Use Power Words in Your Headlines

You’ll write strong, engaging headlines when you use proven power words

The ideal headline for your sales letter landing page, print ad or email promotion is a statement of your product’s unique selling proposition or the promise that it’s going to satisfy a need or solve a problem.

The headline is an advertisement for an advertisement. It must grab the reader’s attention with such force that she can’t resist reading the next sentence.

The headline is your first, best and usually only opportunity to get the prospective customer’s interest. If the sales letter landing page headline gets the reader into the first paragraph, and he stays for 50 words, he’ll stay for 500 or 5,000. But if the headline is weak and uninteresting, the reader is gone—never to return.

Business visionary, entrepreneur, and best-selling author Michael E. Gerber says “In print ads, 75-80 percent of all buying decisions are made in the headline alone.”

That means three out of four people make a decision about your product strictly on the basis of what the headline says—based on only a few words.

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A compelling headline is even more important as part of your Internet marketing strategy, because the sales letter landing page headline must both attract a prospective customer’s attention and contain keywords that the search engine spiders will record for an ever-growing index of online articles.

How to make certain that your headline contains power words

Professional wordsmiths who specialize in direct response sales letter landing pages often keep a handy crib sheet or a concise set of notes for quick reference.

According to copywriter Brian Keith Voiles, winning words used in a headline that can boost the readership of your ad or sales letter dramatically include the following:

Here’s another list of “Words that Sell” courtesy of Curtis Circulation Company and Linda Ruth, PSCS. Notice a couple of duplicates.

Also, check out Words That Sell by Richard Bayan, and Phrases That Sell: The Ultimate Phrase Finder to Help You Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas by Edward W. Werz and Sally Germain.

Power words make a big difference in promoting your products, services and ideas. May you never be at a loss for words…