It doesn’t take a band of bagpipers to drown out your brand’s message in today’s super-saturated marketplace. The countless brands clamoring for consumers’ attention are noisy enough – which means it’ll take more than luck to make your message heard.
Did you know that a whopping 80% of readers don’t make it past the headline? That’s right, only about 1 in 5 readers will continue on. And of those who have clicked on a web page, 55% spend fewer than 15 seconds there. Wow.
With only a handful of words and a few measly seconds to make an impression, brands have got to make them count. And while the luck of the Irish gets a lot of attention around St. Patrick’s Day, a strong year-round marketing strategy means a brand’s good fortune doesn’t have to run out when the green beer does.
To keep your brand top of mind, even after the keg has run dry, remember that compelling headlines often provide the following:
1. Specifics
Studies show that headlines with numbers are more clickable, which is why lists and research results are great for engaging readers. Adding digits, when applicable, is one simple way to beef up your headline with the specific details that readers crave.
2. Superlatives
If you’re hoping to craft an ad that’s “Most Likely to Succeed,” superlatives can help a headline stand out. Positive superlatives, however, don’t seem to do the trick, possibly because they’ve become so common that they’re simply overlooked. In fact, negative superlatives (like worst, never, etc) earn a 63% higher average click-through rate than positive ones. Getting creative with descriptors can go a long way in creating enticing headlines.
3. Substance
When writing long-form content, copywriters have the luxury of length to develop their message. But when writing headlines, it’s critical to present the article’s value and its relevance to the reader immediately. While brevity is obviously necessary, giving readers a peek at the content to come is invaluable.
With only seconds to grab a reader’s attention, we always keep these three things in mind at Motivated Marketing. And despite the lack of leprechauns on our payroll, our team has been lucky enough to put their copywriting techniques to work for some fantastic clients.
If you’d like to become one of them, get in touch today!