Writing Better Headlines: The Power of 3

The purpose of a headline is to get people to start reading. That’s it. Your headline (or subject line in email) is crucial.

I recently read a good post on Michel Fortin's blog about headlines and his 3 X 3 Rule:

The best headlines are those that start a story, make a shocking statement, tease a bit, offer a benefit or prepare the reader for what’s to come.

That is, your headline should cater to:

1. The three greatest human goals: to make or save time, effort or money
2. The three greatest human desires: lust, greed or comfort
3. The three greatest human teasers: curiosity, scarcity or controversy

How simple and clear is that? When you think about it, in a marketing perspective, you are trying to save people time, effort or money. So you appeal to their lust, greed or comfort...

Oh, that's interesting because I just recognize that I usually only appeal to their comfort - something

that always interests me. Rarely to I go for lust or greed...hmmm.

The other factors that "tease" people to open an email or to read an ezine or blog are curiosity, scarcity or controversy. Here I recognize that I use curiosity far more than scarcity and controversy. Although I have been known to push people to sign up for a program before it becomes full. Rarely do I go for controversy, which again is a reflection of my own personality.

Hmmmm, what this reveals to me is that I'm writing headlines as if all readers were like me, and they're not. What about you readers out there, are you using all three goals, desires, and teasers when you write a headline?

Comments

[Michel Fortin]

Patsi,

(Great blog, by the way.)

I don't have a psychological degree like you do. You are far more sophisticated in that realm than I am.

But for me, in terms of copy, "lust" is anything people seek or want. This includes a lust for life, social acceptance, better health, sex appeal, glamor, fame, etc. Even appreciation and approval might fall in that category.

They say "sex sells." So giving a topic, subject or, in this case, headline, sex appeal is anything that makes the topic attractive and magnetic, which is not limited to sex itself.

(I guess you can say, for the lack of a better word, anything that appeals at a hormonal or cellular level is "lustworthy." Something that people want -- not necessarily need.)

For example, the very famous headline about piano lessons, which goes:

"They All Laughed When I Sat Down to Play... But When I Started Playing, Their Laughter Turned Into Amazement."

(As you know, that's one of the most successful headlines in history.)

In this case, the piano lesson was not pitched as a way to learn the instrument -- or even a better, more efficient way to learn, particularly for the non-musically inclined.

It was pitched as a way to attract attention, gain respect, be the life of the party, shock enemies, be "sexy" (attractive) to people, etc.

Same thing with "greed." Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves. And that, too, is not limited to money -- or even something material (although most of it is).

Anything people want in excess, whether it's gourmet food, luxury, the trappings of success, freedom from debt, etc. I would even classify addictions in this category.

My friend and top copywriter David Garfinkel tells the story of copy meant to sell some newfangled laboratory equipment to engineers. Something that's normally cold, analytical and highly logical.

When interviewing a team of technicians who bought the product, their reasoning as to why they bought it was, of course, efficiency, technical benefits, analytical speed, etc.

But in private, their answers were completely different. One technician said, "I just love the 'feel' of it." And, "I just wanted to own it because it's the latest and greatest." Even "I wanted to make the other techs envious of me."

"Comfort" is self-explanatory. But I would also say that "comfort" is the same as "convenience." People not only want something (lust) and they want more of it (greed), they also want it "now." It caters to that need for instant gratification.

That's why adding to a headline extra words such as "starting as early as tomorrow" or "in days, not weeks" are appealing to the comfort-seeker. The converse is also true: allaying those fears (or "security") is also a comfort-seeking desire.

If I were to sum those three up, look at it this way: the three greatest human desires are what people want, not necessarily need.

Anyway, hope this helps.

[Patsi M. Krakoff]

Thanks, Michel for your elaborations. Great stuff. Thanks also for clarifying lust and how that ties into people's response to your message. I have for a long time admired copywriters, (the good ones) who make you want to buy something, precisely for their mastery of language that influences on a psychological level. Thanks for teaching us more.

[lawton chiles]

Michel has a great point. Honing in on why people buy a certain thing, because it makes them feel young, sexy, strong, and not vunerable. Because we don't buy because we need it, we buy because of how things make us feel.