How to construct headlines (Headline writing course part 6)

Posted by Sean D'Souza on 29 April 2010

Your headlines are the doorways to your site. But if you look at headlines, you’ll find that most websites have headlines that are weak, wimpy and uninviting - they are barriers to entry. In part six of his nine-part headline writing course, Sean D'Souza shows you how to make your headlines prominent, different and free from obstructions.

(This is part six of an 9-part series on writing perfect headlines by the author of "The Secret Life of Testimonials". Further 'lessons' will be published over the next three weeks.)

Find out more about the book and order "The Secret Life of Testimonials" now.

Assume I visited your home. How would I enter? Through the window, or the back door. Surely you’ve reserved the chimney for good ol’ Santa. So where do I enter?

Why through the door, right? And when you write copy, what’s your door? Why, the headline. So think about it. How many obstacles would you put in the way if you wanted me to enter? What a silly question, eh? You’d make darned sure you freed up the entry to the doorway, so I could get in quickly.
Not true.

Most websites seem to do just the opposite. They put in barriers. They put in dozens of distractions. And if by chance their customers do get to the door, they’re now confused. Are they standing at the door, or was there a door before?

Your doorway is your headline
So if you want the world to see your headline, what should you do? Why, you’d do what any sensible homeowner would do.

1) You’d make your doorway prominent.
2) You’d make your doorway different, somehow.
3) You’d make your doorway free of obstructions.

1) Making the doorway prominent:

So how does this translate to websites, for instance? If you look at headlines, you’ll find that most websites have headlines that are weak and wimpy. Look at the headline in this article. You’ll find that it’s kinda Arnold Schwarzwhateverhisnameis.

And you’ll find that your eye went to the headline in a fraction of a second. That I didn’t need to put flashing lights and dancing girls around the headline for you to take notice. I just had to make it bold. And prominent. So that you can instantly see the ‘door’ and know that hey, this is a headline.

2) You’d have to make your doorway different

When I say different, you’re probably confused. Yes, you can see the boldness of the headline, but that's not enough. No, no, no, no, no. That ain’t enough. We can do more and so can you. A headline needs to be different. As in, different font. Or different color. Or different size. Not just bold, but different. A boring doorway doesn’t get noticed. And an overdone doorway is laughed at.

But a doorway that’s elegant and stands out, is one that’s starting to get (and keep) your customer’s attention. So yes, the font could be ‘serif’ vs. the copy that’s ‘sans-serif’ (Georgia vs. Verdana). The color could be red vs the text being black. The font size is already much bigger than the body text's. It’s the little things that make it a headline. It’s the itsy-bitsy fundamentals that make it prominent and say, “Hey, you, the welcome mat’s here!”

3) You’d have to remove the darn obstructions

Don’t give me ten lines to read. I don’t want to read that stuff. I want to read your headline. I want to know if I qualify. Don’t put your testimonials in front of your headline (unless the testimonial ‘is’ the headline).
Don’t put twenty billion links and stupid photos.

Sit down. And count the hoops that customers have to jump through to get to your headline.
(Read: http://www.psychotactics.com/artpsycho3.htm) and remove those hoops. Chop anything that’s getting in the way of your doorway, ruthlessly. Yes, chop, chop, chop.

Your headline is your main attractor. It’s what most of your customers read. It’s what gets them to read the next fifty words, that then slides them down into the next fifty words, and so on. Make your doorway bold, and different, and without obstructions.

Us mortals have to find your doorway. Santa on the other hand, can manage quite well, thank you :)

Exercise: Look at the headline on your website.

1) Is it bigger in font size than the rest of the text? (If the rest of the text is 12pt, it should be about 18pt)

2) Does it stand out because you’ve chosen a contrasting color? (Hint: don’t choose pale blue or yellow)

3) Does it have nasty obstructions? (Your top banner and logo could be a real-pain-in-the-butt-distraction)

You’d think these three steps are obvious. They’re not. And I’ve seen site after site after site where the headline is either invisible or is misplaced by a loud, noisy banner. If that’s the case, you’ve got 15 minutes of work to do. (Yup, simplify the banner and make the headline bold, contrasty and bigger). 15 minutes of work, that simply cannot wait.

Ok, so you’ve seen the mess on your website, and fixed it. That’s good. Now hang on. This concept of headlines isn’t just for your home page. The other pages matter too. And yes, the same concept applies if you’re using headlines for your brochure or leaflet. But yeah, as long as you have the concept, and have done something to fix it, we can move on. And move on we will to the unusual concept of ‘Testimonials as headlines.’ Sure beats breaking your head trying to find a headline, eh? Now all you need to do is get a client to write one for you. How easy is that? Find out for yourself.

This is part six of an 9-part series on writing perfect headlines by the author of "The Secret Life of Testimonials". Find out more about Sean's book "The Secret Life of Testimonials" and order your copy now.

Read:
Part 1: How to write near-perfect headlines in minutes
Part 2: How too many thoughts ruin headlines
Part 3: How to create intensely powerful headlines
Part 4: Why being specific is critical for headlines
Part 5: How to avoid pot luck headlines
Part 7: Testimonials as headlines
Part 8: How to make your email signature a headline - and where to use it
Part 9: Round-up of Sean D'Souza's headline writing course

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