Writing Compelling Headlines - 5 Types Of Headlines That Make Your Prospects Want To Buy

Your headline is the most important piece of copy on your sales page. Being able to write compelling headlines is a skill that will set you apart from others who are also working to promote their products and services on the Internet. Once you learn how this can be done effectively you will sell more products and be able to help others with writing their web sales copy.

The goal of your headline is to grab the attention of your reader or prospect and make them want to continue reading down your page to see if they will make a purchase. If someone is not interested immediately and compelled to keep reading you will have lost them forever. That's why the headlines we write are so important to our business.

There are many schools of thought on how to write headlines that get attention and which styles are the best, but I like to keep it simple by using just five types of writing for this. They include the command, the testimonial, the question, news, and how to. I will give examples of each of these here.

The command tells the reader exactly what they should do and how it will benefit them. Writing such as 'Build An Online Business In The Next Two Weeks' is a command that address the needs and desires of our prospects. 'Improve Your Dog's Health' and 'Look Younger And Have More Energy' are also examples of this style of headline writing.

Testimonials are always good because someone else is singing our praises and giving social proof that what we are teaching really works. 'Connie's Mentoring Increased My Business By 50%' is very powerful. You must include the person's full name - using their initials is a terrible idea! - along with their city, a website address if they have one, and their picture. I also like to have them record a short audio where they say the same thing as what I have written.

'Are You Worried About The Prices Of Real Estate In Your Neighborhood?' is an example of a question that gets the prospect thinking about their own situation.

The news approach only works well if what you are sharing is truly newsworthy. 'Introducing A Weekly Program To Get Started With Your Own Business' could be effective if you are releasing a program that is innovative and special.

The last one is the how-to and I have found it to be extremely effective. 'How To Build Bird Houses That Attract Birds And Can Be Set Up Quickly' would be an example of that.

The best way to write effective headlines and web sales copy is to practice writing every day. Soon you will come up with copy that is to the point and encourages readers to buy.

Email Fundraising Subject Lines - Use Today's News Headlines to Boost Open Rates with Online Appeals

If you want to increase the number of people who read
your email fundraising letters and email newsletters,
put today's headlines in your email subject
lines.

Paris Hilton is in the news right now because she is
in jail right now. She's behind bars because she
drove drunk while her license was suspended for
drunk driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving made
good use of Paris Hilton's celebrity status and
newsworthiness in an email appeal dated May 13,
2007.

Their subject line? "Help MADD stop the 500,000
Paris Hiltons."

Here is the opening of the email:


    "Help us raise $500,000 keep our roadways safe and
    support victims of this violent crime, especially those
    who drive while suspended.

    "There has been a news explosion over the fact that
    Paris Hilton drove drunk, had her license suspended,
    and then continued to drive anyway. What has not
    been mentioned is that she is one of 500,000 people
    do this same thing each year; studies shown that 50
    to 75 percent of people who have their license
    suspended for drunk driving continue to drive without
    a license and many of them are continuing to drive
    drunk. We are trying to raise $500,000 by the end of
    June to combat these 500,000 unsafe drivers and we
    need your help."

As you can see, MADD did three things right with their
subject line.

1. They tied it to a celebrity who draws massive media
attention and who is in the news today.

2. They tied that celebrity to an alarming statistic
(500,000 drunk drivers yearly), making that statistic
more dramatic and concrete, less abstract.

3. They tied that alarming statistic of 500,000 drunk
drivers with their campaign goal of raising $500,000.
Very clever.

Amnesty International did the same thing during the
week that a new movie about the illegal diamond
trade appeared in theatres. Their subject line: "Go
see 'Blood Diamond' this weekend."

Covenant House tied current events with their May
2007 appeal with this subject line: "A Gift of Love on
Mother's Day."

Greenpeace did the same thing at Christmas 2006
with this subject: "Green holidays, your campaign to
save the whales, enviro art and much, much
more."

