How do you write a good headline?
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What‘a the line you wish you wrote? I’ll go first...
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I do the same thing. Scripts are so much easier! But I’ve consciously been trying to stop being so “clever.” Instead I’m just focusing on getting the tone down. My little “hack” is to just lock the tone in, and then write a long, winding manifesto without really going back to edit anything. Then I cherry pick some of the more poignant lines, edit them to make them stand alone, and drop it into the deck. Most of the time they fail miserably, but every once in a while I’ll find one that’s simple and oozes the right message.
Research. Insight. Ass in chair.
Write 40 to get to one.
Who needs to write 200 lines to create a few great ones? Jeezus.
Check out the free guide that Suzanne Pope put together at adteachings.com. also the d&ad copy book
Write 200. Jesus who is getting away with writing 10-15 lines.
Write it straight. (Flat/straight forward) Then, write it great.
I would say 40 in 2 hours is possible but really ask yourself why. Part of what we do is a judgement of what to phone in and what to hustle for.
When I know the client is going to buy a simple banner offer I phone it in.
When it’s a new campaign ask and you have the opportunity to write 3 or 4 killer lines for print, outdoor, digital outdoor etc, stay up all fucking night and make sure they can’t buy anything but a series of great lines.
An incredible series of great lines will solidify your chops and is totally worth it.
Good luck and try not to overthink the process but rather, put that energy into writing lines. 👍
Don’t you mean
A Good Headline: How do you write one?
Google “An Inconvenient Truth for Copywriters” by Suzanne Pope. It’s free.
My headlines are all just clever turns of phrase and I hate it.
By writing a bunch of bad headlines
Write the headline you don’t want to loosen up cobwebs, then write out what you want to say and play around with parts of it to see how it sounds. Keep improving, keep changing.
Grab a CA or One Show from 1998 and steal liberally .
Write 10-15 you think are really good. Then whittle those down to 5 that you know are better than the rest. Finally, start over and write better ones.
First write a bunch of bad headlines. You need to get those out of your system before you can move on. Then try writing some good ones.
Your first batch of "good" lines will be nearly as bad as your bad ones. Sometimes worse, because you know you were at least trying.
Then trash all those and go to lunch. And try not to think about it. At all. When you come back to it, suddenly a not-too-terrible line will magically appear. Followed by some more bad ones.
But the good ones will suddenly start to come easier. Though the book-worthy lines will likely still require more work. So rinse and repeat as needed until that elusive kick-ass know-it-in-your-gut headline finally makes it through the clutter. That's the one you go with. Who knows, you may even end up with two like that.
A good headline is all about benefit for the end user. Some clients who aren’t sophisticated want you to talk about features, what their product offers. But that’s a client talking to themselves.
Another sure fire hack is to have a short clever on brand headline that still sells benefit, then s subhead that details the offer.
If you have a commodity product — eyeglasses, gasoline, etc. sometimes a purely creative on brand statement works. Eyeglasses are definitely a commodity product. There is little difference between brands except for designer frames. So one of my favorite headlines for Texas State Optical eyeglasses was “RALPH LAUREN AND EIGHT OTHERS FRAMED'
Set up an expectation at the beginning and subvert it by the end
How long does it take you to write 40 lines? Is it possible to do it in a two hour block?
I always write at least a single spaced page of lines. Then edit and cull. Present 5-10 of your best. For me there’s a mental click when it’s good. But write it down even if it’s not. If you get stuck research the product, thesaurus.com stuff. You’ll get there. And if you have a mentor, show them everything you wrote and get their advice. That’s how you learn what’s good
I imagine someone I actually know who is in the target group. What’s going to affect or interest that one, real person?
I find it keeps me from being too clever or obscure or wrong tone or talk to myself.