Wednesday, November 29, 2006

We all know the importance of a powerful headline. However, writing a great headline isn't as easy as it sounds.

We all know the importance of a powerful headline. However, writing a great headline isn't as easy as it sounds.
An effective headline will literally force your potential customers to learn more. It will instantly ignite a certain emotion and intrigue them to read on.

In order to write an effective headline, you must learn how to use specific words to achieve a specific reaction.

Before writing your headline, you must first learn a little bit about the basic human motivators. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, human behavior is always the result of one or more of five basic needs. He listed these needs in a sequence that he refers to as "the hierarchy of human needs."

He believes that until a less important need is met there won't be any desire to pursue a more important need. Below are the five human motivators, beginning with the basic needs and continuing to the most important needs.

Physiological - Basic human needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, clothing and sex.
Safety (Security) - Human need for physical, emotional and financial security.
Social (Affiliation) - Human need for love, affection, companionship and acceptance.
Esteem (Self Esteem) - Human need for achievement, recognition, attention and respect.
Self-actualization - Human need to reach their full potential.

When you are aware of the basic human needs, you can incorporate these needs into your writing. A great headline will appeal to your potential customers' emotions. You must feel their needs, wants and desires and write your headlines with passion and emotion.

When writing your headlines, keep in mind, you only have a few seconds to grab your potential customers' attention. If your headline doesn't immediately catch their attention, they'll simply move on and never return. Below are several different formulas used by professional copywriters to write compelling headlines.

How to

"How to Increase Your Sales Up to 500% by Using This One Simple Strategy"

Headlines beginning with 'how to' are very successful, as the Internet is all about information. Internet users have a strong desire to learn. A headline beginning with 'how to' immediately grabs your potential customers' attention and forces them to read on.

Question

"Are You Sick and Tired of Working For Someone Else?"

Headlines written in the form of a question are very effective, as they appeal to your potential customers' emotions. When they read a headline written as a question, they'll answer the question in their mind. If the question identifies a specific need, want or desire, they'll read on.

Command

"Double Your Income Within the Next 12 months --Guaranteed!"

A command headline focuses on the most important benefit your product or service has to offer. It instantly demands your potential customers' attention and intrigues them to read on.

News

"Announcing a Brand New Breakthrough in E-Publishing"

News headlines are very effective and used to announce new products and services. They are written in the form of an announcement or introduction and create curiosity.

Testimonials

"Internet Marketing Exclusive is Pure Genius -- Our Sales Have Increased by 40%!"

Headlines written in the form of a testimonial are very effective, as they instantly begin building trust.

When writing your headlines, certain words, when combined together, will literally draw your readers' attention to your ad. Below are of few of these "Power Words" that consistently work.

Breakthrough
Discover
Discovery
Easy
Free
Guaranteed
Hidden
Incredible
Love
Master
Money
New
Powerful
Profits
Proven
Results
Revealed
Scientific
Secret
Shocked
Shocking
Ultimate
Uncovered
You
Your

According to a Yale University study, the following words are the most powerful words in the English language.

Money
Discovery
Save
Easy
New
Love
Health
Proven
You
Results
Guaranteed
Safety

Just as certain words ignite different emotions, certain subjects have a broader interest than others do. Some of the most popular subjects include wealth, love, health and safety.

Take your time and try the different formulas according to your needs. Use a combination of the power words and write a headline that sells. By learning the art of writing headlines that focus on the basic human needs and emotions, you can increase your sales considerably.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book. http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net

Pop-Under Windows - The Latest Pop-Window Trend

Although there has been a great deal of controversy over the use of pop-up windows, the fact remains; pop-up windows are highly effective. The latest pop-window trend to hit the Internet is the pop-under window. Pop-under windows are less intrusive than the pop-up windows and are believed to be even more effective.

If you spend any time surfing the Internet, then you've probably encountered several examples of pop-under windows. A prime example is X10.com's pop-under ads for their wireless video cameras. X10's pop-under ads were popping up on prime media sites like MSN, the N.Y. Times and Alta Vista. Their main advertising objective was to increase their website traffic. And, they have done so with a high rate of success.

Unlike pop-up windows that load over your web page, pop-under windows quietly load under your web page. Your visitors probably won't even see the pop-under window until they're finished at your site and close the window.

The effectiveness of pop-under windows most likely stems from the timing. When your visitor first enters your site, their mind is on what lead them to your site to begin with. Pop-up windows will most likely cause a higher percentage of your visitors to instantly close your window before viewing its content. That's what makes pop-under windows more effective -- your visitor is through visiting your site and their mind is clearer. They will be much more likely to take the time to look at your offer when they don't have another objective on their mind.

Pop-windows provide Internet marketers with an effective alternative to the declining effectiveness of banner ads. However, studies have shown that most Internet users find these windows very intrusive. How can you effectively use these windows without losing your visitors? Below are a few guidelines to assist you.

1) Make sure that you don't use more than one pop-window per page. If you've ever visited a website that bombards you with pop-windows, then you know how irritating that is. Sometimes it seems like each window you close launches two new windows. This is a prime example of how NOT to use pop-windows. Nothing will cause your visitor to leave more quickly.

2) Try to use a script that utilizes cookies. This will enable you to decide how often your window should appear instead of it continually launching each time the page is entered.

3) Make sure you always provide your visitors with an easy way to close your window. Consider adding a button or link to the bottom of your window to enable your visitors to instantly close it when they're finished.

4) Make sure your window is large enough to view your information. If your window is too small and you have disabled the scrollbars, part of your message will not be visible to your visitors.

Here are a few tips to help you increase your offer's response rate:

• Use a powerful headline that demands attention
• Enlarge your headline's font size
• Include your offer's most important benefits within your headline
• Use incentives to increase your offer's response rate
• Keep your message short and to the point
• Ask your visitors to take action

If you would be interested in adding a pop-under window to your site, I highly recommend the "Pop-Window Generator" at Willmaster.com. This powerful online utility will enable you to fill out a simple form and instantly generate the pop-window code for your pages. This generator will enable you to select the type of pop-window, set the length of cookies, and completely customize the look and feel of your window. The only requirement to use this free utility is that you must be a subscriber of WillMaster Possibilities. This is a great publication and I highly recommend subscribing.

http://willmaster.com/possibilities/members/

You can also find a pop-under JavaScript here:

http://wsabstract.com/script/script2/popunder.shtml

If you're considering adding a pop-window to your site, please do so with caution. The last thing you want to do is drive your visitors away. If done correctly, pop-windows can be a very effective marketing tool.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book. http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net