It kills me to say this, but there was a time when I believed most of what was in the news.
Truth is, when something is positioned as ‘news’ it gets past our natural defences and we’re more likely to trust it.
So why not make your headline read like the news, in order to grab your readers (or scrollers) attention?
For instance, let’s say you’re a mortgage broker like Kelvin Mason
Rather than running an ad along the lines of “Mortgage Broker – Call Me to Look After Your Home”
You could think like a publicist and brainstorm some ideas – such as…
Why All Mortgage Brokers are Not Created Equal
This could be followed up by creating distinctions between the best and worst mortgage brokers in an educational fashion – then making the segue back to a special report at the end about how to choose a mortgage broker.
The natural progression from there, once you have established your difference, would be for them to reach out to you.
Another news angle could be a case study.
i.e. How Jane and Rob Saved $70,000 by Refinancing Their Home
And you could also test a myth busting headline:
Mortgage Myths Busted: These Innovative Strategies Turn the Industry on its Head
See how this works?
Now one of the best things you can do if you’re looking for”news” headlines is to go to the publications your target market reads and respects – and use them for inspiration for your headlines.
So why not make a list of those publications now, and dedicate some time to reviewing the headlines to brainstorm ideas?
P.S. If you enjoyed this headline hack…
There’s 100 more in my 101 Headline Hacks report, which is based on real experience from writing over 9,127 subject lines for emails – and seeing split-test results over a period of over 14 years.