1. Ten Fill-In-The-Blank Headline Templates
So you’re writing a sales letter or other advertisement. And you know that one of keys to writing a great piece of copy is to brainstorm as many headlines as possible.
But sometimes it’s hard to get started.
Sometimes you just stare at a blank computer screen, trying to figure out how to hook your prospects. Brainstorm dozens of headlines? Heck, sometimes you can’t even write one good one!
That’s why I’m offering these templates to you.
Just plug in the required information, and in minutes from now you’ll have at least 10 good headlines!
Give it a try…
1. Now You Too Can Discover the World’s Best-Kept Secret for [Getting a Benefit]
Examples:
- Now You too Can Discover the World’s Best-Kept Secret for Enjoying a Long and Happy Marriage!
- Now You too Can Discover the World’s Best-Kept Secret for Shaving Five Strokes off Your Golf Game!
- Now You too Can Discover the World’s Best-Kept Secret for Getting Rid of Migraines!
2. Thousands Will [Try to Get Specific Benefit]. Only Those Who Know This [Type of/Niche/Explanation] Secret Will Succeed. Will You Be One of Them?
Examples:
- Thousands of People Will Start a Blog This Year. Only Those Who Know This Profit Secret Will Succeed. Will You Be One of Them?
- Thousands of Dog Owners Will Try to Housetrain a Puppy This Year. Only Those Who Know This Surprising Housetraining Secret Will Succeed. Will You Be One of Them?
- Thousands of People Will Start a Diet This Year. Only Those Who Know This Fat-Loss Secret Will Lose Weight. Will You Be One of Them?
3. How to [Get a Benefit] in Just [Small Amount of Time]
Examples:
- How to Get Whiter Teeth in Just 10 Minutes a Day!
- How to Get Flatter Abs in Just Five Minutes a Day!
- How to Run a Wildly Successful Online Business in Just One Hour a Day!
4. You’re About to Discover the Secrets of [Getting a Benefit] – Even if [You Don’t Possess Some Pre-requisite or Special Skill or You Do Possess Some Bad Quality]
Examples:
- You’re About to Discover the Secrets of Writing a Bestselling Book – Even if You Flunked High-School English!
- You’re About to Discover the Secrets of Design a Web Page the Quick and Easy Way – Even if You Think CSS and HTML are Government Agencies!
- You’re About to Discover the Secrets of Losing Weight Fast and Keeping it Off for Good – Even if You’ve Tried and Failed Before!
5. How to Use a Little-Known [Topic/Type] Secret to [Get a Benefit]
Examples:
- How to use a Little Known Persuasion Secret to Get More Dates With Beautiful Women!
- How to Use a Little-Known Homemade Herbal Mask Recipe to Take Ten Years off Your Face!
- How to Use a Little-Known Parenting Trick to Get Your Teenagers to Start Talking to You!
6. Good News! You Don’t Have to Suffer [From Specific Problem] Any Longer!
Examples:
- Good News! You Don’t Have to Suffer With Back Pain Any Longer!
- Good News! You Don’t Have to Suffer From Social Anxiety Any Longer!
- Good News! You Don’t Have to Suffer From Insomnia Any Longer!
7. Warning: Don’t Even Think About [Taking a Specific Action] Until You Read Every Word on This Page, Unless [You Want Bad Thing]
Examples:
- Warning: Don’t Even Think About Starting Another Fad Diet Until You Read Every Word on This Page, Unless You Want Your Metabolism to Slow to a Snail’s Pace…
- Warning: Don’t Even Think About Starting a Blog Until You Read Every Word on This Page, Unless You Plan on Abandoning Your Blog in Six Months…
- Warning: Don’t Even Think About Buying a Car Until You Read Every Word on This Page, Unless You Like Overpaying…
8. Now You Too Can Save [Time/Money/Hassles]!
Examples:
- Now You Too Can Save Hundreds of Dollars on Your Heating Bills!
- Now You Too Can Save Your Self Time, Money and Headaches, Once You Know These Secrets of Successful Outsourcing!
- Now You Too Can Save Time by Using These Simple Organization Secrets!
9. Here’s a Surprising Trick for [Getting a Benefit]
Examples:
- Here’s a Surprising Trick for Getting Rid of Your Dog’s Fleas!
- Here’s a Surprising Trick for Erasing Laugh Lines and Other Signs of Aging!
- Here’s a Surprising Trick for Getting Rid of Belly Fat!
10. [Getting Benefit] Is Easy When You [Know This Secret/Use This Product]
Examples:
- Capturing Stunning Magazine-Quality Photographs is Easy When You Know These Photography Secrets!
- Losing 20 Pounds is Easy When You Know This Fat-Loss Trick!
- Starting an Online Business is Easy When You Use This Software!
Conclusion
There you have it – 10 templates you can use to quickly and easily create your next profit-pulling headline.
