Gain and pain: the easy way to write attention grabbing headlines

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Gary Chow | No Comments » | Trackback URL

Headlines are all important if you want recipients of your email newsletters or blog posts to open and read them.

Remember the old copywriting rule: AIDA? Gain attention, Incite interest, Build desire and Induce action.

Your headline should at least do the first thing – gain attention. ‘Hey you, stop skimming and click on this link now!’

Without an engaging headline your carefully written copy may not gain the readership it deserves.

Weak headlines are like lazy players on your football team; they can let you down.

There are many ways to write engaging headlines and over at the Copyblogger website you can find a lot of great copywriting advice.

For me though, one of the best approaches is to address the hidden question: ‘what’s in it for me?’ I’d say that’s what goes through the minds of most people when faced with a link.

And as most pop psychologists (and salespeople) will tell you, the two things people are most interested in are: a) what can I gain and b) How can I avoid pain.

Here are some examples of email headlines focused on the desire for gain, from Zuji the travel people:

• Great winter blues deals
• Italy: la dolce vita for cheaper
• Travel money offer for you

If you’re thinking about a holiday you’d be encouraged to click on these links, wouldn’t you? Who doesn’t want to save a few bucks?

Now let’s look at the flip side of the coin. Here are a couple of headlines from the folks at Motley Fool (who always write great copy) targeting our innate desire to avoid pain:

• Read this before the market crashes again
• Another economic crisis is coming, are you prepared?
• 3 costly IRA mistakes

Keen to protect your investment returns? The above headlines would pique your attention I’d imagine.

You get the drift, right?

All the above headlines highlight a benefit: you can gain or you can avoid pain.

Headlines that target gain and pain stand a better chance of grabbing attention compared to those that merely summarise the contents of the article. Here are examples of headlines that are pretty drab and inspiring:

• Sharemarket gold needs balancing
• Smart investing is changing
• Market moves send timely reminder

These came from a large funds management company so it’s likely the contents within would have offered sound advice but I can’t say for sure because I never clicked the link. It seems to me the writer treated the headline as no more than an afterthought.  Result: did not gain my attention.