Definitive New Copywriting Clinic: Ultimate Non-Formulaic Headline Formula

What makes the ultimate headline?

It’s one that makes the biggest promise and also guarantees you can obtain the result effortlessly.

And what makes the headline powerful?

It’s by…

… Triggering powerful emotions…

… Creating insatiable curiosity…

… Delivering the most relief…

… Telling an irresistible story…

… And it’s all packed into the shortest space possible.

Even better is combining as many of the above as possible.

Whew, a bit of a challenge , isn’t it?

But that’s why you’re reading this blog.

To make your headlines and subject lines more engaging, persuasive, easier and faster to write, and of course, more profitable.

So let’s get to it…

How to THINK to Create Killer Headlines

There are plenty of headline formulas out there.

But if you want to create the ultimate headlines, you have to know how to THINK about headlines because formulas only take you so far.

And remember, it’s not just hot headlines you need to create.

The thinking process is the same for subject lines, subheads, product names, titles for free reports, and even bullets.

Oh, and one side note.

I mention subheads for 3 reasons.

First, because they’re like mini headlines sprinkled throughout your copy that keep readers engaged and draw them back in when they start to lose interest.

Second, they break up the flow of the copy so it’s visually easier for modern attention spans which are measured in nanoseconds.

Third, they tell your whole story by just skimming.

It’s called, “dual readership path,” which also pulls the reader back into the body of your copy.

OK, back to how you’ve gotta THINK about headlines.

How do you start thinking correctly?

What we tell our ELITE members is to notice your INTERNAL reaction to all the marketing you see around you.

Because it’s everywhere.

And because your internal emotional world is a free and fabulous laboratory for headline mastery.

The more powerful the emotion, the better.

So really pay attention and slow down…NOTICE how and why you react.

Take emails for instance.

Ask yourself WHY you open each one, why you’ve saved it, or why it’s being sent it to the cyber graveyard.

Was it disgust? Annoyance? Curiosity? Suspicion? Boredom? Incredulity?

Notice the different kinds of subject lines that affect you…and which affect you the MOST.

Also notice what KIND of subject line is being used to grab you… everything is fair game:

• Teasers
• Open loops (i.e., mini cliffhangers)
• Teachings
• WARNINGS
• Curiosity
• Slang
• Outrageous Claims
• Urgency and Deadlines
• News and Current Events
• Twists on Common Expressions
• Twists on Aphorisms (wise and witty sayings)
• Humor
• Movie Openings
• Famous People
• Fairy Tales
• Predictions
• Celebrities
• Announcements

Just a Bit of STUDY to Become a Master

I have a file where I continue to capture subject lines. In fact, sometimes I write an email “around” the subject line… just because it’s got so much punch.

As examples, here are a bunch that I’ve got in the works…sometimes it’s just a catchy word or two that grabs my attention… but that’s all you really need!

Some of these are headlines from my browser’s home page, a few are from fellow copywriter’s e-mails.

But all are fodder to adapt to your own needs:

-Dirty 3-Letter Words

-I’m Such a Patsy

-Why Hero’s Die Young

-The Hostess Shrugged

-Battle Royale

-Before You Do X…Read This

-Your Own Drive Thru

-Fools of Engagement

-Financial Diabetes

-Mooning the Economy

-The Titillation of Your First Time

-Police: Girl Found Locked in Cage

-Monkeys Throwing Poop

-Fix Your Broken Hormones

-The Optimism of Pessimism

-The NEW Tom Cruise Lesson

-Obama Says Hi (Your Banker Says Hi)

-An Asylum of Loons

-Field of Internet Dreams

-Deep Not Wide

-Legendary Lone Wolf

-Blind Squirrel Gets a Nut

-Trophy Wife

-Murphy’s Other Law

-Warren Buffett Paper Dolls

-Brave New World is Flat

-Rabid Beaver Attacks Scout Leader While Swimming

-Wax Works Jerks

-For the Already Successful

-No Place to Hide

-Wrecking Ball

-Battle for the Bar Stool

-Why Failure Works Best

-Why I Charge So Much

-Lame Brain Consultants

-Bert and Ernie’s Marketing Salvation

Important Headline WARNINGS

A couple things to watch out for with your headlines… and in all your copy for that matter… is trying to be too clever or too cute with puns, obscure phrases, riddles, or plays on words.

