Direct Response Copywriter on The Art and Science of Writing Headlines

It's no great news that headlines are important in direct response copy. Alert the media. This just in.

The headline is what I like to call “the ad for the ad.” The headline says to the reader: “you need to read what’s below and here’s why.”

An advertising man named Howard Gossage said, and I agree: "People don't read ads. They read what interests them and sometimes that's an ad."

In some instances there’s no need for the headline to be all that interesting. Here’s an example:

Buy two bananas and get one free.

However, when the product and offer are more complex, the ad must start by providing interesting information.

The key word is interest. I like to use the John Caples headline formula, also championed by Gary Bencivenga.

Interest = Benefit plus Curiosity.

I like to choose the benefit very carefully plus add some specificity. Here’s an example …

Discover How Johnny Riggs Gained an Extra 27 Yards Off the Tee WITHOUT Spending Endless Hours in the Gym.

That’s a golf example and I’ve written successful headlines in other verticals.

You can see examples of really great and really bad headlines in newspapers and on all sorts of websites.

What’s the biggest mistake I see in headline writing?

That’s easy: giving too much away in the headline.

Here’s an example:

The Queen's reluctant farewell: Monarch expresses regret as she confirms Prince Harry and Meghan departure.

I know what the article is going to say. Why should I read that article?

Now here’s another headline, from the same newspaper.

The five secret corners of Provence you must visit.

That’s a much more inviting headline.

Should headlines be long or short? I know one superb direct response copywriter who writes a headline that’s 2-3 words followed by a hybrid subhead/headline that’s about 30 words. I know another copywriter who writes longer headlines that take about 5 seconds to read.

The headline for a sales page is obviously important. But all those display ads we see online are also headlines. Everyone is writing headlines and all those people who are writing display ads MUST understand how to write headlines.

I have a series of headline templates based on the John Caples formula. I could write a book about writing headlines. There are some excellent books about headlines. I recommend you read all of them.

The next time you’re looking at ads or looking at a newspaper website, look closely at the headlines. See if the headline really pulled you into the ad or the article.

In a perfect world, my client has huge traffic and I can test headlines. But I'm always going to use the John Caples formula.