THE LITTLE KNOWN THREE-PART HEADLINE

Although you wouldn’t know it from the vast majority of headlines being used today, a headline does not have to contain just one sentence or phrase like those presented above. The copywriter, working with the art director, may choose to create a more eye-catching and effective headline using a three-part headline consisting of:

1. Eyebrow or Kicker: The short line of copy appearing in the upper-left corner above the main headline, usually in smaller type. The eyebrow is most often used to identify the particular audience being targeted or to let the reader know you are offering something new or free.

2. Main Headline: Set in larger, bold type, the main headline is where you present your primary benefit or make your promise.

3. Subhead: Using a type size smaller than the main headline, here you can expand on the primary benefit or go into more detail about your promise.

Here’s an example of a three-part headline a bank might use when promoting lines of credit for small business owners:

ATTENTION Small Business Owners

LINES OF CREDIT UP TO $100,000

Access your line in as little as ten working days!

Your kicker or eyebrow quickly catches the attention of small business owners scanning or reading the local newspaper.

Your big, bold headline offers small business owners the promise of a line of credit up to $100,000.

Finally, your subhead expands on the headline promise by informing these small business owners that the money is available within ten working days.

What’s most shocking is how seldom we see a three-part headline being used.

Now, compare this three-part headline with headline #7 in the list above which actually appeared at the top of a newspaper ad promoting business lines of credit.

Advertisers love lines this good

Now, imagine you’re a small business owner needing money to buy inventory and you’re scanning your morning newspaper while grabbing a bite to eat before rushing off to work. Being extremely busy with a lot on your mind this early in the morning, which of these headlines has a greater chance of quickly grabbing your attention – causing you to stop and read the rest of the ad?

The three-part headline speaks directly to the prospect. The five-word headline is simply a novice copywriter’s effort at humor to grab attention. What’s shocking is that it was ever submitted by the copywriter, let alone approved by the appropriate people working for the credit union running this ad.

After you finish reading this newsletter, consider grabbing a copy of your most current ad or other marketing piece and replacing the current headline with a three-part headline you’ve written. It may take some effort but write enough three-part headlines and you’ll discover one that works better than the existing headline.

Next, we are presenting an innovative recommendation made by veteran freelance copywriter Gary Bencivenga.

THE IF...THEN FORMULA

Freelance copywriter Gary Bencivenga has written thousands of headlines and tested many of them during his long career. He knows what works and what doesn’t work.

Among the many things he learned about writing headlines that perform best in today’s cluttered marketplace is to avoid overused words like “New,” “Improved,” and clichés like “Get rich quick,” “Lose weight fast,” and “Burn away fat,” and “Get rid of debt easily.”

Consumers have become so used to seeing headlines using these words and making these fantastic promises that they are apt to say after reading them, “yeah, sure.” And immediately after saying to themselves, “yeah, sure,” they move on – failing to stop and read your sales message.

So the goal is to write a headline that turns off your prospect’s “yeah, sure” response mechanism.

Bencivenga accomplishes this using two simple words – words he calls the two most powerful words in advertising.

Instead of simply revealing them right away, see if you can guess which of these two headlines generated the most response. According to Bencivenga, they were tested by a successful financial newsletter.

Headline #1

“If you’ve got 20 minutes a month, I guarantee to work a financial miracle in your life.”

Headline #2

“The Millionaire Maker
Can he make YOU rich too?”

In a split-run test, one of these headlines dramatically outperformed the other and became a profitable direct mail control package for years. This means that over time other headlines were continuously tested against the winner and were unable to outperform it.

Bencivenga’s headline writing secret is to sandwich your big promise or offer inside an IF...THEN construction.

According to Bencivenga, experience has proven that if you follow the word “IF” by a simple requirement your prospect has to meet, it apparently turns off her “yeah, sure” response mechanism, causing her to continue reading.

Now, looking back at both headlines you’ll see that headline #1 was the hands-down winner in the split-run test.

So Bencivenga’s headline formula works like this – start with an easy requirement followed by your strong offer or promise.

Here’s an example of how it might work for one of today’s new fee-based checking accounts that has replaced the traditional free checking account. While these new accounts have a monthly service fee, the fee is easily avoided by simply agreeing to meet one of two or three performance requirements such as direct deposit, debit card use, or agreeing to online statements.

Your new IF...THEN headline:

“If you meet one of three easy requirements, you’ll enjoy a fee-free checking account”

Now, compare this headline with a more traditional headline that you’re likely to encounter from one of today’s large banks:

“Open an ABC Bank everyday checking account and receive a $50 bonus.”

Yeah, sure! I doubt they’ll hand me $50 cash before walking out the door! I wonder what hoops I’ll have to jump through before seeing the $50?

