When you write a post for your blog, your headline is the last thing you should be thinking about.

OK, I realize this is Copyblogger heresy.

There’s a lot of emphasis on writing a good headline. Hell, I’ve written posts about how to write an eye-grabbing title myself. Brian wrote an entire series on headlines (including a post on why you should always write your headline first), and he’s been known to come up with some pretty catchy ones.

But while crafting a good headline is critical to getting people to read a blog post, open the email, or get past the headline to the copy, it’s actually the last thing you should be thinking about when you first sit down to write.

Who’s your audience?

Get this wrong and you can mess up a lot of potentially awesome headlines.

Your headline could fit the perfection checklist to a T. It could be a list with a number. It could have action words. It could be creative, intriguing, ask a question, be a little crazy, hint at a secret. But if it isn’t written for the right audience, you’re screwed.

5 Powerful Headlines that Get You All the Chicks — and How to Write Them

That’s a pretty decent headline right there. But if the majority of your audience is work-from-home mothers, that headline isn’t going to get you as far as it would if you were writing for an audience of straight single men.

Know who your audience is, and know what kind of language appeals to them. Lexi Rodrigo wrote a post not too long ago about feminine words that sell. There were plenty of responses to that post in the comment section, some of them from women saying which words wouldn’t necessarily appeal to them, and why.

You have to get in the brain of your audience, and you have to know the words that work for them.

There are no short cuts. It’s not just about appealing to women or men — the question is, which women or men. You have to figure out your precise audience, and you have to write directly to the way those specific people are feeling when they read your post.

What do you want them to do?

If your blog attracts new customers and enthusiasts, then every single post you write should let your audience know what you want from them.

Now hang on there — before you run away because you run a strictly informational, no-sales blog, we’re talking to you too.

Even if you have no intention of getting sales from your blog, you still want your readers to do something.

You want them to think about what you’ve written. You want them to feel something. You want them to take some sort of action. You want them to comment. You want them to get into conversations with other people. You want them to follow you on Twitter or friend you on Facebook.

You want all kinds of stuff. And yeah, sometimes you even want sales. But before you scribble down that headline and start writing, you need to know what you want. Then you need to leverage your headline to make sure you get it.

What are you going to give them?

Brian recommends writing your blog title before you write the post, and I agree with that as a general rule. Writing down your headline reminds you of what the focus of your post is supposed to be.

But even if you haven’t written the post yet, you still need to know what you’re going to be writing about. This makes logical sense — and oddly, a lot of people don’t seem to think about it.

They say they’re going to offer you “10 Secrets of Copywriting” and they write that headline down, but what they end up writing about is common knowledge on every marketing blog out there.

If your title is going to be about secrets, you need to be prepared to write about secrets. If you’re only prepared to write about what someone already knows, then you’re not going to be able to deliver on the promise of your title.

Before you write your headline, you need to know you’ll back up the promise it’s making.

All right, then. Have you thought about all that? Good. Now you’re ready to tackle the last thing you need to think about:

What’s your headline going to be?

Your headline might need to be last on your task list, but last doesn’t mean least important. Often, it means just the opposite.

How about you? What else do you think people need to do before they get to their headlines?

About the Author: James Chartrand is the copywriter setting your business priorities in the right order. Check out Men with Pens for more tips, tricks and techniques on how to write better blog posts, or better yet, sign up for the Men with Pens RSS feed right here.

Many bloggers already know that Twitter is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog.

When I talked to Guy Kawasaki about my book, he called the Tweetmeme Retweet button “the most important button on the web,” because of the enormous traffic-driving power it possesses. With one click, any of your readers can spread your post to hundreds or thousands of their followers.

As a marketer, I, of course, see this as an opportunity for optimization. When I see a powerful tool, my first impulse is to figure out how to make it even more powerful.

When you click that button, Tweetmeme grabs the title of the page it’s on, shortens the URL, and combines the two into a autofilled tweet for posting. Thus, the title of your post becomes the tweet that is shared with a potentially huge number of Twitter users.

If the importance of compelling headlines wasn’t painfully obvious before, it should be now.

Nearly 20% of all “normal” tweets contain a link, yet almost 70% of retweets do. Retweeting is the most common way links are shared on Twitter.

I’ve done research into various factors surrounding retweets and found a handful of factors that you may want to take into consideration when writing headlines for posts that you hope to share and spread on Twitter.

Use nouns and third-person verbs

When I looked at the parts of speech that occur in retweets versus those that occur in normal tweets, I found that retweets tend to be noun-heavy and use third-person verbs.

This pattern is reminiscent of newspaper headlines. Highly retweetable headlines talk about someone or something doing something.

A headline should never talk about all the things you did yesterday and how you did them, as past-tense verbs and adverbs both lead to far fewer retweets.

The most (and least) retweetable words

The words that tend to occur more in retweets than in normal tweets are topped by the word “you.”

This means, whenever possible, you should talk directly to your readers. “Top” and “10″ also rank highly, showing that lists do well on Twitter. Not surprisingly, talking about social media and Twitter itself also helps.

