The Three Cs of Writing an Excellent all Purpose Headline – Writing
The Three Cs of Writing an Excellent all Purpose Headline
Steven Boaze
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have with your message, it must reach out to them. Promise them a benefit. Tell them how they will be better off if they read the rest of the ad. Use action verbs. Save ten dollars is a stronger heading than Savings of ten dollars because of the verb.
Headlines can be classified into the following five basic types; effective headlines frequently combine two or more of these kinds.
News Headlines
This form tells the reader something he or she did not know before. Using the word news does not make it a news headline. "Now - a copy machine that copies in color" is an example of this type headline.
Advice and Promise Headline
Here you are promising something if the reader follows the advice in your ad. "Switch to Amoco premium, no-lead gasoline, and your car will stop pinging."
Selective Headline
This headline limits the audience to a specific group. For example: "To all gray-haired men over forty." Caution! Be absolutely sure you do not eliminate potential customers with this type of headline.
Curiosity Headline
The intent here is to arouse the readers interest enough to make him or her read the ad. The danger is that this headline often appears "cute" or "clever" and fails in its mission. An example: "Do you have trouble going to sleep at night"
Command or Demand Headline
Watch out for this one as most people resist pushiness, especially in advertising. "Do it now!" or "Buy this today!" This headline generally can be improved by changing to less obtrusive wording such as: "Call for your key to success!"
One common misconception about headlines is that they must be short and easy to understand. This is not always true. Here is a headline that was used extensively in print ads by Ogilvy and Mather for one of their clients: At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.
Illustrations
There are three primary reasons for using illustrations in an advertisement.
To attract attention to the ad.
To illustrate the item being featured.
To create a mood in the mind of the reader.
Everyone has heard, A picture is worth a thousand words; in advertising, the illustration frequently helps the reader visualize the benefits promised. You can almost feel the warmth of the tropical sun when you see the photos in January travel ads. Cost and practicality may dictate whether your ad uses photographs, artists drawings or merely canned artwork. Any of these can make the ad more appealing to the readers eye.
Copy
If you follow the three principles of good copy, your ads will be effective:
Good copy should be clear.
Good copy should be crisp.
Good copy should be concise.
Clear, crisp and concise . . . the three Cs of copy writing suggest that the words in your advertising message merely do a good job of communicating. Do not use big words when small words can make your meaning clear. Use colorful, descriptive terms. Use the number of words necessary to make your meaning clear and no more-but also no less! Selecting the right words is critical to the success of the ads. Recent research conducted at Yale University found that the following 12 words are the most personal and persuasive words in our language.
You Discovery Safety
Money Proven Results
Love Guarantee Save
New Easy Health
Notice the overused word free is not on the list.
REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOUR MESSAGE IS PRINTED IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS INSTEAD OF UPPER- AND LOWERCASE LETTERS, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE READER TO FOLLOW AND REMAIN INTERESTED. EVEN IN HEADLINES ALL CAPITAL LETTERS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
About The Author
Steven Boaze Chairman is The Owner of The Corporate Headquarters Boaze.com Which houses and controls 5 websites including Web Development services. Steven is also the author of "Hidden Secrets To Business Marketing" and "12 Step Remedy To A Successful Ezine" along with numerous articles on Marketing and Advertising published by Boaze Publishing. http://www.boazepublishing.biz
http://www.speedresponderpro.com
Copyright 1998-2003 Boaze.com
owner@boazepublishing.biz
Top Ten Tools for Writing Humor – Writing
Top Ten Tools for Writing Humor
David Leonhardt
Ever want to write a funny book or a humor column Or add spice to your newsletter editor or web page so that people read beyond the typical drivel that sends otherwise eager-to-spend customers into a boredom-induced coma
Here are my top ten favorite humor tools for you, along with real live examples from my own humor column.
Threading a theme through the text.
Are you into practical jokes Try sewing a single thread of bright red wool across Uncle Henrys new green golf shirt. Or sew a thread through your text.
My Parenting Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe is actually a delicious recipe. But I assumed there is a little helper around, and I threaded her through the text, making for sort of a running gag.
OK, time to up-tempo the laughs. Mid-way through, I run a second thread, renaming the cake with each mistake. The thread within a thread multiplies the humor.