The next time you are involved in headline writing or approval, consider Bencivenga’s IF...THEN formula for successful headline writing.

You can read Bencivenga’s entire article on the IF...THEN formula here.

By the way, are you aware of the successful four-step formula for giving a great speech? It was created by Richard Borden, Administrative Chairman of the Department of Public Speaking at New York University. Fortunately for copywriters, Gary Bencivenga discovered that using the Borden formula will also help you write a great headline. You can read Bencivenga’s entire article on using the Borden Formula here.

This next recommendation not only helps you write more effective headlines, you can use it to evaluate headlines presented by other copywriters before approving them.

THE FOUR U'S

Michael Masterson, one of the highest-paid, freelance copywriters working today, developed an easy method to assist you when writing and evaluating headlines. He calls it the Secret of the Four U’s.

As you can see below, his method consists of four words – each beginning with the letter “U” – that should be considered when crafting your headline.

1. Urgency – your headline should give prospects a reason to take action now rather than wait until later to respond.
2. Usefulness – your headline should promise something of value to your prospect.
3. Uniqueness – your headline should suggest that what you are offering is somehow different or more valuable than what’s being offered by your competitors.
4. Ultra-Specificity – the offer, promise, or benefit presented in your headline must be specific. Being vague loses readers.

Keeping all four words in mind as you are selecting the words for your headline helps ensure that the headline you ultimately choose for your marketing message will grab the attention of the greatest number of prospects and draw them into your sales copy.

Once you’ve written a number of potential headlines, you can then go back and evaluate or score each of them using the “Four U’s.”

Ideally, your best headline should score four points using the Four U’s. But a headline scoring three points can be just as effective. Your goal for every headline you write or approve is that it scores between 3 and 4 points.

Here’s an example of a headline that scores 4 points using the four criteria described above:

Stop paying a checking account fee...
FREE Checking and $100 Gift Card Pack When You Open Your Account!  

Or, what about this headline for your auto loan recapture mailer:

Start saving $124 a month now...
Current lender $517 – ACTON Credit Union $363...And Your Pre-Approved!

Of course, by now you know that you simply can’t write one headline and trust that it will be a winner.

While most copywriters start with a working headline, they wait until after the sales copy is finished before creating their list of headline alternatives. Often, the best headline is buried somewhere in the body copy.

Gary Bencivenga tells his copywriting students that he usually writes between 30 to 50 possible headlines for each assignment before selecting the one he believes will generate the most response.

Using Masterson’s Four U’s is a handy, easy-to-use tool when writing your headlines and evaluating them to determine which one should work best.

But, in the final analysis, testing is the only sure way to know which headline works best.

By the way, as an exercise, using the Four U’s, score the 11 bank and credit union headlines listed earlier in this issue. Had the copywriter behind each of these headlines done so, it’s likely he or she would have chosen to write additional headlines for consideration.

Now you have three new headline writing tools for your marketing toolbox.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

In the sidebar to the right are a few headline quotes from successful copywriters past and present.

Perhaps you don’t trust what the old-timers like Ogilvy, Caples, and Schwartz have to say about headlines. If you’re concerned that their advice is outdated, there are plenty of highly-paid copywriters working today who have lots to say about the importance of headlines and how to write them. Just don’t be surprised when you discover that most of them quote the old-timers.

If you’re still wavering as to the importance of the headline, perhaps the well-known 80/20 rule will convince you.

Freelance copywriter Dean Rieck writes: “Headlines are another example of the all-purpose 80/20 rule. Studies have shown that eight out of ten prospects will read absolutely nothing but the headline of any particular ad. That means that your headline alone carries 80% of the responsibility for the success or failure of any advertisement.”

You have to think about Rieck’s comment. He’s not saying that the eight headline-only readers simply move on without taking action. What he’s saying is that your headline had better deliver enough information about your offer as these eight readers will make a contact/no contact decision after simply reading the headline as they aren’t going to read the entire ad.

This is why puns, jokes, clever words, and other humorous headlines are a gigantic waste of marketing dollars.

While there are a number of books written by freelance copywriters over the years, one of the best is The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly. “Writing to Get Attention: The Headline” is the title of chapter two. Consisting of 25 pages, Bly includes four pages listing 38 of the best headlines, by type, from his extensive swipe file. Bly’s book is still available new at Amazon for just under $13.

And, thanks to the Internet, there are several websites where you can find lists of the best headlines ever written. One list containing more than 150 of the world’s best headlines is available here. A second list of the 100 greatest headlines ever written can be found here.

You might be surprised to learn that even today’s best freelance copywriters will refer to these lists for inspiration.

You can further your headline education by simply doing a Google search on the keywords “writing headlines” and reading some of the many articles available.

Hopefully, we’ve successfully convinced you of the critical importance of your headlines – no matter which format and marketing channel you’re using.