On the other side of the coin are the least retweetable words. Random first-person verbs and details about your life, however fascinating you may find it, don’t get a ton of retweets.

Tell me something new

I compared how common words in retweets are to how often these same common words appear in normal tweets, and found that rare and more novel words are highly retweetable.

When you’re writing your headlines, you should be striving to say something new that breaks through the clutter of everyday chatter.

Don’t be dumb

I expected to find that retweets were simple and required less intelligence to understand. But my data showed the opposite.

Using two readability metrics, I found that retweets often use longer, more complex words. So don’t try to “dumb down” your headlines for Twitter; users and power retweeters are smarter than you may think.

Stop talking about yourself

LIWC is a linguistic system designed to identify concepts in pieces of text.

The most striking thing I found when using LIWC to analyze retweets is that self reference does not get a lot of sharing.

In other words, don’t talk about yourself if you want Twitter traffic; talk about your readers.

If you’ve been in social media awhile, you probably already guessed that was the case — now you’ve got the data to back it up.

About the Author: Get more tips like this and learn about the full range of social media marketing platforms, tools, techniques and strategies from Dan Zarrella’s The Social Media Marketing Book, published by O’Reilly.

Some days headlines are a breeze to write. The perfect words flow from brain to page in a flash of brilliance.

But copywriting isn’t always that way, and some days you’re staring at that blank space where a killer headline should be, with no idea how to move forward.

It can be intimidating, frustrating, and a little bit humbling . . . and worst of all it can grind your projects to a halt.

It doesn’t have to be that way — as long as you have a few sources of headline inspiration at your disposal.

Here are a few places you can go to kick-start the headline-generating part of your brain any time you need it.

The Digg front page

While most Digg traffic is geared toward content consumers, the front page is a goldmine for content producers. Every hour of every day, people are voting on the headlines that catch their attention. Not stories, but headlines (it’s well known that many Digg users vote based on article titles and descriptions without ever actually reading the stories).

When you’re feeling stuck — or just hungering for a little swipe copy — take a look at the Digg front page and browse the most popular entries, and you might get your creative juices flowing faster than you think.

Magazine covers

Online and direct response marketers aren’t the only ones getting paid to write headlines. There are people getting paid good money every day to carefully craft headlines that jump off of the newsstand and evoke that “must-read” response from you in a flash.

When you’re in a bind, take a walk to the corner store and glance at the magazine rack. Better yet, grab a notebook and head to the library, where they’ll have bound copies of print magazines going back for years. A few tweaks and replaced words here and there and you’ll have all the headlines you’ll need for a long time.

In-magazine ads

Ignore the full-color glossy ads for cars, perfumes and television shows that most magazines are full of and search for the direct-response-style ads. While glossy ads are often designed to impress people or win awards, direct-response advertisements are carefully fine-tuned to make sales.

You may have developed the habit of tuning out ads for whimsical collector’s plates, limited edition gold coins or collectible scale models, but get the headlines for these products back on your radar.

Remember, good money is spent honing these headlines into effective sales tools — don’t pass up your chance to educate yourself on somebody else’s dime.

Your own inbox

It’s pretty likely that you’re subscribed to more than a few newsletters, most of which you’ve come to ignore as time passes. But every so often a promotion or newsletter hits your inbox and you’re intrigued enough to open it. That’s your signal to save that email in your own personal swipe file.

Think about it — if you were tempted to open that email, it’s a good chance that others are as well. Create a place in your inbox to store emails that compelled you to click, and you’ll have an ongoing source of material to draw from.

That link to the left

If you haven’t read through Copyblogger’s extensive guide to writing magnetic headlines, then you should. From 9 Proven Headline Formulas That Sell Like Crazy to The Cheater’s Guide to Writing Great Headlines, you’ll find all the inspiration you need to hand-craft your own winning headlines, again and again and again.

Just scroll up and look for the Writing Headlines link on the left. And don’t forget to read through the other resource categories there. You’ll find blog posts with proven headlines that have been clicked on thousands of times.

Where do you go to find inspiration?

When you’re at a loss for words, how do you fill up your own headline-writing gas tank? Take 30 seconds right now and add your favorite place to get your muse on and learn from the comments of others.

About the Author: Dave Navarro is the product launch coach of choice for online marketers and has a special message for Copyblogger readers.

Imagine you’re going through your RSS reader and skimming the headlines as you sip your coffee, thinking about the busy day ahead.

You have an early presentation, lunch with Sue, a meeting at 2:30 and a call at 3:10. You promised the wife you’d pick up chicken for supper and then there’s that new DVD you wanted to grab on the way home.

You’re skimming the list and just one headline reaches out and grabs you.

• “Plane passengers survive shaky landing.”
• “Teen sex dropping. Parents relieved.”
• “How a cashier stopped a train with her bare hands.”
• “Vacation spotlight: Tahiti.”
• “NHL receives award of excellence.”

Which of these headlines would tempt you to click through?

If you’re like most people, number three — the train headline – is the one that earns the second glance. You might pause. You might wonder what the situation was, or how the woman stopped the train. You’re probably pretty curious about the story.

You might even read.

