If you are reading this first sentence then the answer is yes.
You see, the objective of the headline is to get the reader to
keep reading.
Whether it’s an article, a sales letter, an ezine ad or just
the subject heading in an email, the objective of the headline
is to get the reader to read more than just the headline. To
read the next ‘bit’.
So what makes this headline an attention grabber?
Let’s look at 4 points within this headline that makes it
“grab” the readers attention.
1. Ask a Question
If you ask a question in your headline then the reader is
inclined to want to answer the question themselves. The reader
is intrigued. This prompts the reader to read on. Asking a
question is one of the best ways to ‘grab’ the attention.
2. Use Inverted Commas
Use inverted commas around a single word as I have done, or
around a group of words or the whole headline. The inverted
commas themselves actually highlight something that the reader
can latch on to. If you had 10 headlines and 1 had inverted
commas around it, then it’s more likely it would be the most
read headline.
There is another benefit to using inverted commas around the
whole headline. It often means that in an alphabetical list of
headlines you will be near the top. This is because inverted
commas come before the letter “A”.
3. Capitalize the First Letter of Each Major Word in the
Headline
Capitalizing each ‘major’ word in the headline grabs the
readers attention. However do not capitalize every word. Do not
capitalize words such as ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘of’, ‘to’, ‘on’, ‘in’ and
‘an’ unless they are the first word of the headline. It’s just
not necessary.
Take a look at the ‘headline’ above for point 3. The words
‘the’, ‘of’ and ‘in’ are not capitalized. Let’s see what this
headline would look like if they were:
Capitalize The First Letter Of Each Major Word In The Headline
It just does not impress as much. There is no distinction
between the words. The ‘major’ words do not stand out as much.
However, in the headline under point 3 the following groups of
words stand out more because they are separated by the not so
important words:
Capitalize
First Letter
Each Major Word
Headline
4. Use powerful words
“Grab” is a powerful word. So is “Free”. Even “Powerful” is a
powerful word for that matter. Try and have at least 1 and
maybe 2 powerful words in your headline. These powerful words
will draw in the readers attention and prompt them to keep
reading.
Use these 4 techniques to help you write better headlines. Get
the headline wrong and there is no use writing the article, the
ezine ad or the sales letter.
Get the headline right and you are half way to making the sale
or obtaining a new ezine subscriber.
About the Author
David McKenzie is the author of a new e-book titled "How To
Write Free Articles and Market Them With a $0 Marketing Budget"
Get a Free 5 Day Email Course
http://www.brisney.com/how-to-write-free-articles.htm