Direct Response Copywriter on The Real Value of Headlines

If you were to ask me, “what’s the most important copywriting skill a direct response copywriter must own?” then my answer is fast and easy.

“Writing headlines.”

The headline is the ad for the ad. The body copy might be great. But people will only read that body copy when the headline grabs their attention.

I like the John Caples headline formula.

Curiosity + Self-Interest = Compelling Appeal.

If it worked for John Caples, it works for me.

We all know we use headlines for … well … headlines. But there’s a lot more to headlines than a headline at the top of an ad or sales page. You can use headlines for …

Subheads. The deck (bullets under a headline). Envelope copy for direct mail. Bullets and fascinations. The lead paragraph. Email subject lines.

I rarely see emails with a headline. Why? That makes no sense to me.

I highly recommend that every direct response copywriter knows how to write headlines at an “elite” level. Start by looking at the headlines that great copywriters like Dan Kennedy and Gary Bencivenga write.

Plus I recommend you read every John Caples book. There's a copywriter who knew how to write a headline.

Direct Response Copywriter on High-Converting Emails. Part 3. Subject Lines.

There are two things people look at when they see an email.

The person it’s coming from … or the company.

Then the subject line. The former can be more important so make sure you get that part correct. It just has to be clear and consistent.

The subject line is also important.

An email subject line is a headline. It’s essentially the same as the copy on the outside of a direct mail envelope.

Some companies use no copy on the outside of an envelope. I’m not a big fan of that method. You can leave the subject line empty in an email and, again, I’m not a big fan of that.

I see lots of stupid subject lines in email marketing. Usually some ridiculous promise or something sophomoric. I like sophomoric humor but not in serious email marketing.

The subject line is an exercise in writing direct response headlines. As such, I refer to the John Caples headline writing formula.

CURIOSITY + SELF-INTEREST = COMPELLING APPEAL

John Caples, in case you didn’t know, was a superb direct response copywriter. One of his copy cubs, Gary Bencivenga, goes one step further with headlines …

Interest = Benefit + Curiosity

Let’s say you own a restaurant and you want to send an email for New Year’s Eve. You might write something like …

We’ve got something super-special for December 31 this year. If you’re interested in something fun, you’ll open the email.

For a golf-related email, I might write:

A long-drive champion just used this driver to hit the ball 402 yards in a competition …

OK … that subject line might be a bit long. But I want you to write email subject lines that pique curiosity based around a benefit. It’s a proven direct response copywriting technique.

The headline writing has only just begun. I routinely see hundreds of emails with a decent subject line but NO HEADLINE IN THE EMAIL. Crazy. Again, use the formulas above for the headline in the actual email.

If it’s a longer email, break up the copy with carefully-written subheads.

Just remember that subject lines are headlines. And if you can test these, all the better.