And if you did, whoever wrote that headline was the winner of the moment. Because that’s the purpose of a good headline — to snag someone’s interest and keep them reading. They have to want to know what’s to come. They have to be curious enough or compelled enough or be interested enough to continue.

Less teen sex doesn’t really get it.

But stopping a train with bare hands? That’s pretty amazing. How did that happen? What happened? Who did it? And Why? Was she scared? Did she save someone’s life?

There’s a promise in that headline. The promise of something good to come.

We know there’s going to be a great story. We suspect we might even learn how to stop a train with our bare hands ourselves. We feel that we’ll be more entertained, more informed, smarter or better off in some way than we were before we began to read.

The NHL receiving an award is a story too. So are those relieved parents — they have a story. And the people on the plane? They have a story they’ll probably never forget.

But those headlines didn’t make a promise. They delivered facts. And worse, each gave the full story in just a glance. We didn’t have to read more to know what had happened. Nothing tantalized us. Nothing teased our interest or attention. We already had what we needed.

Boring headlines are a mistake. They don’t convey any benefits of reading more — not even entertainment value.

That train one, though . . . we’d discover a secret! Knowing how to stop a train might come in handy one day. It sure would be a great bit of trivia for the next party. “Hey, I know how to stop a train with my bare hands!” We’d learn something, get the scoop, maybe even impress people at the office. “Did you hear about that cashier? The one who stopped the train?”

If you want people to keep reading, then you need to promise them something in return. Don’t give it all away at the start. Do intrigue people with your headlines. They should tempt the reader, like irresistible bait.

Hook readers with a promise, and then close the deal with your content.

About the Author: James Chartrand is the author of The Unlimited Freelancer. He can’t stop trains with his bare hands, but he can pen up great words faster than the speed of light. Check out his blog at Men with Pens.

Sure, we talk a lot about the rules for writing great headlines here at Copyblogger, but what if you’re still doing it wrong? Are there a collection of common mistakes that bloggers and content marketers make with their headlines — mistakes that we can help you overcome?

Yep.

Fact is, you can get all of the fundamentals right and still end up with a lousy headline. Sometimes, the only way to improve isn’t being told what to do… it’s being told what not to do.

With that in mind, here are a dozen don’ts to help keep you on track:

1. Don’t be original

I know, I know. It’s hard to get excited about writing another “How to _______” or “21 Ways to _______.” Not because the templates don’t work, but because it just feels… tired. How are you supposed to keep your writing fresh if you’re using the same old shtick?

Simple: you broaden your source material.

When Brian published those headline templates, he never intended for anyone to believe they were the only templates that work. The best bloggers are always on the lookout for a new template to use in their headlines. You can get them anywhere, from the cover of Cosmo, to the front page of Digg, and from other popular bloggers.

The only time to experiment with new headlines is when you know you’ve truly mastered the fundamentals, and almost every headline you write is a hit. Until then, keep stealing the best ideas of others (just do it from a wider range of sources).

2. Don’t blend in

You also need to consider what your audience is used to.

For a while, longish magazine-style headlines stood out within the blogging niche because no one had used them before. Nowadays though, they’re common, and we’re starting to see the effectiveness decline. That’s why you see me experimenting with shorter versions of the same templates (examples here, here, and here).

Will the same be true for your niche? No, not necessarily. The point isn’t that long or short headlines are better. It’s that you need to zig when others zag. You still use the same principles and templates. Just modify them so that they stand out to your audience.

3. Don’t be clever

Brian has talked about this before, but it deserves bringing up again. Compared to clear, direct headlines, clever ones lose almost every time. Whenever you find yourself coming up with a pun, joke, or allusion, stop. You’re killing your blog post.

Again, sounds like less fun, but that’s the price of wanting a large audience. If you try to be clever, too many people are not going to get it. Sorry.

4. Don’t get desperate

All of us have seen desperate headlines. It’s like the writer knows you don’t care what they are talking about, so they write the most off-the-wall headline that they can possibly think of, hoping that it will shock you into clicking. It’s sad… and ineffective.

But don’t look down your nose at it, thinking it’ll never happen to you. It will. Every time you write a post, ask yourself, “Is this headline begging for attention? Or does it demand it?” One day, it’ll be the former, and if you’re smart, you will stomp your newborn headline to death before anyone reads it but you.

5. Don’t ignore your readers

You can write the best post in the universe, but if it’s about a topic your audience doesn’t care about, then it’s going to flop. The first step in writing any headline is considering what topics your audience is interested in, and then crafting the headline around that interest, not the other way around. There are no exceptions to this rule.

6. Don’t ignore your peers

The tough part about growing a blog is that you have more than one master. Impressing your readers with a perfectly crafted headline isn’t enough. If you want any links, you also have to impress the other bloggers in your niche.

My advice: after you consider what your readers are interested in, take some time to think about what other bloggers in your niche will link to. Then craft your headline with them in mind.

7. Don’t ignore social media

The same advice is true for social media. If you want traffic from Twitter, StumbleUpon, or Delicious, you need to think about that audience when you’re writing your headline.

