors Quick")

     6. Make it believable (example: "Why Some People Almost Always Make Money in the Stock Market")

     7. Highlight quick results (example: "Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days")

     8. Be specific (example: "An Important Message for Men Who are Losing their Hair")

     9. Offer something of value (example: "Free Book – Tells You 12 Secrets of Better Lawn Care")

     10. Include the brand name in the headline (example: "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?")

     P.S. Check out my list of the 101 Best Headlines Ever Written