6 Hardworking Headlines that Keep on Working by Dean Rieck

Since the headline is responsible for about 80 percent of your response, it is vital to write one that works. So here are six headline flavors that have been proven over and over in millions of print ads.

• Say it simply and directly. No cleverness. No jokes. No wordplay. Just get right to the point and say what you have to say. This works particularly well with strong offers, solutions to clear problems, recognized brand names, and product or service types that the reader is familiar with.
  Pure silk blouses ... 30% off
  The Ultimate Tax Shelter
  Free Money
  The first one million Americans who respond to this incredible offer will receive Kiplinger’s CA-Simply Money for FREE.
   

• State the big benefit. This helps select your ideal audience and relays your main selling point. If you’re offering a discount, say it. If you’re offering something free, scream it.
  Now! Moonlight Your Way to a Million Dollars.
  Create your own cards, posters and banners in minutes!
  Get a FREE vase when you buy a dozen roses.
   

• Announce exciting news. Casting your headline in a way that suggests news, rather than just advertising, can have the same powerful appeal of a feature story in the morning paper. Key “news” words: New, Discover, Introducing, Announcing, Now, At last, Finally.
  At Last, American Scientists Have Created the Perfect Alternative to a Mined Diamond!
  Introducing the newest idea in cross-training. From NordicTrack (of course).
  Now program your VCR by simply speaking to the revolutionary VCR VOICE programmer
   

• Appeal to the how-to instinct. We all have an impulse to improve ourselves and our lives. The secret here is to focus on a need or want of the reader and promise to fulfill that need or want quickly and easily.
  How to stop smoking in 30 days ... or your money back
  How You Can Profit From the 3 Greatest Service Businesses of the Decade!
  How to do Central America on $17 a day.
   

• Pose a provocative question. Asking a question directly involves your reader. However, your question cannot be random or clever. It must relate directly and clearly to the major benefit of the product. It must also prod the reader to answer “yes,” or at least “I’m not sure, but I want to know more.”
  Do You Make These Six Common Mistakes On Your Taxes?
  Gotten a speeding ticket lately? Read this.
  How do I know which mutual funds may be right for me?
   

• Bark a command. Many ads fall flat because they fail to tell the reader what to do. Commands allow you to simultaneously be direct, relay a benefit, and take a commanding posture. It’s not conversational. It’s dictatorial, but in an acceptable way that readers have come to expect in clear writing.
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  Draw the shades, bolt the door ... and enter a world of mystery, suspense and terror.

--- Dean Rieck is president of Direct Creative, a full-service creative firm.
E-mail: DeanRieck@DirectCreative.com