eZine Ad Headlines That Work
By Merle
Posted Friday, July 16, 2004
How to write effective ad copy for ezines
Ezine Advertising is one of the most powerful ways to market and promote your products and or services. There are literally thousands of electronic newsletters on the Internet with millions of people who subscribe to them. Placing ads in online newsletters is an inexpensive way to reach your target market quickly -- especially when you compare it with other forms of advertising.
So how do you learn to write great ad copy? Is there a formula for success and can anyone recreate it? Today we'll look at how to write a gripping, compelling headline for an eZine ad -- the type of headline that won't just catch the reader's eye, it'll make them want to red your whole ad.
First Steps
Before you write the headline, there's a little homework you'll have to do first:
Examples: keep your eyes peeled for examples of good headlines and ads wherever you see them. Look out for competitors' ads and analyze those. Make a clipping file if you like -- it's important to keep in touch with what others in your space are doing.
The Product: decide exactly what product or service you'll be selling.
The Offer: come up with an offer. Offering something free in your copy is a proven method of getting a response to your ad.
Your Target: now you'll have to figure out who is in your "target market." These are the people who want what you're selling, and who really need what you have to offer.
Product Benefits: take out your pen and paper and start listing your product or service's benefits. Features are descriptive of your product while benefits tell your target market what your product will do for them -- make sure you focus on benefits, not features, in your headline.
Let's Write Some Ezine Ad Headlines
Now let's move onto writing a winning ad headline. First off, you need to understand that there's a big difference between writing offline and writing for the Web. Attention spans are shorter and Web surfers tend to have itchy "trigger fingers," always ready to click to a new destination -- and these characteristics also stretch to eZine usage.
You need to use short words and sentences and emphasize benefits (not features, remember?). Speak to your readers, not at them.Write to them the way you would talk with a close friend. Use a lot of "you" and "yours." The best ads appeal to the readers' emotions by telling them why they'll be a better people by purchasing the product.
Show readers how you can solve all their problems; make them better-looking, smarter, happier, etc. if they just take up your offer. Emotions sell. People don't care about you or your product/service; they only care about themselves and what's in it for them. Benefits are what they buy.
The AIDA Principle
The AIDA Principle is a proven outline to follow when writing your ad headline:
A = attract Attention I = generateInterest D = createDesire A = get them to Act
Here's how it works:
The way to attract attention is with a "bang up" headline. Most people skim when reading online so the headline ads need to "stop 'em in their tracks" and attract enough attention (or Interest) so they want to read more. Desire and Action are then created by your ad copy.
Tips for Your Headline
Use Verbs
You'll want to use plenty of verbs so your words jump off the page and get the reader excited. Words like Go... Slash...Come...Click... you get the idea.
Benefits Sell
Your headline should convey your strongest benefit. Benefits play on the reader's emotions and that's what gets them to act. Tell the reader how your product/service will help them meet their goals, alleviate their fears, and help them save time or money. Become the solution to their problems. If your headline fails they'll never read the rest of the ad, which is why a good headline is the most important part of your copy.
Use Quotes
Another tip for writing more effective headlines is to surround them with quotes. Like this:
"Free Report to the First 10 Visitors"
"Want to Sell More of Your Advertising Space?"
"Do You Need to Lose Weight?"
"No Time for Exercise?"
"Learn the SECRETS to Success Online"
Quotes have been proven to attract more attention to headlines, so use them to your advantage.
Ask a Question
Asking a question is another effective way to pull the reader in and get them emotionally involved with your ad. For example:
"Are You Ready for a Better Body?" "Do you Need a Better Job?" "Isn't it Time You Lost Weight?" "Are You Searching For a New Home?"
Include Facts and Figures
Using facts and figures instead of generalities in ad copy is another proven method that really works:
Don't say: Lose Weight Say: Lose 10 Lbs in Only 30 Days
Don't say: Money Back Guarantee Say: 100% Money Back Guarantee
Don't say: Increase Your Productivity Say: Increase Your Productivity by 40%
"How To" Headlines
"How to" is another great headline phrase to use. We love "how to" books and there's a reason why so many book titles start with these words. "How to" headlines pull the reader in by appealing to their interests. Examples:
How to Write an E-book in Only 15 Days How to Publish Your Own Ezine How to Build Your Own Website
Make It Personal
Use a lot of the word "You" in your headlines. Also, the word FREE always attracts attention. If you're trying to appeal to a specific segment of the population you can use their name in your headlines. For example if you were trying to attract Moms who work from home you might say:
"Calling All Moms Who Work From Home"
Or maybe your target market is ezine publishers... "If You're an Ezine Publisher Read This"
And another... "Men: Improve your Sex Drive Today"
Presentation Counts!
To help add impact to our headlines you can use underlining and a combination of upper and lower case letters. Never use all caps in every word in the headline -- it makes the headline too difficult to read. To underline words in text ads use the * key or the = key on your keyboard as below.
Practice Makes Perfect[b/]
The best way to get good at writing headlines is to practice writing them. Write pages and pages of them, and to make the process easier, keep a list of your benefits close by. Make sure you test your ads with different headlines until you find the best puller. And once you find it, stick with it.
[b]About the Author
Merle is an internet marketer, promotion consultant and ezine publisher. Visit her sites at (http://www.mcpromotions.com/),(http://www.merlesworld.com/) and (http://www.ezineadauction.com/).
