Day 14 on how to write great headlines in less than 30 days
Day 14:
And finally, it’s a
wrap…
Last night, I could not sleep. You see, I was wondering what
I could write that would make a difference to your lives. The masters have
spoken and you have chewed the cud. So, how might I help? I have a little over
a decade of writing close to award-winning ads, if that would help.
And here’s some more. Truly believe that if you follow this
advice, you will be on your way to copywriting success.
So, here it is: my two paise on writing great headlines…
The only reason I am
better than you: (Gasp!) (Got your goat, eh? Heh, heh!)
And how you can beat
me too! (Wink, wink)
So you always devote at least 2 hours to write headlines for
a product every day…
…But are thinking about the product even while doing
something else. For example, you think of the product while doing chores at
home, relaxing. Your brain churns inside out in search of The One all through
the day.
You don’t wait for inspiration; you pursue it.
A daily practice of two hours would mean roughly 20
headlines completely formatted and ready
to ship should your boss asks you for it, yesterday!
You play with words. For example, you would try to rhyme
words and personification, as in, Lady
Luck Smiles at Dame Fame; or see if a word was superior to the other by the
number of syllables a word had. Which would mean, the lesser the syllables in
the word the better.
You edit ruthlessly. If there is no need for the “there”,
for example, it doesn’t form part of your copywriting lexicon.
You follow the gurus who swear by using ‘and’ and ‘but’ so
as to sound like your friendly neighbor next
You always use the word ‘you’ just as in this article,
because it’s all about you, right? (Wink, wink)
You use simple language. Hey, you were an average student, and
guess what? It helps! Even the little boy across the street ‘gets’ your ideas.
A working knowledge of two or more languages helps. You have
a richer field from which to operate.
And so a Khauf nahi,
mohabbat hai zindagi se rolls more easily on the tongue. [I am a Southie,
just so that you know!]
You are interested in people and psychology.
You are also
sensitive and so it is easy for you to empathize with others. And this is what you
bring with you while writing copy: an understanding of the consumer as you
understand them to be.
You love books, movies and /or played an active role in
theatre in college…
You love creating new words or phrases…
You love keeping it simple, stupid!
You have a great sense of timing…
You are the God of brevity; the shorter the copy, the
happier you are
You are an introvert, hell no, an extrovert; either, both…
does it even matter?
You think differently
You abhor clichés and *never* use them.
You add a touch of drama to your work
Each word in your headline justifies its presence…
You begin and end your copy dramatically, heck even
differently…
You are careful not to be funny for the sake of being funny…
You normally sleep on your great idea and give it a look
over the next day, just in case you were to change your mind…
You preserve all your ‘bad’ ideas…It may come handy for
another brand…
You have an eye for catchy phrases…
You see a lesson in book and movie titles
Rejection does not mean failure; it means try again till you
get it right
As a continuation of the thought a couple of points before,
better student doesn’t equate to a smashing career in advertising. Better
ideas? Any day…
After you have figured out who your target audience is, you
think of the emotion that engulfs you while thinking of the product. If there
are two or more emotions, then you have a campaign.
Once you have the emotion, you scout for an idea which would
reflect the emotion. That’s where the right side of your brain begins its work.
The fear factor in my pro bono work for AIDS compelled me to
write:
A hit or a miss?
Eventually, the game catches up with you
Society’s indifference towards the AIDS’ patient on the
other hand resulted in another ad:
The Klux is dead; long
live the Klux
You knew all this all along? I told you. It’s that simple.
Now, go on and get to
write your own work of art…
…and watch your wallet stash in all that moolah!
To you and yours…
Rajani Rajan-Shriram
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