Like everyone else, donors like to read about what's
new. And nothing is as new as today's news. So tie
your email message to a breaking news story, put that
in your email subject line, and you'll boost your open
rates, and clickthroughs.

How to Attract a Reader - Write a Rocking Headline

One of the first things your readers will notice is the headline of your article. A headline is like a virtual handshake. It provides readers with a glimpse of what your article is all about. If your headline is cold or lacklustre, you could make a poor first impression. As a headline can be a great tool for attracting people's attention, make sure that it is interesting and stands-out.

There are different types of headlines, which can be used for marketing a product, service or idea. Here are eight of the most common ones:

    Direct Headlines: This approach may seem dull, but there are some people who may be looking for such plain statements. A good example of a direct headline is 'Home Theatre Systems on Sale'. Anyone who is looking to purchase a home theatre system on sale would be pleased to see such a headline, and say "Oh, that's exactly what I wanted".

    News Headlines: Such headlines convey authority, and are clear-cut without being too plain. A good example of a news headline is 'Soundbar Home Theatre System to be Introduced in October'.

    How-To Headlines: When searchers wish to learn something, they usually enter a search phrase, beginning with the words 'how to'. Headlines that start with 'how to' tell the searcher that there is someone out there who is willing to teach them what they want to learn. A good example of a how-to headline is 'How to Install a Home Theatre System'.

    List Headlines: An alternative approach to a how-to headline is a list headline. If you check article directory sites, you'll see that a large number of articles begin with a number. People like browsing through items enumerated in a list, as such lists assure them of countable results from their reading experience. A good list headline is 'Five Ways to Improve Your Home Theatre System'.

    Question Headlines: A query-based headline acts like an invitation, promising the reader that they'll get a surprising answer if they click on the URL, and read the article. A good example of a question headline is 'Is Your Home Theatre System Right for Your Home?'

    Command Headlines: You don't have to be in military service to know that a direct command can get quick action. Of course, in the marketing world, such direct commands are more likely to succeed if the pitch supports the desires of the targeted audience. A good example of a command headline is 'Go to Television Central for the Best Home Theatre Deals'.

    Testimonial Headlines: Whether authentic or fictional, a testimonial is a time-proven marketing strategy to promote a product or service. People are attracted towards sketchy user descriptions, especially if such content includes a photo of a celebrity or a good-looking model. While most testimonials are considered to be unreliable, if you routinely write trustworthy descriptions, it won't be long before even the most sceptical readers begin to find them engaging. A good example of a testimonial headline is 'I Got a Great Deal on a Home Theatre System'.

Print Publications Take to the Web

Internet critics have been saying for years that the age of the internet will be the death of print publications, including newspapers, magazines, and academic and literary journals. While it doesn't seem that the print publication will be going anywhere anytime soon, judging by the packed newsstands on every city block and yesterday's newspapers strewn on bus and subway floors, the web versions of many popular newspapers and magazines have special features that will never translate to print versions, making the online publications increasingly popular. While nothing (certainly not a computer screen) will ever replace leafing through the daily paper over morning coffee, some of the online bells and whistles make the web-based versions more desirable. Online publications are also useful for those who are located far away from the city that prints the paper of their choice - all you need is a super-speed satellite internet connection. Read on to find out about some great online publications to browse through in your spare time.

The New York Times online edition is particularly notable for its special photo and travel features. You can also use the search feature to browse through archived editions and to find a database of information about a particular person, place, event, or keyword. Subscribers to the free online edition can also sign up to receive top headlines and late breaking news sent directly to their email inbox every morning.

New York Magazine is updated on a second-to-second basis, making it almost impossible to keep up with. However, there is always something new to browse through, be it a blog from the Vulture cultural section, a list of upcoming events in the city, the best art shows, concerts, and cultural events in town, or the latest breaking news from around the country. NYMag.com also has easy-to-follow columns like Grub Street, the hourly food news blog, the fashion headquarters The Cut, and breakdowns grouping headlines into "Most Commented On," "Most Viewed," and "Most Emailed" categories for easy browsing.

