Writing an Advertisement

2. The Headline

A compelling headline will draw the eye to your advertisement, so spend time getting it right.

2.1 A good headline will grab the attention of your target audience.

Good headlines can:

• Highlight the key benefit of your product or service.For example, expertise, convenience, reliability, service, value for money, or your own unique selling point.
• Contain news or be topical.For example, 'Just launched'.
• Arouse curiosity.For example, by raising a question which the advertisement can later answer.
• Offer value for money.For example, 'Children go free'.
• Provide an endorsement.For example, 'As used on Everest' or 'Recommended by dentists'.

2.2 Bad headlines will fail to attract attention or will interest the wrong audience.

• Overcomplicated headlines are unlikely to grab attention.
• Avoid hackneyed phrases (eg 'unique offer'), clichés and claims that cannot be supported. An empty boast is unlikely to be convincing.
• A feature (as opposed to a benefit) of your product is unlikely to be of interest to your target market.So when advertising saucepans, the Teflon coating is less important than the fact that they are non-stick.
• An irrelevant joke is unlikely to attract the right readers and could cause offence.It is usually best to avoid this approach.
• Your company or product name may be interesting to you, but is not necessarily interesting to your targets.
• Redundant information (eg that you are a restaurant - when the advertisement will be appearing in the 'Restaurants' section of the publication) is not interesting.
• A misleading headline (eg 'Martians visit Rochdale') may encourage interest - but readers may feel let down when they find out what you are really offering.
• Do not put your logo in the headline, as it stops people reading on. If you include a logo, put it at the end.