With Delicious, for instance, you’ll see a lot of list posts like 20 New Best WordPress Themes and 77 Ways to Cultivate Your Garden. That’s because Delicious is a bookmarking site, and list posts are inherently bookmarkable. If you’re targeting a post at Delicious then, using a list-style headline is probably a good idea. It’s what that audience is looking for.

What most beginning bloggers do though is the opposite. They write a post, and then they try to figure out where to promote it. Big mistake. You need to target social media from the very beginning, and the beginning is your headline.

8. Don’t ignore your personal style

We’ve all heard that you have to tailor your headlines to your audience, but what about also fitting that headline into your own personal voice?

In my experience, this is often the difference between a mediocre headline and a great one. I can spot a Naomi Dunford or Brian Clark headline without even clicking on the post — because it’s uniquely them.

Could your readers say the same about your own headlines? Or are you just rehashing the same old templates without adapting them to your personal style?

9. Don’t ask for opinions

When struggling to choose a headline, you might be tempted to ask a friend for their opinion on which one would be best. But don’t. In my experience, friends usually pick whichever headline is the most clever or funny, not the one that’s best suited for your audience.

The only exception to this rule is if your friends are copywriters who know something about your audience. They might be able to give you some direction. Even then though, it’s still iffy. For the most part, writing headlines is something you have to learn how to do on your own. Get used to it.

10. Don’t settle

Remember the first Harry Potter book, where Harry gets his wand?

Ollivander hands him wand after wand, allowing him to hold it only for a moment before snatching it back because the connection isn’t quite right. It’s only when Harry picks up the perfect wand that it bursts into magic, proving that he’s chosen the right one.

Writing headlines works the same way. Call me romantic, but I believe there is a special relationship between an idea and its headline. You’ll come up with lots of headlines that might work, but the difference between the perfect headline and a workable one is the difference between holding magic in your hand or just another stick of dead wood.

My advice: go for the magic.

11. Don’t sweat the failures

The worst part about writing headlines is your failures are public. You’ll publish a post and there will be… nothing. No comments, no links, no adoring emails from your readers; just a fat, ugly headline sitting on your home page, proving to the world that you screwed up.

It’s embarrassing, but the good news is no will care as much as you. You need only remember one word to keep yourself moving: Next.

12. Don’t ask too much

What I’m about to say is going to sound like hypocrisy, so give me a moment to explain.

Headlines aren’t everything.

Yes, I know we just finished a whole post about the importance of great headlines. Yes, I know we pitch them as the closest thing you’ll ever find to a magic bullet in copywriting. Yes, I believe you should study them with all the fervor of a Southern Baptist Bible scholar.

But will they make you famous all by their lonesome?

Well… no.

Because you see, writing a great blog post is like running a relay race. Your headline starts the race, but then it passes the baton to your opening paragraph, and its job is done. Sure, it’s important to start the race well, but if the next guy falls on his face, then how well the first guy did doesn’t much matter, does it? Every piece has to do its part.

So don’t expect too much from your headlines. They’re just the beginning.

Fortunately, we talk about everything else here at Copyblogger too. If you haven’t yet, you really should sign up for free updates for all of the crazy copywriting goodness we send out on a daily basis.

Oh, and follow me on Twitter too. You never know when I might get uppity and decide to remix some headlines for Copyblogger subscribers… (hint, hint).

Bookmark this post on Delicious for future reference.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is the Associate Editor of Copyblogger and Cofounder of Partnering Profits.

I’ve noticed a strange trend lately.

For some reason, people seem to be equating social media with social networking.

At the same time, they seem to be treating blogging as something other than social media.

I find this very strange indeed.

For example, here the author proclaims that he’s quitting social media and gives his reasons why. But he also states he’ll continue to blog, by god.

Then there’s this other post, which did a nice job of rounding up the discussion about the latest blogs are dead red herring. Problem is, the title Blogs vs Social Media seems to expressly state that the two are different and distinct things.

Did I not get the memo on this?

Blogs are Social (and Alternative) Media

First, let’s look at a definition. In the case of social media, I think even Wikipedia can be trusted:

At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few.

In fact, it’s a fairly easy case that blogs were the first modern form of social media. I say “modern” because many would argue that social media started pre-web with Usenet, Internet Relay Chat, and BBS systems. Heck, the most popular part of lame ol’ America Online was the cyber-sex socializing in the chat rooms.

So in the “modern” social media sense, blogs came way before social networking exploded with MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Blogs pioneered social media well before Friendster came and went (remember Friendster?).

One thing you’ll notice in the definition above is the emphasis on content. Not just user-generated conversational content, but the production of content that is an alternative to traditional media AND that benefits from interlinked conversation and comments.

Maybe the fact that “old media” has co-opted those aspects of blogs is the reason that some people no longer see blogging as social media. I think that’s a bit silly.

Media Producer Versus Social Networker

Maybe I’ve got it wrong, but the fascinating part of social media to me is not just the social networking. It’s the fact that anyone willing to put in the work can become a media producer/personality without speaking a word to anyone in the existing media power centers of Los Angeles, New York, et al.

Blogs are simply the best way to publish new media content. And social media news and networking sites are the ways that content gets exposure. It’s not money and geography that determines if your content spreads… it just has to be deemed good enough to be shared by regular people.

