How To Write Attention Grabbing Headlines

Few would argue that the most important component of any ad is the headline. Your site might have great content and an unbeatable offer, but if you don't attract interest with a headline that seizes their attention - it's game over (before it begins).

We've all been over-exposed to advertising. It's been said that the average person is exposed to hundreds of ads a day. It's no wonder that we've all developed airtight ad filters.

I spend so much time online that an ad would have to reach out and slap me in the face to get my attention. But in order for the ad to hit me - it would have to catch me off guard. That's exactly what happened to me the other day...

I was checking the weather on a local news site. The site is plastered with advertising (8 ad units on the home page alone). I visit this site several times a week, so my eyes have been trained to dig up the content and bury the ads.

I typically spend less than 10 seconds on the site. I hit the home page, click the weather link, get what I want - and get out. But last week I got tripped up.

As I was getting ready to close the tab an ad jumped up and hit me right between the eyes.

"Murder Yellow Teeth"
"The Secrets Dentists don't want you to know about Teeth Whitening!"

This tiny Google ad unit in the lower right corner captured my attention. I thought to myself - how do you murder yellow teeth?

The ad worked because it was shocking. "Murder" is a word that is bound to spark some kind of emotion or reaction. If the copy was less provocative the words would have blended in with the rest of the page.

"Make Your Teeth Whiter" doesn't capture your attention like "Murder Yellow Teeth".

This ad made me start thinking about my own headlines. I've always been good at writing benefit-oriented copy, but so is my competition. When every ad on the page touts the same benefits none of them stand out.

I've been inspired to re-write dozens of my own ads. I'm not a copywriter by trade, so I looked to the experts. Here are just a few places you can go to find headline inspiration:

"The 100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written"
by Jay Abraham
http://refurl.com/2hj/2

"The Ultimate Sales Letter"
by Dan Kennedy
http://refurl.com/2hl/2

I've also had the unique opportunity to chat with PPC expert Amit Mehta about his headline strategies. Amit spends thousands of dollars a day running ads in the Google content network, where a good headline can make or break your campaign. You can learn more about Amit's techniques at PPC Classroom - http://refurl.com/2hm/2

Whether you're writing an e-mail subject line, PPC ad, or landing page headline, your goal is the same - get the prospects attention.

A good headline in a PPC ad is the difference between a low click through rate and a high click through rate.

A good e-mail subject line is the difference between getting your message opened and read - or spammed and deleted.

A good landing page headline is the difference between clicking the back button and clicking the order button.

I'll be sending out a follow up e-mail with more details about my new headlines - including some of my split testing strategies.

My click-through rate on several of these ads went up 200-400%!