Improve Your Headlines With This 4 Point Analysis

by Sian on May 14, 2009

If you understand how to play ‘Pin The Tail On The Donkey’ then you will know when you have created the perfect headline.  If your headlines need improving then you have a choice.  You can pay a copywriter a lot of money to make it all better, or you can have a look at what’s worked before and apply it to your own stuff.

A good place to start is with a

Imagine the donkey’s body is filled with your product features along with the personality, motivation, emotional triggers and benefits for your target market. The tail, normally swooshing away at readers turning them into customers, has to be pinned on the body.

If you pin the tail on the head then it won’t work at all. Pin it somewhere on the rump and it can swoosh, but it’s a bit lopsided so it only catches a few customers. But, when you pin the tail exactly in place then it works perfectly.

This is how it feels when the copywriter really understands the mind of the prospect.

The following headline was immensely successful, and if we look at it closely we can see how the author tackled all the angles to get it perfectly positioned…..

“Here’s The Amazing Way Tests Have Proved To Lose Ugly Fat An Average Of 7 Pounds A Month
Without Suffering A Hungry Moment And Without Taking Strenuous Exercise Or Drugs….”

Just using the word ‘amazing’ can incite emotion, and emotion is what triggers the buying decision. Why don’t you try this? Think of something pleasant that happened to you, and tell yourself ‘it was good.’ Next, tell yourself it was ‘amazing.’ When you tune in to your finer feelings you can spot the difference that using the more emotive word, amazing, makes. And lighting up the emotional neurons is what gets the buying juices flowing.

Tests Have Proved To – delivers proof. How far would you go (i.e how much cash would you part with)  if you had a horrid problem and knew beyond doubt you had found the solution?

Lose Ugly Fat – goes straight to the nub of your target market’s problem, and it’s a nasty one – who wants anything ugly stuck in their body?

7 Pounds a Month – gets specific about what will happen, and within a definite timescale. There is nothing wishy washy here and the reader knows exactly what to expect.

The author of this benefit packed headline clearly understood the mindset of their target market and the closing lines ‘without suffering a hungry moment’ and ‘without taking strenuous exercise or drugs’ answers the potential questions before they become excuses for not buying.

Nailed it.

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