Just remember – once you start brainstorming, don’t stop. Because these 10 headlines can easily grow to 20, 30 or more headlines if you let your creativity flow!
2. How to Create Urgency in Your Copy
Your prospect is interested in buying your product. Maybe his mouse is even hovering over your buy button. But then he bookmarks your page and tells himself he’ll come back and buy later.
Except later he’s not in the buying mood any more.
Life gets in the way. Maybe he even forgets about you and your offer completely. And you lose the sale and a customer.
The solution?
You need to create a sense of urgency. You need to get your prospects buying right now.
Here are 10 ways to do it…
1. Offer a limited-time discount.
You can offer these discounts directly on your sales page. Or you can hand out coupon codes with expiration dates. But either way, you need to offer a good discount for a limited amount of time.
Example: Order now to receive $25 off the regular price – but hurry, this offer ends in 72 hours!
2. Extend a limited-quantity discount.
Instead of having the discount end on a certain date, you can have it end when a certain number of customers have purchased the product.
Example: The next 50 customers who act now will enjoy a 50% discount…
3. Create a limited-time bonus offer.
This is where you offer a free product or service to anyone who buys the main product before the expiration date.
Example: Order this copywriting book before Tuesday at 11:59 PM, and you’ll get a FREE headline critique!
4. Offer a limited-quantity bonus offer.
Here you create urgency by only giving a bonus to a limited number of people.
Example: Be one of the first 100 people to order now and you’ll get a FREE one-year membership into the iBusinessOwner.com membership site!
5. State that the entire offer ends on a certain date.
While technically you could pull any offer on a certain date, it makes more sense to use this method with products and services that have natural deadlines, such as a live e-class workshop which begin on a certain date.
Example: Hurry and claim your e-class seat today, because the class starts on Monday! You’ll kick yourself if you miss the registration deadline…
6. Entire offer ends after a limited quantity is sold.
Again, while you could arbitrarily decide to sell a limited number of any time of product, this method works best if there is a good reason why quantities are limited.
Here are instances where a product is naturally scarce:
- You’re selling antiques or limited-edition collectibles.
- You’re selling products that retain a higher value if you limit quantities (like private label rights content).
- You’re selling workshop seats where you can only accommodate a limited number of people.
- You’re selling a service, which is scarce because you’re only able to accept a limited number of clients.
Example: There are only 150 private label rights licenses available – and when they’re gone, they’re gone, so order now to avoid disappointment!
7. Use dime-sale pricing.
The idea here is that you use a script that causes the price to go up in small increments after every purchase. While it’s common to have the price go up 10 cents after every purchase, you can choose most any increment (one penny, 25 cents, one dollar, etc).
Generally, once you reach a predetermined price, it becomes a fixed price and the sale is effectively over.
Example: Act now and you can get this amazing course for just $7.10 – that’s an 80% discount! But don’t delay, because the price goes up every time someone buys before you do. So order now to lock in the absolute lowest price possible!
8. Utilize fire-sale pricing.
This is a type of sale that usually lasts one or two weeks. On Day #1 you offer the absolute lowest price. Then every day thereafter you increase the price by a set amount. Once you reach the end of the sale, you can either pull the offer off the market completely, or you can leave it at the final price.
Example: Order now and you can get this amazing package of never-before-seen resell rights products for just $30! But hurry, because the sooner you buy, the more you’ll save! Take a look:
Today: $30 order today to lock in the lowest price!
Tuesday: $40
Wednesday: $50
Thursday : $60
Friday: $70
Saturday: $80
9. Tell prospects why they need to buy now.
The idea here is to remind prospects that the sooner they get started, the sooner they alleviate their pain and start enjoying the benefits.
Basically, you’re telling them that if they don’t take action, then nothing will change. While you can use this method for any type of product or service, it works particularly well for desperate markets (e.g., people who have a pressing problem they need solved ASAP).
Example: Order the Bride Boot Camp Miracle today – because the sooner you do, the better you’ll look on your wedding day!
10. Create a disadvantage if prospects don’t buy now.
People like instant gratification. That’s why telling people they may have to wait if they don’t order now creates a sense of urgency.
Of course you can’t threaten that people will have to wait without a good reason. Here are legitimate reasons:
You have a limited quantity in stock. If the prospect waits, the item might be backordered for a week or two.
You’re offering a service. Obviously, the sooner someone orders, the sooner you’ll be able to complete that service.
You’re offering a class or workshop. If they don’t order now, then they’ll have to wait until the next time you offer that class or workshop.
Example: This class won’t be offered again until next spring. So register today to make sure you get into this class, because you deserve to learn how to run a successful business!
Conclusion
You just discovered 10 proven ways to create urgency so that your prospects start hitting the “buy now” button more often. However, you don’t have to limit yourself to using just one tactic per sales page. Indeed, you can make your offer even more compelling by combining these tactics.
Example: You can remind people about the benefits of an offer (#9) while simultaneously extending a discount (#1).