If you want to become a music journalist, no one in LA or NYC can tell you no. If you want a shot at becoming an actress or celebrity without enduring casting couch sexual harassment, you can absolutely go for it and succeed.

From a more practical standpoint, using social media in terms of “media production” is what content marketing is all about. Producing content and having something related to sell is one way where free content pays for itself big time.

• It’s how producing your own video show about wine boosts the bottom line of your bricks-and-mortar wine store to the tune of millions, all while making you a celebrity along the way.
• It’s how you write a book and create buzz for it without waiting for Oprah to call.
• It’s how you create a lucrative business with high margins and hefty happiness.

When you think like a media producer in this brave new social media world, it’s your content that social networkers are sharing and promoting, and that translates into your cash. If you’re only social networking, you’re only someone’s user-generated content, and even your digital overlord struggles to make money.

What’s the Point?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I just see so much unnecessary confusion out there.

What do you think?

• Is it because people with vested interests in confusion portray social media as something radically new when it’s mostly an evolution of the old?
• Should I simply quit worrying about it and stick with those of you who get it?
• What do you think about tofu? Tasty or nasty?

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

You can write a headline in an infinite number of ways. However, certain types of headlines have proven themselves repeatedly for many years. By following the “formula” of these headlines, you can give yourself an edge when you are serious about persuading someone to read and respond to your copy.

The following 9 headline formulas are some of the easiest to write and the most powerful. When it comes time to write a headline, try one of these first. At the very least, this can give you a creative jumping off point to write a headline that works.

1. Say it simply and directly.

The direct headline should be used far more often than it is. No cleverness. No jokes. No wordplay. The direct headline gets right to the point. It works particularly well with strong offers, recognized brand names, and product or service types with which the reader is familiar.

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2. State the big benefit.

One of the first techniques you should always explore is transforming your major benefit into a headline. After all, your number one selling point should be up front. It stands the best chance of selecting the right audience and preparing them to respond. Plus, if they read nothing else, they have at least seen the best selling point you have to offer. If you have trouble writing this kind of headline, it’s a sure sign you need to think a bit more about your product or service.

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3. Announce exciting news.

People read newspapers and magazines because they love news. It’s just basic human nature. We’re curious. We not only want to know, we need to know. Casting your headline in a way that suggests news, rather than advertising, can have the same powerful appeal of a feature story in the morning paper. An important note: the product or service doesn’t necessarily have to be newly created to qualify as news. It merely has to be news to your reader.

• At Last, American Scientists Have Created the Perfect Alternative to a Mined Diamond!
• Introducing the newest idea in cross-training. From NordicTrack.
• Now program your DVR by simply speaking to the revolutionary DVR VOICE programmer.

4. Appeal to the “how-to” instinct.

The how-to headline appeals to the need most of us have to improve ourselves or our lives in some way. The secret here is to focus on a need or want and promise to fulfill that need or want. Be careful, though. The how-to must highlight the benefit or final result, not the process itself. Look at this example:

• How to make money working from home with your PC.

Suppose instead it read, “How to start a full-time computer business in your home.” This misses the point, doesn’t it? It sounds like a lot of work. It says nothing about the real motivator, which is using a computer you already own to make money easily. To write a how-to headline, begin with the words “How to” or “How” then immediately fill in the benefit.

• How to stop smoking in 30 days … or your money back.
• How You Can Profit From the 3 Greatest Service Businesses of the Decade!
• How to do Central America on $17 a day.

5. Pose a provocative question.

Asking a question directly involves your reader. However, your question cannot be random or clever. It must relate directly and clearly to the major benefit of the product. It must also prod the reader to answer “yes” or at least “I’m not sure, but I want to know more.”

• Do You Make These Six Common Mistakes On Your Taxes?
• Gotten a speeding ticket lately? Read this.
• How do I know which mutual funds may be right for me?

6. Bark a command.

Sales copy often falls flat because it fails to tell the reader what to do. This headline type allows you to be direct, provide a benefit, and take a commanding posture simultaneously. It’s not conversational, it’s dictatorial — but in an acceptable way that readers have come to expect in clear writing.

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7. Offer useful information.

Let me clue you in on a little secret. Most people don’t want information. I know you’ve always been taught otherwise, but it’s true. People are drowning in facts. What people really want is a sense of order and predictability in their lives. We want to feel a sense of power over our world. Therefore, we seek out the secrets, tips, hints, laws, rules, and systems that promise to help us gain control and make sense of things. Notice how these headlines promise information that does just this.

• THE 20 MOST IMPORTANT STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO LIVE LONGER.
• FREE. The best kept secrets in America.
• Free brochure shows you how to end your money worries for good.

8. Relay an honest, enthusiastic testimonial.

A testimonial headline can do two things for you. First, it presents your reader with a third party endorsement of your product or service. Second, it capitalizes on the fact that people like to know what other people say.

• “Quite simply, the finest design software ever released.”
• “This diet program worked for me. It can work for you, too!”
• “It’s the first book on personal finance that really made sense to me.”

