As we have established in a past articles that headlines carry a lot of weight in your copy and that headlines are the most essential component of your sales letter. By all accounts it is a demonstrated fact that your headline is around 80 percent of the impact of your sales copy

Crafting an attention grabbing headline is definitely what leads your prospect thru the remainder of your salescopy. They have to get your site visitor excited. If your headline isn’t able to build excitement, it’s very probable that your customer will leave your site very quick and not keep coming back.

How do you establish excitement? You have to intrigue your readers with the wonderful benefits of your product. The headline of your sales letter has got to present the key benefit – the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your product.

Your headlines target is singular in goal, and that’s to hit those hot buttons that causes them to move to the next phase of your process Striking the right hot button will help your reader to imagine enjoying all the great benefits of your product. People buy for emotional reasons and that’s why it’s so important to describe the benefits of your product and not its features.

Your webpage or blog visitor is looking for an answer to their concerns. They always want this one thing first and that will never ever change. It is again”What’s in it for me?” How can I solve my problem?, How can I make more money?, How can I get that job? … Your emphasis needs to be solely on your customer, its answering that one problem or issue they have -that’s how you go about writing a great headline.

In your headline,it tells your customer that you have a solution for her problem, that you have the answers for her questions, that you will provide what it is that he or she wants. Your reader will be excited right from the start, she will be eager to continue reading through your sales letter and chances are really good that you will get the click on the “Pay Now Button” at the end of your sales letter.

If you’ve had a chance to read any of my earlier articles then you already know that I never write just one headline. I normally will sit down and come up with 10 alternatives.There is a reason for this. Once you’ve chosen the headline you believe is gonna be your best, the others on your list become you sub headings that will continue he or she on the path and answer those questions and keep the curiosity going.

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Dr. Scott Lewis is a comedy-hypnotist performing at the Riviera Hotel every Monday night in Las Vegas. He called me one day wanting a truly hypnotic ad to run in the local newspapers to pull in college students to his show. I asked him to tell me what he already had in mind for the ad. Here’s what he told me:

“I’m thinking of using the headline ‘Come do outrageous things at the Riviera next Monday night’.”

What do you think? Me, I didn’t think it was a very hypnotic headline.

For one thing, it’s not engaging. It just sits there. It’s slightly active, in the sense that it says “come do outrageous things,” but that’s not enough to truly mesmerize busy readers of newspapers. Not today. And not college students.

For another, his headline would eliminate all the shy people from going to the show. They might be afraid they would get hypnotized and look stupid in front of their friends. After all, far more people want to be spectators than performers. Scott would miss his target audience.

I advised Scott to try the following headline instead:

“What outrageous things will you see your friends and others do next Monday night at the Riviera?”

Now we have something truly hypnotic.

First, the question involves the mind. It forces you to begin thinking of WHAT you will see next Monday. And it begins the process of having you IMAGINE outrageous things.

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Do you want to know the secret to selling things successfully online? It’s finding the RIGHT WORDS for the job. Most visitors take 8 seconds or less to decide whether to stick around or move on to the next site. Just 8 seconds — that’s all the time you have to convince them YOUR site is where they want to be. It doesn’t matter how well designed your site is…… How high your search engine ranking is…… Or how amazing your product is.

If you don’t GRAB your visitors’ attention right away, they’re going to leave and probably never return.

Of all the words on your site, the most important are the ones in your HEADLINE.

Your headline is the first thing your visitors see. It needs to capture their attention — spark their curiosity– and compel them to read further. And it has to do it fast.

To guarantee YOUR headlines jump off the page and pull potential buyers deeper into your site, always follow IMC’s Top 3 “Unbreakable” Headline Rules:

Rule #1: RELATE A PROBLEM

Most visitors, when they come to your site, are looking for information — probably in relation to a problem they want to solve.

Maybe they’re curious about local flight schools in their area. Maybe they’re searching for molded chrome fenders to put on a 1953 Chevy Bel-Air. Or maybe they’re trying to figure out how to “unshrink” wool clothes that accidentally ended up in the dryer.

Whatever their problem is, relate to it. Show them YOU know what it’s all about. Demonstrate a clear and genuine understanding of their wants and needs — and they’ll be far more willing to buy from you.

Rule #2: PRESENT A SOLUTION

You’ve described a problem. Now you’ve got to solve it — in a way that creates a powerful image in the mind of your visitors.

Tell your visitors they’re about to discover how to get the most qualified flight instructors at the lowest price in town. Describe how their new chrome fenders will help them outshine the competition at the next state-wide car show. Promise them their wife or girlfriend will NEVER know her favorite sweater once shrank small enough to fit a chihuahua.

Get them to envision the end result — and you’re more than halfway to making the sale.

(NOTE: “How to…” and “Discover…” headlines are good at getting people to imagine the end result.)

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Do you want to know a secret to selling your affiliate products successfully online? It’s finding the right WORDS for the job.

And when it comes to your words, your headline needs to be rock solid!

That’s because most visitors take 10 seconds or less to decide whether to explore your site for awhile — or move on to the next site.

So it doesn’t matter how well-designed your site is… how high your search engine ranking is… or how amazing your product is. If your words don’t grab your visitors and keep them glued to your site, they’re going to leave — and probably never return.

Your headline is the first thing your visitors see. It needs to capture their attention, spark their curiosity, and compel them to read further. And it has to do it fast.

To guarantee YOUR headlines jump off the page and pull potential buyers deeper into your site, always follow our Top 5 “Unbreakable” Headline Rules…

Rule #1: Relate a Problem Most of your site visitors will be looking for specific information related to a problem they’re trying to solve.

Maybe they’re curious about local flight schools in their area. Maybe they’re searching for molded chrome fenders to put on a 1953 Chevy Bel-Air. Or maybe they’re trying to figure out how to “unshrink” wool clothes that accidentally ended up in the dryer.

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The following is a letter in response to a question about how to write sales letters. This is something you could model in layout, tone, and ideas, to write your own letters.  By the way, this is where your letterhead should go.

Jerry Jenkins asked me to tell you how to write letters that get read and get results. That’s a tall order! Well, here’s what I think the “laws” are:

1. Know what’s in it for your reader.

Get out of your ego and into your reader’s ego. Complete this sentence: “Get my book so that you can…(fill in the blank).” Your book (or whatever you are selling) is the feature. What people get as a result of having your book is the benefit. Focus on benefits. Always! Without this, your letter will bomb.

2. Write a headline that telegraphs the key benefit to your reader.

ALWAYS use a headline. There is only ONE exception to this rule. When you personalize your letter, the “Dear (whoever)” opening becomes your headline.

There are few headlines more powerful than the reader’s own name. The headline is THE most important part of your letter! Spend nearly all of your time on it.

3. Be brief.

Say what you have to say in terms of the reader’s self interest and shut up. This does NOT necessarily mean a short letter.

If you are trying to make a sale, and the reader has never heard of you or your item for sale, you may have to write four or more pages to get your message across. If all you want is a return call, a one page letter may do. Don’t be afraid of length. People will read any length of copy AS LONG AS IT’S INTERESTING!

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