See http://thehappyguy.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe.html
Contrast what should be with the obviously deficient reality
I use this technique in Home Of The Year. Most people will agree that a home is more than just a house.
I contrast the reality of my I-survived-the-hurricane home with the Martha Stewart image of how a home should look -- the old little-miss-perfect Martha Stewart image, not the new-and-not-improved, scandal-defying, corporate shark image.
Notice I also use the threading tool in this piece
Tips on how to update your Writing and Marketing skillsGet Read – Freelancing
Tips on how to update your Writing and Marketing skillsGet Read
Abdallah Khamis Abdallah
As an online marketer or freelance writer, you need to keep pace with new trends in your field as well as gain new knowledge and skills not only for survival but to enrich your work and gain new opportunities.
You also need to plan how you will absorb new knowledge and information to avoid confusion and being immersed in a deluge of irrelevant details and time wastage. You need to draw a plan/timetable or programme of action on how you will approach the whole matter.
When we are talking of updating your skills we are mainly talking of research and training. The two are complementary and are very important. If we take the Internet as an information medium, then we will find that it contains a mass of information, knowledge, products and opportunities which have to be sorted out to be of any meaning.
Here are some tips on how you can keep abreast of knowledge and information.
1 Take a writing/ marketing course
If you are a freelance writer or marketer you cannot afford to miss an opportunity to learn new and essential skills on your craft. Even for the experienced there are new courses emerging or even existing courses which can broaden your knowledge.
Courses available range from paid courses on location, distance learning courses by mail or online to free and paid for ecourses by email/auto responder. Some follow a formal curriculum with examinations provided and certificates issued at the end to informal ones where only a few tips exercise and assignments are provided.
Here are a few websites you may visit and see what suits you:
Freelance Writing
http://www.writersvillage.com
http://www.writingschool.com
http://www.writersdigest.com/wds/
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/writing-courses.htm
http://www.active-online-courses.com/freelance-writing.html
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/advertising-copywriting.htm
Marketing
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/marketing-courses.htm
http://www.marketing-resources.com/course.html
http://www.onlinewebtraining.com
http://www.marketing-register.com/directory/o/Online_Courses_Marketing/
http://www.edu-advisor.com/online-marketing-degree.htm
http://www.get-a-degree.com/distance-learning/marketing-links.htm
2 Subscribe to Ezines and Publications
There are hundreds of ezines and magazines relevant to freelancing and marketing you can subscribe to for the regular dose of news and information. While there are a lot of junk ezines that will only fill your mailbox, there are many good ones which are indispensable to any writer and marketer. Select the few that are good and relevant to your work and subscribe.
You do not need to confine yourself to online ezines, there are also many print books and magazines which you could look into. While you may not have the wherewithal to subscribe or purchase all, there are some which you cannot afford to miss.
Check out the following sites for ezines or publications relevant to your business:
http://www.directoryofezines.com
http://www.ezinelocater.com
http://dmoz.org/Arts/Online_Writing/E-zines/Directories/
http://www.go-ezines.com/
http://www.investing-sites.com/News_and_Media/Newsletters/Directories/
3 Online Search and library research
From time to time, you will have questions which you do not know where to find their answers too. You may also need comprehensive and up-to-date information and news. This is where using Internet search engines and on-line virtual libraries and off-line libraries and databases comes in. These are indispensable tools for finding news, knowledge and information.
As a freelance writer, the search for information is an endless exercise. Whether you want to check facts for your article or book or need information for writing a new piece.
For the marketer, pay – per – click search engines are a goldmine for getting prospective clients. Since searchers are looking for particular information using relevant key words, there is likelihood that the information could be on your site.
Here are a few search engines and virtual libraries.
Search Engines
http://www.overture.com
http://www.findwhat.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.inktomi.com
http://www.msn.com
Virtual Libraries
http://www.questia.com
http://www.brint.com
http://www.knowthis.com
http://deserthost.net/wd141/
http://www.ipl.org/
There are many other ways you can increase the quality and quantity of your knowledge and skills as a freelance writer or online marketer. However, the few mentioned above are some of the most important.
About The Author
Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghost writer.To learn more about how you and your business can benefit from our viral and credibility marketing solutions and how your business can benefit from infinite publicity visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com.
quantumpro@lycos.com