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Dear Friend, 

One of my favorite things in the world is to come up with a great headline. I put a lot of time and energy into making sure that each headline I write is going to capture the attention of my target audience and is going to tell my complete story in just a few words.

The headline is the most important thing you can write for any advertisement, and a truly good headline can do the job on it’s own. It can get your prospects to make a decision based on the information in the headline only.

A good headline promises a big benefit for the reader. The answer to some question or concern they have or the path to some goal they want to achieve, and by learning to communicate in a compelling way in only a few lines you can increase the response to your ads by up to ten times!

Want to know where you find great headlines?

They’re everywhere. I love to look at magazines that have great introductions to the articles in their issues. One of my favorites is Cosmo magazine. They always have great headlines. I also love the Weekly World News. In fact one of the most successful ads I’ve ever collaborated on came directly from the Weekly World News.

Now when I say directly – I mean it was directly adapted from a headline that was on an article in that magazine. The article was entitled “Why men take so long to commit – and what to do about it.”

Which my friend and I turned into “Why Dayton Homes Take So Long To Sell and What To Do About It.” One of our consulting clients ran the ad in the local homes magazine and got 7 call-in listings.

People read the ad and just called her up to come and list their house.

Adapting headlines like that is a great way to get started when you are writing ads.

Here’s how to steal great headlines.

Go to the grocery store and get a copy of the Weekly World News and Cosmo magazine. Turn to the inside cover of Cosmo and look at the titles of the articles. When I do that with my current issue of Cosmo the first headline that jumps out at me is “10 Reasons why your workout isn’t working.”

This could turn into “10 Reasons Why Your House Isn’t Selling” or “10 Reasons Why You Can’t Find The House You Really Want”. Both of these are good headlines and could be written as ads or run as classifieds in the local newspaper.

One of the best places to test headlines is in the classifieds, and if you’re going to be writing your headlines it’s not a bad idea to pretend you’re writing a classified ad because it forces you to get to the point in only 2 or 3 lines.

Can you imagine a homebuyer looking through the classifieds — scouring the classifieds for just the right house? Then they come across an ad that says. “10 reasons why you can’t find the house you really want. Free recorded message 1-800-888-8888.”
Does that headline arouse your curiosity? If you were looking for a house faithfully every day in the paper looking for just that right house and you found that ad and it was a free recorded message, you’d have to call because it’s speaking directly to you.
Keep in mind that the only purpose of your ad is to generate a call. It’s not supposed to convince people to list their house with you, or get a mortgage with you. It’s just supposed to arouse their curiosity enough that they want to call and listen to your free-recorded message.

Here are some great headline-starters that you can use to create awesome headlines.

How To [Get a big benefit or solve a big problem]

How To Sell Your House In Less Than 90 Days Guaranteed.

How To Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage Before You Make An Offer On A Home.

How To Avoid The 10 Dumbest Mistakes Smart People Make When They Buy A Home.

[10] ways to [ insert a big benefit ]

10 Ways To Make Sure Your House Sells For Top Dollar.

10 Ways To Save Money When You Get A Mortgage.

10 Ways To Fix Up Your Home For Under $100.

Why [insert a big problem] and what to do about it.

Why Nobody Bought Your House — And What To Do About It.

Why The Bank May Turn You Down For A Mortgage — And What To Do About It.

Why You Can’t Find The House You Really Want – And What To Do About It.

OK. Here’s your homework assignment: go to the grocery store and get a copy of The Weekly World News and Cosmo magazine and scan the contents of the magazines for great headline ideas that you can turn into winning headlines.