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Legendary copywriting master’s attention-getting secret
Education is the only form of marketing left.
If you educate your audience about the benefits of what you do and why it’s important to take action now… then, if it’s a good fit, they’ll buy.
But you must never neglect the first step in the learning process, which is…
To get attention.
If you can’t get attention, you can’t teach anyone anything. And as a result, you won’t be in business very long.
“So what’s the best way to do that?” you might ask.
Well, the solution is simple:
Write great headlines.
Whether you’re writing a social media post, an email subject line, a headline for a sales letter or even sending out old school direct mail (via snail mail), the situation is the same.
If the first line doesn’t stop them dead in their tracks…
All your hard work and effort goes in the bin with the rest of the trash.
There are many more secrets than I will probably ever know when it comes to writing great headlines. But I have a few simple suggestions for you today that will help you write better headlines than 90% of the people you see online (because most people put little or no thought into it).
So let’s get started…
First, be bold.
Since it’s not a face-to-face conversation, it’s much harder for your reader to “feel” your energy. In person, you’re charismatic, energized, and in love with what you do.
But if on the page, it’s dull, flat, and boring, people will quickly move on.
So whatever that means for you….
Make sure it feels good, like it’s something you’d actually say to someone face-to-face.
But if you’re not saying something different, you’re not saying anything at all.
So that’s the first thing, be bold.
Second, write a lot of them.
How many you write will depend on the importance of the task at hand.
A short form social media post might get only 1 or 2 variations during the editing process because each post is just an experiment anyway. All you’re doing is testing your ideas and iterating over time.
But for a long-form social post or piece of pillar content?
That deserves at least 3 headlines.
Or what some people might call “hooks” (since apparently they’re into fishing for humans on the internet).
And sales letters?
Vitally important. For something like this you might write 50 before choosing the best one.
So that’s the second thing.
Write a lot of them.
And third, always always always… remember the true purpose of your headline:
(From copywriting legend, Joseph Sugarman)
“The goal of the first sentence is to get them to read the second sentence. So make it short, and sweet, and almost incomplete.”
So that’s the third thing.
Create curiosity.
And the fourth thing?
Well the fourth is a step-by-step sequence for writing what I call “5 Part Headlines”.
It’s a simple system I’ve devised to help you answer the 5 most important questions in your readers mind before they’ll read what you wrote (all the way till the end).
And I’ll be sharing that step-by-step system — along with a number of highly profitable headline examples and “power” words you can use to get people to read your writing all the way till the end (and still want more) — inside the book I’m currently writing about copywriting (which I’m not revealing the name yet because I don’t want anyone to steal it, but I will be revealing it soon and making it available for pre-order).
So if you’re excited about that.
Just be sure to open every single email I send immediately upon receiving it, and don’t skip a single one (to be sure you don’t miss it)…
Or don’t.
(It really doesn’t matter, I’ll make a big deal about it and you will know either way).
But in the meantime.
If you want see what it’s like to work with me so your next coaching, group, or course launch is a hit, you can apply here:
Your pal,
Kevin Hood