"Clever Headlines Usually Flop! Are You Being Too Clever For Your Own Good?"
Copywriters that try to be clever, humorous, abstract, or use
double entendre with their headlines and ads will normally find
that they flop and are thus a waste of both time and money. Many
of the Super Bowl ads fall in this category. While they are often
funny to watch, most people don't remember what company the ad
was promoting.
Ted Nicholas tells the story of how a book that he had written
was not selling very well. He had titled it, "How Not To Drown In
A Sea Of Debt." One day he stopped by a bookstore and looked for
the book in the personal finance and self help sections but could
not find it. So he went to the information counter and asked if
they carried the book. He was told yes they had it in stock, and
it was located in the swimming section!
Ted subsequently changed the title to 'How To Get Out Of Debt'
and the book sold well from that point on.
If you are trying to promote something,
NewsPoet: Carmen Gimenez Smith's Day In Verse
Each month, NPR's <em>All Things Considered </em>invites a poet into the newsroom to see how the show comes together and to write an original poem about the news. This month, our NewsPoet is Carmen Gimenez Smith. Want to write your own poem about the day's news? You can put them in the comments below.
Peter Dinklage: On 'Thrones,' And On His Own Terms
The Emmy-winning actor talks with NPR's Audie Cornish about the popular fantasy drama — and about the rules of his own personal game.
keep your titles clear
and simple. Leave clever and humorous to the entertainers.
Headlines that are too abstract are often unclear to the reader
and do not clearly identify to the reader why they should be
interested in the information contained in the follow on copy.
Make your headlines clear. Identify a benefit to the reader as to
why they should read on further into your ad, article, or sales
letter. If you do, you will find your desired results will
improve.
About the Author
George Dodge has worked on the Internet since 1994 developing,
and serving as webmaster for, numerous government and commercial
websites. One of his commercial sites focusing on headline
copywriting is
www.Headline-Creator-Pro.com where you can get your copy of a
headline generating tool that enables you to create winning
headlines quickly with push button ease.
|