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The Secret to Grabbing Your Prospects Attention

By Weston Lyon

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 12Mar2009 Word count: 560 Viewed: 87 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

I'm not going to beat around the bush...the secret to grabbing your prospects attention is the use of a headline.

Most entrepreneurs, marketers, and advertisers miss this! They think their prospects are somehow going to gravitate toward their ad or marketing message by way of 'the force'.

Pfui. You must have a headline to grab attention! There is no other way.

So, what is a headline and how can you get good at writing them to grab attention and sky rocket sales?

A headline is the first sentence or two your prospect sees when looking at an ad - online or offline. It's the first words out of your mouth in a speech. And it's the first thing your prospect sees on a website.

The headline has ONE purpose: to grab the reader's or listener's attention and force them to continuing reading or listening.

Most entrepreneurs and business owners (or even worse, their ad agencies) think their logo should be displayed first - for all to see. This is dead wrong. At least if you plan on making a sale.

You see, big companies can do this with some success because they focus a lot of money on branding. They are betting that their prospects will know who they are. This is an okay idea if you have a ton of money to spend...and even then it's not the best use of your dollars.

However, if you don't have an endless marketing budget, you need to grab your prospects attention NOW. You can't afford to let them slip away. The only way to accomplish that is by using a well-crafted headline.

Again, the headline draws your prospect into your marketing message. That's the first step. If they aren't interested in the first few words, they aren't going to read or listen any further. That's not good for you. If they don't continue on, they can't make a decision to buy.

So, how do you get good at writing headlines? Simple, you swipe from others.

Why reinvent the wheel? There are tons of fantastic headlines being used every day that are bringing businesses a plethora of new prospects, so just swipe theirs for now and change some words.

Notice I didn't say steal. You don't want to plagiarize. It's illegal and unethical! However, swiping a headline and making it yours is not illegal or unethical...it's smart!

Let's say you sell zit removal products. You find a great headline in your favorite magazine (magazines are goldmines for headlines) and it says: How to Lose 15 Pounds in Less Than 30 days.

Here's how to swipe this headline - legally, ethically, and fast:

First, come up with a benefit for your product. It's best to create a list of benefits to choose from. For simplicity (and because it's obvious) let's say your benefit is: eliminates zits.

Next, substitute your benefit for their benefit: How to Eliminate Zits in Less Than 30 days.

Viola! Your new headline in...umm...5 seconds!

As you can see, it's easy to do and takes very little time. And the best part, it's proven to work. Magazines wouldn't use a headline unless they have tested it. Piggy-back on their success and use the headline in your marketing message to grab your prospects attention!

This secret will get your prospects attention immediately...now it's your turn to sell them, killer.

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