Writing a headline – whether it’s for a blog post like this, a tagline for an advert or an email title is hard. You’ve got to grab the person’s attention you want to buy from you and keep it there long enough to pique their interest, so they don’t delete your carefully crafted words and move on.
Some people spend hours trying to think up something that’s clever and proves how good they are with puns or pretty words, but the trick isn’t to be clever, it’s to promote your business or sell your products. Using pretty words just won’t cut it unless they are backed up with other words that actually SELL.
When you’re writing that important email to your client list, think about this:
- The job of the first line is to make your readers want to read the second line.
- The job of the second line is to make them want to read the third line.
- The job of the third line…well, you get the picture.
To get you started on writing the headline of all headlines, think about this formula and adapt it to your own business:
[what do they want] plus [when do they want it] plus [what are the benefits]
It can work really well for salons. Try:
[A full set of OPI Gel Nails for £20] [this week only] [gorgeous shine for up to 14 days]
[Book a luxurious Decleor anti-ageing facial treatment] [in March] [and take the ‘mumsy’ out of Mother’s Day]
It works well for blog posts as well as ads and offers. So you want to tell people about your new salon line? How about a blog post called:
[Take an ‘afternoon tea’ experience in the salon] [from next month] [and try the new SPAfternoon Tea product range!]
These are all pretty basic and you can flower them up a bit later, but can you see where I’m coming from? You don’t have to limit your blog posts and ads to this formula but if you’re feeling a bit stuck, it can really help you to concentrate your mind.
You can even swap the elements around if it sounds better (I did that in this blog headline, just to make the point)
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, SPAfternoon Tea really IS a thing. Watch this space for more details!