Ever browsed in a newsagents and had your attention grabbed by a headline?
Of course you have – and that means the author of the article has done his job right. The headline is there to hook you in, to pique your interest. If you’ve ever examined the headlines on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine, you’ll know what I mean. Those few words on the cover convey the promise of, and perhaps the benefits of the article inside.
Cosmopolitan cover headlines are so well crafted they verge on art. Their cover headlines appeal specifically to their readers’ interests. Cosmo headlines can be sensational, of course. But that’s all part of getting attention in a busy world.
A good headline is vital, as it governs whether or not you will read the associated article. The saying that you “don’t judge a book by its cover” is so false it’s risible. Everyone judges books by their covers, all the time. The thing to do is to work with that knowledge, not against it.
The advertising acronym AIDA encapsulates the sales process into four steps. Before you get the Action of a sale you must get sufficient Desire to buy. This decision must be preceded by enough Interest on behalf of the reader. And you can’t get anyone’s interest until you get their Attention.
With our Cosmo reader, she will buy the magazine if the headline grabs her attention, then there is sufficient interest to build enough desire to drive the motivation to buy.
With an article you’re writing, people will read your article if they have had their attention drawn sufficiently by the title of your article.
Without an attention-grabbing headline – or in the case of an article, a title – your article will be ignored.
But how can you craft a headline – or a title to your article – so that it will grab your reader’s attention?
Join me on a webinar on 12th February when Jeff Herring, the Internet Article Guy, will explain how to craft an article title that will grab the attention of your audience.
Just claim your free place here: http://alunloves.it/jefftitle