Unethical Business Practices - Behaviors to Avoid

Unethical business practices are hitting the news headlines in one degree or another nearly every night here in Australia. Most of the offenders are big multinational companies or banks. One bank in particular, which is Australia's biggest investment bank, seems to be in the news every week for one misdemeanour or worse. The business news broadcast many of the problems to come from what they have termed "glass walls".

These so labelled glass walls mean that one section of the bank is dealing with one side of a business transaction while on the other side they are dealing with the other side of that transaction. Yet we, the consumers and public, are supposed to believe that these two sides don't 'talk' to each other. What a very peculiar workplace to work in!

If this scenario doesn't represent a flagrant conflict of interest, then I don't think we will ever have that term suitably defined in order to protect people. Why does a conflict of interest constitute unethical business practice?

If there is a conflict of interest it simply means that a person or a business has divided loyalties but will be the winner no matter what the outcome. No person or business, can guarantee they will get the best deal for someone else if they are negotiating or dealing with themselves. The worst thing about conflict of interest issues is in the losing party being able to prove and quantify the breach of trust.

Lawyers are another group of businesses who will often have to deal with this conflict of interest issue. Especially if they are the only lawyers in a small town and probably represent or have represented either or both parties at some point in time.

Unethical behaviour is acting in a way that is dishonest to one or more parties concerned. There are many unethical practices in common usage today and because our unfair trading laws or consumer protection agencies are badly under-funded, there is never enough research done for convicting the perpetrators. In fact, this is precisely what many unethical business people today are counting on. Which, as you can guess, is unethical behaviour too.

Top Marketing FAQ - What is an RSS Feed?

The term RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication and is a standardized way of taking internet content from web-based media and making it available for syndication on other sites.

An RSS is an XML document known as a feed. This feed contains full or summarized content and makes it possible for another website to receive any updated news from your site to theirs.

Blogs and news sites are the most frequent users of this form of syndication. Most blog applications have the ability to provide a feed built right into the application making it very easy to syndicate your blog content.
To display an RSS feed on your website or blog, you would need to have a feed reader on your site. For bloggers, that is as easy as installing a plugin to their blogging platform.

The advantages to having the ability publish your content for syndication are many. It is a great way to drive traffic to your website, to stay in touch with your potential customers, to create backlinks on other sites, and to stay on visible within your chosen niche.

CNN Cable Television's News Central

One of the most important reasons that people subscribe to some form of television service is to keep up to date on the current events and news going on in the world. Unlike any other time in history, we have the ability to know exactly what is going on at any time across the globe. You cannot only get the news on your local cable TV but also online and on the go devices such as smartphones and netbooks.

In 1980, Ted Turner created a news network channel called CNN. This was the first time that any channel delivered news 24/7. Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting own the news network. More than a hundred million people receive the channel through their cable or satellite providers in the US. CNN also broadcasts internationally throughout more than 200 countries.

Over the years since its start, CNN has covered some of the most impactful events of our time. They were the only channel to broadcast the launch and disaster of the Challenger space shuttle. The TV network has also covered events like the Gulf War, the rescue of baby Jessica from the well in Texas, the September 11, 2001 Attacks on the World Trade Center, and multiple Presidential elections.

Not only does CNN news deliver the latest breaking headlines but it also has a variety of news shows throughout the day. These shows include everything from business news and politics to medical news and various talk series. Some of the most notable of these programs include AM Wakeup Call, CNN Newsroom, Anderson Cooper 360, Your Bottom Line, and Piers Morgan Tonight. There is something for everything you want to know.

CNN broadcasts on regular digital subscriptions and in 2007 introduced its HD version of the news network. In 1995, they launched their website, which has become one of the most popular sites on the internet. You can find CNN apps on the iPhone and droid markets for on the go devices as well. Over the years, the network debuted several spinoff news channels that include HLN (Headline News), CNN Airport Network, and CNN International.