This is one of the smartest copywriting quotes you’ll ever read:
“No sentence can be effective if it contains facts alone. It must also contain emotion, image, logic, and promise.”~ Eugene SchwartzHeadlines are sentences too, of course.
In fact, they’re the most important sentences. Because if you write a bad one, nobody will care enough to read the rest of your sentences. Nobody will give a damn.
If you write a bad headline, you fail.
So don’t write flat, invisible headlines, like white paper on a white desk. Write compelling headlines. Headlines that contain emotion, image, logic, and promise.
Never miss a VeryGoodCopy Micro-Article: SUBSCRIBE
Here’s how to make your most important sentence:
1. Emotional 👇
Make it dramatic, like this famous headline by John Caples:
“They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano — But When I Started to Play!”This is among the most successful headlines of the 20th century. And it was successful because it tells a story.
Dramatizing the claim — or its result — is #storytelling, pure and simple. It’s making the prospect visualize a clear narrative in as few words as possible. A narrative she can relate to, and understand.
That’s compelling.
2. Vivid 👇
Make it appeal to the senses, like this headline from The United Fruit Company:
“Tastes Like You Just Picked It!”Sensitizing the claim by making the prospect feel it, smell it, touch it, see it, or hear it will transport the prospect to a moment, consciously or otherwise.
In this headline, it’s a hungry moment: you’ve just bitten into a fresh apple — a delicious, fresh apple — and you think, I can’t wait to take another bite.
That’s compelling.
3. Logical 👇
Make it a question, like this headline by Gary Bencivenga:
“Has This Man Really Discovered the Secret of Inevitable Wealth?”In his book, Enlightened Leadership, Ed Oakley writes, “Nothing redirects people’s thinking better than a well-phrased question.”
It’s true. A good question can be provocative, even profound to a prospect on the cusp of a decision (especially if she has, at one point, asked herself the same question).
That’s compelling.
4. Hopeful 👇
Make it inspirational, like this classic headline from Rolls Royce:
“To The Man Who Is Afraid To Let His Dreams Come True”This ad was featured in Julian Watkins’ book, The 100 Greatest Advertisements, because despite running during The Great Depression, it sold more cars than any other Rolls Royce ad in history.
An inspirational headline can challenge any limiting beliefs the prospect may have, forcing her to think deeply and critically about what she WANTS. Life, after all, is a constant battle between what we want and what others expect of us. It’s a perennial fight, transcending generations and cultures.
If appropriate, write a headline that helps the self win this fight. Write a headline that bolsters hope.
That’s compelling.
LEARN TO PERSUADE
✅ Join thousands of email subscribers
✅ Less than 0.4% of readers unsubscribe
✅ Never miss a Micro-Article or -Interview
✅ Get instant email access to VGC's founder
✅ Be first in line to get new, free Micro-Courses
Hey there, thanks for reading. :)If you want more “micro” content, feel free to explore 100s of articles, interviews, courses, and series — all free. Enjoy!Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founderP.S. If you like VGC, you’ll love VGC Plus. Instantly unlock every post right here.