So go ahead and use these methods for creating urgency in your copy.
I think you’ll like what they do to your sales figures!
3. How to Tell a Story in Your Copy
Do you remember your parents teaching you how to tie your shoes? If so, then there’s a possibility that your parents used a story to teach you this task (“first make a bunny ear, then make another…”).
And if you were one of the lucky ones who learned shoe-tying through a story, then you probably picked up the skill quite fast.
Why? Because stories are memorable. And they’re also great ways to turn a complex task into a simple one.
But stories don’t just work on small children. They also work on your prospects to persuade them to your viewpoint, teach them a valuable lesson or to otherwise make a point.
Problem is, a lot of people don’t know how to tell a good story, especially in their sales letters. If you do it wrong, the method backfires. Instead of getting people running for your buy button, you’ll get them hitting the back button.
Don’t let that happen to you. Just follow these three steps for storytelling selling…
Step 1: Determine the Purpose of Your Story
Even though you’re writing this story for sales copy, that doesn’t necessarily mean the story’s purpose is purely for persuasion. You tell a story for a variety of reasons, including:
- Building rapport with your readers. A story can demonstrate to your prospects that you understand and empathize with them. And if the story is about you, the story might even show that you used to be just like them.
- Connecting emotionally with your readers. People make their buying decisions based on emotion. Stories help evoke emotion. So you can see why telling stories help you persuade your prospects.
- Making a point. As mentioned above, a story is memorable. It allows you to make a point that wouldn’t be as effective if you just laid out the facts. For example, you can tell someone not to lie. But if you tell the story of the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” your point becomes much more effective.
- Giving an example. A story is also a good way to share an example of what you’re referring to in your copy. So instead of just saying that many people have problems losing weight, you can share a story about how someone jumped from diet to diet, trying to find something that worked.
Once you decided on the purpose of your story, then move on to the next step…
Step 2: Choose a Story That Suits Your Purpose
Now that you know your story’s purpose, you need to come up with a story that will help you achieve this purpose.
There are numerous ways to come up with this story, including:
- Think about your own life. This is a great option if you want to build rapport with your prospects and/or show them that you were once just like them.
Example: If you’re selling a weight loss book, then you can share a story about how you were once overweight and how being overweight ruined your life.
- Look to other peoples’ lives. Maybe you have a friend, colleague or other acquaintance with a story worth sharing.
- Tell a popular story from books, TV or movies. This includes Bible stories, stories from bestselling novels and stories from popular movies and television programs. The idea is to pick something really popular, something your market is likely to know about, because your target market will be able to relate to it.
Example: You could share a story about how being business makes you feel like a contestant on the reality show Survivor (outwit, outlast, outplay). A lot of people would relate to that and know what you’re talking about, simply because the show has been so popular over the years.
- Share another story. This could be a story you make up. Or it could be an observation that you spin into a persuasive or point-making tale.
Example: Let me show you a first-hand example: http://www.traffic-fuel.com/. There you’ll see how I took a race-car driving story and used it to make a point.
Once you pick out a story, then move on to the last step…
Step 3: Engage Your Readers
The key to making your story work in your copy is to tell a good story. Don’t just rush through it. And don’t just tell it in a monotone, “just the facts” style. You need to engage your readers. Here’s how…
- Think about word connotation. Let’s say you’re telling a story about witnessing a car accident. You can say the cars collided with one another. Or you can say they smashed into each other.
Did you see what happened there? When you read the word “smashed,” you get a very different mental image as opposed to when you read the word “collided.” Thus you can actually paint different mental images for your readers simply by choosing different words. In other words, you can control how your readers respond to your story.
- Paint a picture. Go back to this example again: http://www.traffic-fuel.com/. You’ll note that I didn’t just say that Earnhardt ran out of gas. Instead, I painted a picture of the time leading up to that moment – the crowd going wild, how Earnhardt was so close to victory, etc. In other words, I let readers see why this event was so heartbreaking for Earnhardt and his fans. And in doing so, I evoked emotion in my readers.
- Engage the reader’s senses. If you can engage your reader’s senses, then you can pull him away from his world and into your world for a few minutes. In other words, you can get his attention. And once you have his attention, you’ll be in a better attention to “tell and sell.”
So what do I mean by engaging his senses? Exactly what it sounds like: when you tell your story, be sure to bring in your reader’s sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Or at least bring in as many senses as possible.
Example:
Sight: She was wearing a brilliantly colored red and blue button-up shirt.
Hearing: The fireworks went off so loud that my ears were ringing for several minutes.
Taste: My lips puckered as soon as I tasted the sour lemonade.
Touch: I felt a painful sting as the doctor plunged the needle into my arm.
Smell: The room filled with the smell of burnt toast.
Conclusion
A well-told story can work wonders to build rapport, make a point and persuade your prospects.
So use the three simple steps above to start effectively telling stories in your copy too – you might be surprised by the results!
