In direct marketing one of the hottest topics is always about headlines. Everyone is always looking for another angle, another way to pack even more selling power into their headlines.

Why? Because for many decades,test after test have conclusively proven that a good headline can increase your response by as much as 1800%! With that type of improvement it makes sense to devote as much time as it takes to create and test headlines until you have found a winner.

The headline or first impression is the part of the ad that gets attention. The first step in persuading your reader to buy your product is by getting their attention. Here are some tips for making your headlines more effective and compelling.

1. Appeal to the reader’s self interest.
Good ads will appeal to a persons needs and benefits to the consumer.

2. Get your reader’s attention.
Another effective attention-getting approach is to give the reader news. Free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary.

3. Use appropriate appeals.
Get attention by picking out an important customer benefit and presenting it in a clear, bold, dramatic fashion. Avoid headlines and concepts that are cute, clever, and irrelevant.

4. Speak directly to your audience.
Identify your audience and appeal to your target market.

5. Deliver a meaningful message.
It pays to make a complete statement in your headline.

6. Draw the reader into your body copy.
The headline must compel the reader to read the copy and draw them into the body copy. You can do this with mystery, humor, or intrigue.

7. Use direct headlines when writing about straightforward offers and high-interest products.
State the selling proposition directly, with no wordplay, hidden meanings, or puns.

8. Express your sales proposition in a fresh and compelling way
Use a headline that expresses the main thought with a twist or in a fresh or compelling way.

9. Inject news into your headline.
If you have news about your product, announce it in the headline.

10. Offer to teach the reader something useful.
“How to” headlines offer the promise of solid information, sound advice, and solutions to problems.

11. Ask a provocative question.
The headline must ask a question that the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered. Question headlines should always focus on the reader’s self-interest, curiosity, and needs.

12. Tell customers what you want them to do.
Headlines that directly tell prospects to buy a product or take other action are called “command headlines.” Command headlines generate sales by calling for immediate action.

13. Use the “reason why” approach.
One easy and effective way of writing body copy is to list the sales features of your product in simple 1-2-3 fashion. If you write your ad this way, you can use a reason-why headline to introduce the list.

14. Put the headline in quotation marks.
Testimonials work because they offer proof that a business satisfies its customers.

15. Make headlines and visuals work together.
Pictures can work with headlines to create a unified sales concept more powerful than either words or pictures alone. The visual should work with the headline.

16. Avoid being clever for the sake of being clever.
Creativity should be used to gain attention and interest in a manner that promotes the product. Your goal is to sell something or educate your reader.

One last word of advice. Let the market decide which is the best headline for your ad by continuously testing headlines. The results can be astounding. Simple changes can increase your response, sometimes getting you ten times or better response for the same ad cost.