Strapline

Copy - Content - Marketing Communications Planning

Friday 27 February 2015

Headline writing tips - part 4

Just a quick re-cap and if none of this makes sense please check parts 1 to 3 of this little insight into the world of headlines.

You've crafted a headline and considered images and fonts to make it work extra hard, and then built an easy to understand and appreciate sub-head or value proposition. Now you need to help the reader into the final stage.

There has always been a debate about adding some credibility to an ad. Some believe just getting attention and having a strong call to action is enough, but I'm of the opinion with so many options available for indecision, you need just a few words to support your headline message.

Indecision is exacerbated because we live in an information rich world, which means if we need to purchase something we can, even if that means we are drinking a glass of wine sitting in front of a television at 11 at night.

It's not because we are all wedded to procrastination, it's just that we all now believe we don't have to move to the end of the buying cycle until we actually have an immediate need.

Don't assume your readers know everything about you and your business
Therefore I recommend at least 3 credibility statements - or 3 information statements that support your headline and sub-head. It could be:

  • Established since 1964
  • Knowledgeable and helpful staff
  • Open late on Friday and Saturday
These statements will sit just above your call to action and contact details. In the final post of this 5 part series on headlines I'll deal with these often overlooked elements, but you should consider if these credibility statements can be used to make it imperative that the call to action is not ignored.

So they could look like this:
  • This will be our 51st Summer Sale
  • Ask our helpful staff about our 10 months Interest Free Payment Option
  • Open to 10pm on Friday and Saturday with additional 10% off on selected items
This approach will help you with a clear and targeted call to action and set of contact details - but more of that in part 5.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No comments:

Post a Comment