In marketing, words are what count. Words create action. If you want to sell then you need the right words.

It has been proven if you want people to read an advertisement, a direct mail letter, an e-mail or a web page, the thing that matters most is having a good headline. By changing nothing else in an ad but the headline you can easily double or triple your response rate.

So in any promotional piece make sure the headline is powerful. To do that effectively here is a list of questions from Clayton Makepeace to ask yourself as you develop your headline. Clayton is reputedly North America’s highest paid copy writer. He consistently earns more than $1,000,000 per year from his copy writing.

  1. Does your headline offer the reader a reward for reading your sales copy?

  2. What specifics could you add to make your headline more intriguing and believable?

  3. Does your headline trigger a strong, actionable emotion the reader already has about the subject at hand?

  4. Does your headline present a proposition that will instantly get your prospect nodding his or her head?

  5. Could your headline benefit from the inclusion of a proposed transaction?

  6. Could you add an element of intrigue to drive the prospect into your opening copy?