Free Report On How To Write Winning Headlines

by Ian Fawn-Meade

It was one of those days when the traffic was light on Dallas' notorious Central Expressway and the Dallas Pest & Termite Services' billboard caught my eye, even at fifty miles per hour. The sun shone, the birds sang and I smiled because the author of that headline had used one of my favorite techniques to create it -- the Word Twist.

"No ifs, ants or bugs about it."
(Dallas Pest & Termite Services, Inc.)

The Word Twist technique involves partial substitution within well-known phrases to catch the reader's attention. It differs from punning largely in the emphasis given to selecting words and phrases that effectively communicate the sales message. The headline above was the perfect Word Twist example - but more so because the line had worked at many levels. It was a clever modification, highly memorable and produced the overall feeling that this company would be friendly, approachable and efficient.

Unfortunately, at that moment, I wasn't in the market for a bug removal service, but I was looking for a foundation repair service and hoped I would pass another billboard such as, "Fox Foundation - repairs for the sinking man." But no such luck. Then "Levy all the plumbing to us" came swinging into view. I smiled again and contemplated why such headlines are so appealing.

What Is A Winning Headline?

What is the value of a headline? What function does it perform? Marshall McLuhan, who co-authored "The Medium is the Message," often talked about the way each medium feeds from its predecessor. Records, he argued, were built on three minute songs, plays became musicals, movies were made from stage plays and television followed the film format very closely. It seems then, that we should look to the earliest form of selling communication, door to door selling, as the basis for good advertising.

Here's what happened: the salesmen knocked on doors and once a door opened, they had about ten seconds to say something important to the customer. If they got that ten seconds right, they had about thirty seconds to develop the idea or hook, and if that worked, they could often close the sale and move on. Now that ten seconds is our headline and the thirty seconds that follows is the appearance of the salesman, his manner, dress and attitude is paralleled in the look or art direction of the piece. A really catchy and effective opening line required some good charm and skill...

"Madam, what would you say if I told you your husband won't be home tonight or ever again?"
(Life Insurance)

"I'll bet your kids are starting to ask questions you can't answer!"
(Encyclopedias)

The written headline has an even greater burden. There is no one-on-one body language from the smiling salesman of the past. Our headline has to be catchy, but it also has to be memorable. Our prospect has to remember the idea until the next buying opportunity comes along. There is no problem if our subject is unique and irresistible. "I Married Big Foot's Sister" and "Baby Born Pregnant" are two headlines from the tabloids that beg you to buy the magazine at the supermarket.

The plain truth is that many products and services are "me too," and even if they are superior when they come out, it doesn't take long for the competition to catch up. You don't know whether that Pest Control Service has a better way of killing bugs than anyone else, but you get a feeling from their headline that you might be more satisfied with their service. The headline was a perfect ten seconds. It's easy to remember the company and feel empathetic towards them. It's precisely this kind of reaction that comes from a good headline.

How Does A Winning Headline Work?

The Hook Or Puzzle

Good headlines often have a hook or puzzle embedded in them that persuades the customer to become involved with their message. This participation through the solving process is important. For example, "Your dog will love Wolfy Dog Food," is probably true, but "Wolfy Dog Food and wagging tails go together" is much more persuasive. We are more satisfied by that idea, because we care for our pets and the headline perpetuates that feeling. The headline puts two different ideas (the product and the wagging tail) together and so you naturally conclude a third idea. In the function of putting those two ideas together and forming the third idea mentally, we exercise the "Closure Principle." We have formed an idea that may not immediately lead to action (because we may not be passing the dog food shelves), but at least leads us to a favorable attitude toward Wolfy Dog Food.

Is the second headline particularly memorable? Probably not. If we were developing a line for Wolfy Dog Food, we would want one that more uniquely combines elements from the cluster of ideas, images and feelings that we have about our dog.

Combining The Right Headline With The Right Picture

In this example, the proper picture and headline combination is a vital consideration. A good place to start the headline creation process would be to first look at pictures of dogs, or more likely, look at pictures of dogs selected by a graphic artist. A picture of an absurdly attractive Dachshund which looks like a stretched limo might be interesting.

With this picture in hand, we might "wrack our brains" or search through a collection of books to find a companion phrase. We might search for phrases that contain keywords such as "ride," drive," "stretch," "miles," and then might try substituting "ride" with "pride" or "drive" with "strive."

A little creative inspiration might lead to an extended horizontal shot of the dog with its tongue out to guzzle the bowl of Wolfy Dog Food. On the far right across the top, the headline, "Miles and miles of smiles" will appear.

