4 Goals to Focus on When Writing Sales Copy Headlines

4 Goals to Focus on When Writing Sales Copy Headlines

It’s not easy to write sales copy. Writing high converting copy is even harder. An effective sales letter needs to begin with a great headline. The headline needs to hook the potential customer and get him or her to continue reading. Here are the four main goals to focus on when writing sales copy headlines.

That doesn’t mean there is some magic formula that will automatically make every headline a great headline. Every product or service that’s being sold is different and needs a different approach. However, there are several main goals that you should  always focus on when writing the headline.

Include Urgency

Every headline you write should include a certain degree of urgency. In other words, you want to get across to the reader that they need to buy what you’re selling right now. If you don’t create the urgency for them to buy your benefit for their desired outcome,  then you at least need to make it urgent enough for them to read the rest of the sales letter.

Be Very Specific

The more specific you can be with your headline the more people you will hook. For example, don’t just write that your product will make them thinner. Write that they will lose 10 pounds within the first 15 days. Don’t just tell them your software will save them time; tell them your software will shave two hours off every working day.

Make it Unique

You also need your headline to stand out from all the other noise that is incessantly bombarding your potential customer these days. That’s why a unique sales proposition (USP) or a unique way to present it is essential.

Make it Useful 

No one is going to read your copy if they don’t feel there is anything in it for them. Remember the “WIIFM” rule (what’s in it for me?) So make sure the reader feels why they should keep reading or why they should buy your product or program. You must put a great hook in your headline that includes the emotionally longed for benefit. Great copy writers use words that paint a picture of the end result and work that into the headline.

That’s why the most important points to focus on when writing headlines are urgency, specificity, uniqueness, and usefulness. If you remember to keep these concepts foremost when writing sales copy, you will have strong headline hooks that compel your target audience to at least open and read your ad or post. Without that happening, your marketing will be limp and ineffectual, with few sales made.

Dan Kennedy’s The Ultimate Sales Letter and The Copy Writers Guild, by David Garfinkel are excellent resources I recommend for writing sales copy that converts and makes money.