How to Write the Perfect Ad Headline

In advertising, getting the customer's attention is the first priority. One way to capture someone's attention and get them to want to read the rest of your piece is with the perfect headline. Writing a great headline is a challenge, but with a few simple strategies, you can write one that gets results. Follow these tips for writing the perfect ad headline.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Know your product or service inside and out. Writing effective ad headlines about something you are unfamiliar with is difficult, and your lack of knowledge will be conveyed to the customer in your target market. This causes you and your ad to lose credibility.
2. Brainstorm key words and concepts, and make a list. These words could be descriptions of the products, a note about the product's benefits or action verbs reflecting what you want the customer to do after reading the ad. This list will help inspire you when putting the ad headline together.
3. Keep your headline brief. The headline serves as a teaser for the rest of the ad, so stick to a short phrase or question and use the body copy to elaborate.
4. Structure your headline so that it sparks the reader's curiosity but is not too ambiguous. Your customer should be able to clarify what the headline meant in the rest of your ad, but you don't want to make them work too hard to do so.
5. List a number of headline possibilities, usually about 10 to 15, and walk away for awhile. Chances are, when you come back to the list, you will be able to narrow the headline down to a few top choices.
6. Read the entire ad from start to finish, beginning with the headline. Ask yourself if it makes sense and reflects the product or service accurately. Also be sure the headline matches the body copy well.

Tips & Warnings

• Including your company name in the headline is one way to promote brand recognition, even if the customer never reads the entire ad.
• Study other headlines in your product's market and in others. Evaluate what works and what doesn't, and note why for each. Clip the great headlines and keep them in a file to refer to when writing your own.