The headline is BY FAR the single most important ad for your day spa marketing pieces. It’s the readers first impression, what they read first…before ANYTHING else. If you do not grab their attention with the headline they will never read the rest of your ad.
David Ogilvy, one of the world?s most famous ad men, says “unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money”.
Bill Glazer of Glazer Kennedy Insider’s Circle says that the headline is “arguably the most important part of the copy…as high as 80% of the battle.”
John Caples, successful Direct Response pioneer, says this about headlines, “If you have a good headline, you have a good ad. Any competent writer can write the copy. If you have a poor headline, you are licked before you start. Your copy will not be read…Spend hours writing headlines – or days if necessary.”
Before you write, you need to answer a few questions that are swirling around in your prospects mind:
– Who Cares?
– So What?
– What’s in it for me?
– Why are you bothering me?
Also, keep in mind that there are basically two needs that need to be met for your reader:
1) the need for pleasure or
2) the need to alleviate pain
Pleasure meaning: accomplishment, gain financially or physically, saving time or money, to gain an advantage…all from your product or service.
Now the another approach is to craft headlines that show the reader how to reduce or alleviate pain.
Pain, meaning: eliminating undesirable things in their life, physical discomfort, embarrassment, illness or even mental discomfort, poverty or boredom.
Now, Pain and Pleasure are not the only categories. You can also have headlines that:
-Create curiosity
-Make a big promise or multiple promise
-State a bold guarantee
-Tell a story
-Make An Announcement
Put Your Headline To The Master Test:
Dan Kennedy is one of the most genius copywriters…EVER. Almost every time I hear him speak on copy he reminds us all to put our headlines to his Headline Test:
-Will it make the reader read the next sentence?
-Will it stand alone? (If you ran the headline and a phone number would you get response?)
Give your headlines this simple test each and every time and I guarantee you will have yourself a powerful and persuasive winner!
Here are a few more tips to get you started writing great spa marketing ads:
1) Use upper case and lower case letters…NOT all caps. All caps are very hard to read.
See for yourself…
The Amazing Stress-Reduction Secret Of A Desperate Housewife
THE AMAZING STRESS REDUCTION SECRET OF A DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
2) Capitalize the first letter of every word in the headline.
3) Make it big and bold so it leaps off the page. It should be the most visually dominant part of the text. Especially when creating a small space ad. The headline should be dominant and not be crowded by other text. Use the 6 feet rule: stand back 6 feet from the ad or your computer screen. You should be able to clearly see the headline and call to action.
4) Put the headline in quotes. It makes it more noticeable.
4) Watch using crazy fonts. I tend to stick with the following:
Print: fonts with seraphs (Times New Roman, Georgia,
Web: fonts w/o seraphs (Ariel, Verdana, Tahoma)
These are by no means all that you can use, just be careful of the fancy or silly stuff, it’s just too hard to read.
5) Don’t try to stuff too many ideas into the headline. Keep it direct, compelling and simple.
6) Ask a question. Questions involve the reader, make them think and pull them into your copy..
7) Try the “secret” angle. What is something you know or your product or service has that no one else can offer or knows about. Something that would really impress your audience.
8) Don’t be generic. Try not to make claims and statements that are very common, or overused, in the spa industry. Add your specific promise or secret as something that sets you apart. In other words, don’t blend in with the other guys…stand out!
9) Tempt them by mentioning free bonuses, premiums or free gifts.
10) Remind them of deadlines and/or guarantees.
11) Make a list of keywords related to your spa business products and services. These should be the hot buttons for your reader. These should be the things that set you apart from others in your market or what keeps your prospect awake at night.
To make your spa marketing budget pay for itself, take the time to GET YOUR HEADLINES RIGHT! It’s money in the bank and time VERY well spent.