Direct Response Copywriter on High-Converting Emails. Part 4. Headlines in Emails?

I get a lot of emails every day. I’m sure you’re in the same boat. Some are business-related, like emails from clients. Others are marketing emails trying to motivate me to buy something. Sadly, I also get a ton of spam, even from legitimate companies … or companies that pose as legitimate.

If you’re writing an email and the subject line motivated someone to open your email, that’s bit step. However, the work has just begun. Now you have to motivate the reader to keep reading. And that’s where I see a lot of direct response copywriters fail.

What’s going on?

They forget to include a headline in the email. I see tons of emails without a headline. That’s a mistake.

The headline must complement and augment the subject line. It must draw the reader into the body of the email. And then I recommend a number of subheads in the body of the email. A subhead is the same as a headline, essentially. The subheads let scanners know what's happening and what's in it for them.

Some emails are long. Some are short. But every email should include a headline plus some subheads.

Next time you're looking at emails, see which ones have a strong 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.

Direct Response Copywriter on the Cartoonists

I spent my formative years in the United Kingdom. I grew up, therefore, with three media companions.

1. Seriously good newspapers with seriously good writing.
2. Tabloid newspapers with shoddy journalism but phenomenal writing.
3. High quality radio.

One day I’ll write about the tabloids—because the headlines and captions present a daily clinic in breathtakingly attention grabbing writing. And I'll go into my favorite radio shows like Just a Minute...another time, another day.

I believe I learned to write by reading the quality broadsheets like The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian. A mixed bag politically but you can’t argue with the consistent quality of the writing.

Today, I want to focus on perhaps my favorite part of The Telegraph, the daily “Matt” cartoon. You can see the archive here.

You can see the current Matt cartoon here.

The newspaper just celebrated Matt’s 25^th anniversary. Here’s an article and video.

Matt cartoons are always funny—in a non-confrontational way. They poke fun at everyday life and its absurdity.

But the cartoons are arresting. They grab my attention—just like a good headline.

You can apply how Matt works to direct response headlines.

• He tries 6-20 jokes (similar to a headline)
• He ‘tests’ the cartoons on people in the office…simply asking their opinion
• He understands the daily pressure to produce
• For material, he uses topical subjects and completes research
• The visual (the cartoon) matches the joke—the perfect marriage of copy and graphic
• It’s simple—and you get the joke and the cartoon right away without having to dig

Matt isn’t trying to sell anything. But a direct response headline isn’t trying to sell a product directly. The perfect direct response headline simply persuades you to keep reading until you get to the final sales pitch where the you have to decide whether to leave or buy.

Part of me wishes I had just 5% of the raw talent of a Matt. I’d be able to write killer headlines in about 10 minutes.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing content and copy for the direct marketing environment for clients around the planet. I specialize in sales page copy, landing page copy and copy that persuades readers to pull out their credit card and buy. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here if you have a project you'd like me to quote.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

Disclaimer.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.