Also remember one of the great things about headlines is that you don't have to stop at just the one - strategically placed, eye-catching headlines are a great way to break up a long body of text and also to keep the readers attention. However, the most important headline on your page is the one at the top because that's the one that will make people start reading in the first place.
Look at your competitors headlines for ideas and ask yourself the following questions:
what (if anything) grabbed your attention?
- was it good enough to make you read further?
- did it make you want to take immediate action?
- what keywords were used that made it stand out from the rest?
Focus your attention on your online competitors work - offline headlines have different requirements and can often be fairly straightforward and direct. Writing online copy demands an attention-grabbing style. You only have seconds to attract your readers attention.
Avoid writing headlines as if they are an advertisement - try to make it as personally aimed at the prospective reader as possible and a good headline should also give an indication of what is to follow. Don't make outrageous claims unless you can back them up! If your headline reads "make $10,000 in three days" you need to provide proof of that claim in the body of your copy. Blatantly lying to people in order to get their attention will not establish a good rapport between you and your prospective buyer at the outset. As soon as the reader realises they have been "conned" they will have a negative view of your sales pitch, your product and probably you as well!
A good headline should tell the reader what he/she will get from your product, for example more money or more time. It should also create a sense of urgency in your reader - as if they don't read on about your product right now they will be missing out on something they need/want right now.
Testimonials can also be good attention-grabbers in a headline. Instead of saying "I will show you how to make $5000 every month" what about "When Jim lost his job we helped him fatten up his bank account" Of course you would need to expand further on this theme in the body of your text but you can see that the latter headline has a more personal touch and is more likely to engage the reader. An alternative to this would be to give your personal testimonial in the headline "I lost my job and had no-one to turn to, now I make $5000 every month using this program". This also works because it creates empathy with your reader who may well be able to identify with that situation.
Unlike offline sales copy, you do not usually have length restrictions for your headlines when writing online copy. The exception to this would be writing classified ads or email headlines. However, a headline should not be longer than one sentence and should be kept as "snappy" and to the point as possible.
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