A variation of this strategy is to write a headline in the first person and put quotation marks around it. This “virtual testimonial” gives you a more interesting headline and improves readership.

9. Authenticate your proposition with a little something extra.

People distrust sales copy. And for good reason. A lot of it proves inaccurate or downright dishonest. To cut through this distrust, you can add a little something extra to your headline that seems out of place, yet rings true. Look at the following headlines and notice how the words “Ohio man,” “Obsolete,” and “Frustrated bartender” stand out. Their specificity or quirkiness adds a truthful aura that traditional copy could never achieve.

• Ohio man has 21-year tested formula to create multimillion dollar business from scratch, without bank loans, venture capitalists or selling stock.
• Small Company’s New Golf Ball Flies Too Far; Could Obsolete Many Golf Courses.
• Frustrated bartender develops incredible device to clean and disinfect your entire home…

There are many, many other ways to write a headline. Whatever strategy you choose, don’t make a decision too quickly. Take time to brainstorm. Write dozens or even hundreds of headlines. You never know exactly what you want to say before you say it, so giving yourself plenty of choices is the surest way to arrive at the best, most powerful headline.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is a leading direct marketing copywriter. For more copywriting and selling tips, sign up for Dean’s free direct response newsletter or visit the Direct Creative Blog.

Michael Arrington of Tech Crunch shares the sunshine with all.

If that seems like an odd question, it is.

Still… what if?

We’re in a strange (if not brave) new world. For all the good it’s brought us, there’s a potentially dark underbelly that needs to be considered.

It’s nice to look at successful blogs, Twitter accounts, and websites and marvel at the new found power of independent content creators. It’s exciting to see them garner the same kind of attention that was once only available to well-funded media organizations. But with recognition comes responsibility. I think it’s time to give some thought to what it means to use it well.

Consider two recent incidents.

Bloggers Unleashed

In one, social media guru David Armano took to his blog to reprimand someone who ripped off his work.

In the other, Jason Fried at 37 Signals used his company blog, Signal vs. Noise, to blast a third-party service he felt had damaged his brand.

Putting aside whether or not Armano and Fried were “right” (I think both basically were), their posts raise questions that affect everyone who uses the Internet and social media to advance their goals.

For all of the shortcomings of old media, it had at least one thing going for it: editorial review. Ideas and critiques had to pass more than one set of eyes before finding print, and author and publisher shared the burden of responsibility. The system didn’t always work, but it was something.

Does Self-Review Work?

Now, A-list bloggers enjoy all the audience of newspapers and then some. Without, in most cases, checks and balances. What’s more, they have immense influence. It’s a by-product of the way the social web works. You might like Maureen Dowd, but you don’t feel like you know her. With bloggers it’s more personal, more real.

Thus far, most top bloggers seem to be exercising decent judgment (leaving out blogs about politics and celebrities – those are different animals). Even the examples I cited above were handled well enough. The handshake agreement we have with new media seems to be holding up.

Which makes now the best time to have an open discussion about keeping it that way.

I’m not calling for censorship or regulation, and I never would. And I don’t begrudge the authors – they’ve earned their status. That doesn’t mean, however, that we shouldn’t consider just how much power we’re willing to give them.

Two Ways to Temper the Rant

At a minimum, I’d argue that it’s time for the web media community to consider two basic principles when it comes to content.

For producers, think before you publish (this goes triple for the A-listers). If you’re going to directly critique an individual or business, sleep on it first. Don’t let the ease of publishing get in the way of good judgment. If you can address an issue or solve a problem with direct contact, do it. Not everything needs to be made public. A few negative words in the age of Google can do real and irreparable damage.

For consumers, stay skeptical. Don’t assume that even the best and most popular bloggers are right all of the time. Do your own research if need be. Don’t assume the writers know more than you do because, in many cases, they don’t.

We may not actually need to have this conversation yet, but someone will eventually cross the line. The more attention we pay to the ethics of new media publishing now, the better off we’ll all be when it happens.

About the Author: Neal Shaffer is the founder of Slant Six Creative, a creative communications studio based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Photo by J.D. Lasica

Twitter has become the place for sharing content links. If your content catches attention on Twitter and spreads, suddenly you’re getting significant traffic from people who may have never visited your site before.

But don’t forget to share other people’s quality content on Twitter. This helps you build up a Twitter audience that values your editorial judgment, which in turns helps you when you have something of your own to share.

In both cases, what you share on Twitter is not just about the actual value of the content. It’s also about whether the content gets viewed and appreciated in the first place.

Yep… the difference is in the headline. You’ve heard this before, right?

Same as it Ever Was… But Worse

Every time I tell people about the 80/20 Rule of Headlines, they seem shocked. Remember that one?

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the content. This is in a typical headline environment, such as a newspaper, magazine, or web page.

In an RSS reader or email inbox, the percentages are likely worse. The battle for attention intensifies due to the nature of the environment.

Now, think about a Twitter stream.

People are scanning more ruthlessly than ever, looking for interesting tidbits. Your content link is competing with conversations, quips, and tantalizing revelations related to this morning’s breakfast cereal.

Time to up your headline game. But first, let’s review the foundational elements of solid headline writing.