You can dabble with them occasionally IF your readers are big fans and are willing to put up with your self-indulgence.

But you’re better off listening to the legendary John Caples who wrote one of the most famous headlines of all time: “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano – But When I Started to Play!”

Caples gave us these admonitions about headlines:

“Avoid the “too smart” headline. Instead of making the readers want to buy, it simply makes them exclaim, ‘How clever!’

“The headline, trying to be smart, may turn out to be obscure and fail to attract readers. Those who read realize that the copywriter has tried to be funny and has failed.

“Remember that the reader’s attention is yours for only a single instant. They will not use up their valuable time trying to figure out what you mean.”

And speaking of warnings, ask yourself a couple of related questions before you send anything out for public consumption:

1. Does YOUR market and do YOUR readers understand what you’re saying IMMEDIATELY?
2. Do they have to make a difficult connection to make sense of what you’ve written?
3. Is your “blind” headline too blind to be understood?
4. Is your curiosity headline too obscure?

This last one drives me nuts.

Especially when driving down the highway and a billboard catches my eye.

It’s got some clever phrase or curiosity gambit… but I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what it’s selling.

Unfortunately, they’re relying on the NEXT billboard to make sense, even though it’s going to be revealed in a month.

Idiocy.

Anyway… if you have to answer YES to any of these, you’d better put that headline on the back burner and go for something better.

Case Study: FAST, Real-Time Headline Creation

Here’s an example of the headline thought process in action… taken from a subject line we used a little while ago.

And remember, the process works the same for headlines, subheads, product and free report titles.

Also remember that I’ve explained a process that literally takes moments…

… And the longer you’ve been doing it the FASTER and easier it becomes.

So let’s look at creating a subject line for an actual email.

I’m thinking that I want a benefit… some good BAIT as Robert Collier says.

So I put down the word, “profit,” because I want our subscribers to know we’re talking about MONEY!

Then I just write a few follow-up associations… to let my mind flow a little bit:

More Profit Less Time
More Profit for You
Easy Profits Faster More

But I’m thinking these are pretty bland and remember so I doodle a few more:

10 Easy Profits
Easy Profits 10 Ways
10 Reasons for More Profits

That’s getting better…including “a number” is always a great idea because it implies “specificity” instead of generalities…which are vague and imply “puffery.”

Specifics imply something that’s REAL.

And I could go with that…but it just doesn’t have the “zing” I want…it’s almost there, but not quite.

So I let it go for a bit and start working on the body… just jotting down a few ideas about the 10 reasons for more profits… and I start listing them.

After a few minutes of leaving my subconscious alone, I come back to the subject line and I play around with it a bit more.

I think about unexpected twists… I look at the word profit… the word “greed” pops into my mind.

I write it down:

Greedy Profits
Their Crimes of Greed
Profit from Their Greed

Then I look at what I’ve written before and try to combine them… and see if I can find an unexpected contradiction or a paradox that provokes curiosity:

10 Easy Profits
Easy Profits 10 Ways
10 Reasons for More Profits

Greedy Profits
Their Crimes of Greed
Profit from Their Greed

And as I rearrange the words, I come up with…

Less Greed More Profit: 10 Reasons

That has a more solid feel to it… short for mobile phones… mentions $$… a contradiction that grabs the mind’s thinking process… plus an actual, specific number so you have to keep reading.

So I go with it and get back to the actual email body copy.

I write the email and come back to the subject line when I’m done and see if it still fits… which it does, so it’s a rap.

And that’s the rap for today’s post, too.

Hopefully this give you more than just a formula to make you more creative when you need to be.

But study the formulas from the masters, too.

One last thing.

Make sure you leave your comments, insights, and epiphanies… we love to hear from you.