We know that pet owners like to transfer human characteristics to their pets and the thought of a smiling dachshund is very appealing indeed. The reader becomes involved in the connection between the words and the picture because there is a good hook or promise in the line. If the final picture is great, the ad will be a stopper.

How To Create A Winning Headline On Your Own

Starting Points
There is nothing so terrifying to a copywriter as a blank sheet of paper. While the process of generating a new headline almost always starts there, really good copywriters and advertising people constantly come up with new and successful headlines. How do they do it?

Collecting Rubbish
As a group, creative marketing types are rubbish collectors, meaning that they are constantly creating their own mental databases of both positive and negative graphic and verbal images. Their creative headline development procedure appears to be a form of brain search that is less directed and more a form of parallel processing. They seem to take in some general ideas about the goals for the headline, struggle with the different possibilities, give up for a while and then suddenly, it comes to them.

The story of one of the most successful British advertising slogans illustrates the point. Many years ago, a senior copywriter for the English firm of Collett, Dickenson and Pearce was given the responsibility to come up with the headline for a Heinekin Beer. After struggling with the problem for a while, he went to Morocco and stayed for three months trying to figure out a solution. While laying by the pool one day, it came to him, "Heinekin refreshes the part of you that other beers fail to reach."

An Iterative Process
The creation of a good headline is not a scientific process where you start with a set of rules, follow them and then produce a headline. It's a creative process. The results of one effort are used to go back again for another try.

To start the process, write down all the attributes of the product or service for which the headline is intended. These attributes can be related to the benefits of the product (e.g., faster, better, tastier, entertaining, etc.), the function of the product (e.g., transportation, nourishment, healing, etc.) or to some other images that you wish to have associated with the product (e.g., springtime, freshness, happiness, etc.).

Then search your memory or other reference works for phrases or expressions that relate to or sound similar to those words and images. When you come up with one, write it down and try to twist it to your needs by substituting or adding words.

For example, if you need a headline for a new skin lotion called "Primesa," think of words for its attributes or images (e.g., silky, intimate, seductive, touchable, alluring, attractive and captivating). Then search your brain for a good line that contains one or more of those attributes:

"Primesa, The Intimate Connection"
"Primesa, To Touch Her Is To Fall In Love"

The scope of your search may be expanded if you can create some graphic images to be used in an advertisement or commercial. For instance, you may have decided on a story line that will show a gritty female dirt bike rider transformed into a very attractive and appealing woman via a quick shower and an application of Primesa. Now you can start thinking of phrases that might evoke or describe those images:

"Love Me Tender"
"Running Smooth And Easy"
"When The Going Gets Tough, Primesa Gets Going"
"Smooth Skin For Tough Customers"

Headlines To Break The Monotony

More and more often, headlines are being used in reports, manuals, brochures, etc., to break up long gray paragraphs of text about discounted cash flow or company services or computer techno-journals. These headlines are easy to generate because they only serve to wake up the reader saying "this next bit is interesting."

Sub-headlines like "Dollars and Sense," "No Train, No Gain," "Chicken Fried Stakes," "Sale of Two Cities," and so on can be found all over Wall Street Journal articles. The same word list rules pertain, but frequently you may find substitutes straight from the words of the article itself. The beauty of most of these articles is that the very special language that each category uses provides us with enormous substitution opportunities. Financial articles use words like "divest," "merge," and "cash flow" which will spawn a host of good sub-headlines.

Summary of Winning Headline-Writing Rules

If you have a unique service, then don't be too clever. "Blotz grows hair on bald heads instantly" would sell a lot of Blotz.

Be prepared for clients who feel their claim is unique (e.g., "the cheapest burgers in town") and gently remind them that they are treading in very trampled fields.

Check for hidden undesirable images. A client may want a headline for a cough remedy to convey that the product is the "Rolls Royce of cough syrups." But the feeling suggested by a luxury car and the relief provided from a hacking cough are not two thoughts that lead to a persuasive third idea. Instead, this idea may lead to a perception that the cough remedy is very expensive.

Remember, the implicit message is more powerful than the explicit one.

Don't forget the ten second analogy. If the headline doesn't work quickly, it won't work at all.

When you are looking for a subheading to spike up an otherwise dull report, look at the special language related to the report topic to find your key word substitution.

Always check with your trademark lawyer concerning the appropriate use of a selected expression (or modification thereof) for your particular application.

Finally, in creating a headline, remember the importance of a tight linkage between it and the graphics.