What’s the Reward for Reading?

The first thing to keep in mind is that a headline is a promise. It promises some kind of benefit or reward in exchange for attention. That reward could range from an amusing diversion to the solution to a pressing problem.

A good way to make sure your headlines always offer a compelling reward is to use the 4-U approach. This is a copywriting technique taught by AWAI.

Your headlines must:

1. Be USEFUL to the reader,
2. Provide him with a sense of URGENCY,
3. Convey the idea that the main benefit is somehow UNIQUE; and
4. Do all of the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC way.

For a whole lot of elaboration on this, check out How to Write Magnetic Headlines.

For a shortcut, revisit the various headline categories that should cover any type of content you’re dealing with.

The Triumphant Return of the Short Headline

Some people will tell you that a good Twitter headline is as short as possible. This is due not only to the 140-character limit that Twitter imposes, but also because in order for your headline to spread, people need room to retweet it. Twitter culture dictates that you give credit to the person who originally exposed you to a tweet when you retweet, so extra space is needed for the hat tip.

Too many people, however, focus on “short” and forget about “as possible.” A better way to think about it is as long as necessary, but no longer. Luckily, history provides us with some strong encouragement in the short headline department.

A quick review of The 100 Greatest Advertisements by Julian Lewis Watkins shows that 95% of the most effective headlines from the early years of magazine advertising were eight words or less. This is because magazine copywriters had to write tight headlines due to space concerns, just like Twitter users.

Studies done from the direct mail industry show that about 50% to 60% of the most effective headlines are eight words or less, leaving ample indication that longer headlines work, too. On a webpage, there are no space concerns, so web copywriters found that longer headlines communicated more benefit right at the top of the page where eye-tracking studies show people focus, and therefore worked better.

So, Twitter brings us back full-circle at a time when content is the new advertising. But it’s clear that a well-written short headline has power, especially when in a level-playing-field environment where everyone has the same constraints.

Rewrite for Retweets

For the most part, you should write your article and blog post headlines pursuant to the same guidelines given above. There are certain cases where I’ll modify my own content headline for Twitter, but it’s rare.

The real value in headline rewriting comes when tweeting other people’s content. Let’s face it, many people write pretty crappy headlines, even when the content is solid. Doing the editorial work can help you build a loyal Twitter following, because you’re finding content that might otherwise be lost in the noise, and then rewriting the headline to better entice people to pay attention.

This can be easier than it sounds. Too many writers love to use obtuse or clever headlines that fail to do justice to their content.

Simply apply the 4 U approach after reading the content and before you tweet. Over time, this will become second nature to you, and your reputation on Twitter will thrive while you send traffic to people who need to learn what you know.

Valuable Content Rules

It’s clear from observation that people will retweet based on the headline alone, before even clicking through to the content. This is the same phenomenon that we figured out with Digg.

But unlike the anonymous free-for-all that is Digg, Twitter is a bit different. Your followers may retweet based on a headline alone, but only because they trust you. Your past performance and editorial judgment in selecting (and producing) quality content is what leads to that trust.

Quality content is still the essential ingredient, but make sure people actually appreciate the content you share. Becoming a better headline writer will make that happen for you.

About the Author: Brian Clark is the founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

Getting people to say “yes” is the goal for any sales message. It’s what psychologists call “compliance.”

However, my first exposure to the idea of compliance was not in a psychology book, but beneath a tree decades ago when my grandfather, in a moment of playfulness, showed me something startling with a stick and a few red feathers.

One day, he handed me a long stick with a clump of red feathers taped to the end and said he wanted to show me something. He had a familiar, mischievous look in his eye, so I knew it would be fun.

In a tree near his tool shed, a family of robins had nested. We slowly and quietly worked our way to just beneath the tree, and my grandfather told me to raise the feather end of the stick up to the nest.

Nearby, a male red breasted robin stood guard. When he saw the red feathers, he immediately attacked them, chirping wildly and flapping his wings in distress. I was dumbfounded.

Between chuckles, my grandfather explained that red feathers made the bird go berserk. I asked why, and he told me he wasn’t sure, but figured that the bird thought the feathers were another robin. He said robins protect their territory and will attack another robin on sight.

The Magic of Fixed Action Patterns

Smart man, my grandfather.

Since then, I’ve seen experiments demonstrating that a male robin will attack a simple bunch of red breast feathers but ignore a detailed replica of an actual male robin that does not have red breast feathers.

This is an example of what scientists call “fixed-action patterns” in animals. A fixed action pattern is a precise and predictable sequence of behavior. It’s instinctive, an automatic response. This sequence is set in motion by a specific “trigger.”

Fixed-action patterns are common among animals. But what about humans? What if you could use a trigger to set off a desirable sequence of behavior in a potential customer — like saying “yes” to a request you make?

Actually, you can.

In Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini, a respected social scientist and specialist in the area of compliance psychology, says that “… automatic, stereotyped behavior is prevalent in much of human action …”

He cites an experiment by Harvard social psychologist Ellen Langer, where you can see this concept in action. Langer approached people waiting in line to use a copy machine and asked, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” About 60% said “yes.”

Under similar circumstances, she did the same thing, but instead asked, “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?” In this case, an overwhelming 93% said “yes.”

What happened to increase the “yes” response so dramatically?

It’s a well-known principle that people like to have a reason. A reason helps people make a decision and justify their action. However, in this experiment, “because I have to make some copies” does not provide any new information. It does not actually give a reason.

“Because” is usually followed by information and has become, for most people, a “trigger.” Once the trigger is learned, it is powerful enough to set in motion a behavior sequence, in this case a “yes” response, even in the absence of concrete information.

6 Powerful Compliance Triggers

It is easy to see the importance of fixed action patterns for writing sales messages. All we need to know is where to find the “stick and red feathers” that can generate a “yes” response in a variety of selling situations.

Here are six common compliance triggers identified by psychologists along with my suggestions for applying them to copywriting:

Reciprocation — There is an overwhelming urge to repay debts, to do something in return when something is done for us. This deep-seated urge is so strong, noted paleontologist Richard Leaky has said that it is the very essence of what it means to be human. Sociologist Alvin Gouldner points out that no society on Earth escapes the reciprocity principle.

Application: Give people something for free. Whoever is on the receiving end of your gift is then in your debt. What can you give? Anything: a free book, planning kit, sample, subscription, catalog, special report, or virtually anything else that’s related to your product or service, as long as it’s free. The urge to “repay” can then lead people to make a purchase.

Commitment and Consistency — We are driven to remain consistent in our attitudes, words, and actions. So, when we are led to make a commitment of some kind, to go on record or take a stand or make a decision, there is an urge to remain consistent with that original commitment later on. The key is to get the initial commitment, which can appear small, reasonable, and innocent. This commitment can not only lead to compliance via the principle of consistency, but also to further compliance for larger requests.

Application: Ask for a little “yes” first, then build on that. Sales people sometimes call this the “foot-in-the-door” technique. Begin by asking your prospect to agree to a simple request, such as making a small transaction or completing a simple questionnaire. By getting people to make a decision, take a stand, or perform an action, you establish a new psychological “commitment.” Once you have that commitment, no matter how small, you can build on this small commitment and make ever increasing requests.

Social Proof — Most of us are imitators in most of what we do. We look to others for guidance, especially when we are uncertain about something. We ask, “What do others think about this? What do others feel? What do others do?” Then we act accordingly, all thanks to the power of social proof.

Application: Show others using your services or buying your products. List testimonials of satisfied customers or clients. Feature stories of those who have been “converted” from another service. Show pictures of people using your product. Provide case histories of some of your best customers. When people see that what you offer is okay with other people, they are more likely to give it a try themselves.

Liking — No matter how reasonable we may think ourselves to be, we are always more likely to say “yes” to those we know and like. We readily comply with requests from those who are similar to us and for whom we have good feelings. It’s what makes refusing to buy Tupperware from a friend or relative next to impossible.

Application: Be personal and likable. This is one element of selling that most people know instinctively, but often fail to put into action. Getting people to like you in person is one thing. But how do you do it in print when people usually have no chance to meet you? Reveal yourself. Show your feelings. Tell a story that prospects can relate to. Use flattery and praise. Present your sales message in such a way that you are not just selling something but working with others as an ally with common problems, concerns, and goals.

Authority — In this age of specialization, we are more prone to respond to authority than ever before. Regardless of an independent spirit, we look to experts or those we perceive to be experts to give us the answers and show us the way. Even the mere symbols of authority, such as titles and specialized clothing, are enough to trigger a response. Example: Note how seeing someone with a white smock and stethoscope instantly suggests “doctor” and makes anything that person says about medicine seem more authoritative.

Application: Provide signs and symbols of expertise. Establish your expertise by providing solid information. Show your credentials. Create trustworthiness by admitting flaws or shortcomings and demonstrating lack of bias. Show similarities between you and your prospect or customer. Cite awards, reviews, speaking engagements, and books you’ve authored. You can also “borrow” authority by associating yourself with those who have authority. Example: Show a photograph of yourself with someone your prospects will consider an authority.

Scarcity — In general, the fear of loss is more powerful than the hope of gain. By properly engaging the instinctive tendency to avoid losing something — or avoid losing the chance to possess something desirable — you can trigger a “yes” response with scarcity.

Application: Create time limits and limited availability. A “reply by” date is one of the most powerful ways to create scarcity. You can do this with a specific deadline or expiration date. If you can’t be specific about the date, use a general deadline, such as “reply within the next 10 days.” Use limited availability by mentioning how fast your supply is selling or citing the actual number of items that remain. You can also put constraints on supply, such as limiting memberships to the first 500 or creating a limited edition with X number being produced. The video division of Disney creates scarcity by putting their videos “back in the vault” so if you want a copy, you must order immediately or miss your chance.

Psychology is what copywriting is all about, but what I’ve discussed here barely scratches the surface. For more detail on these triggers, feel free to read my original series of articles on influence and persuasion.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is a leading direct marketing copywriter. For more copywriting and selling tips, sign up for Dean’s FREE direct response newsletter or subscribe to the Direct Creative Blog.