The headline is considered to be the most important part of your copy.
According to David Ogilvy:
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as they read the body copy.
When you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.”
That’s a perfect example of the 80/20 rule right there.
The headline should create an interest for the reader to read the second line. And the second line should persuade you to read the third. And so on.
You get the idea.
But did you know that what I’ve mentioned above is not the real reason why you need to create a headline?
Yes, my friend. There’s a completely different reason.
And I’ll reveal that to you later.
But for now, let discuss the 4-step process on how to create compelling headlines readers can’t take their eyes off.
I call it the DMAC Formula.
Desire
Pinpoint the single most powerful desire of your target audience.
What does your target audience aspire to be, do or have? What are their goals and aspirations? What results do they want to achieve?
These questions will guide you to single out the mass desire you can use to create a powerful headline for your sales copy.
Market Sophistication
First stage: This is the easiest stage to write on since there’s no competition since you’re the first in the market with a particular product.
Second stage: In this stage, you now have some competition. So, you better position your product by making claims about it. Or make better claims that your competitor to make your product stands out.
Third stage: Your prospect has heard all claims in the market and they’re quite saturated about it. Yet, they still have the desire which the product brings to them. This means there’s still a window of opportunity to sell on this stage, though it’s quite slim compared to stage 2.
Fourth stage: This is the stage of mechanisms. In this stage, your competitors revealed a new mechanism which makes your claims inferior compared to them. Your goal is to offer a new mechanism which is better than what your competitors introduced.
Fifth stage: In this stage, everything is not working to persuade your prospect to buy your product or service. They experience ad fatigue which means they no longer believe in your product and your competitors.
Mechanisms and claims don’t work either. And the only way to sell to them is through identification headlines.
Awareness Level
Next is to identify the customer awareness level of your target market which relates to your offer.
There are 4 types of customer awareness level:
Level 1. Most Aware
The customer knows your product, knows what it does, and knows he wants it. But for some reason, he hasn’t bought it yet. These are customers who need a little push for them to buy your product or service.
Level 2: Product Aware
The customer knows your product, but isn’t completely aware of all its benefits and features, isn’t convinced how well it works, or isn’t aware of how much better it works now.
Level 3: Solution Aware
The customer either knows or immediately recognizes that he has a desire, but doesn’t know that there’s a product that will do it for him.
Level 4: Problem Aware
The customer has a need to solve a problem but doesn’t know a product that can solve it yet.
Level 5: Unaware
The customer is not aware of a desire or need, won’t admit to it, has a need that’s too general, or considers that desire or need as a deep secret. This level requires a lot of work to persuade them to buy.
Creation
Once you’ve gathered the data for the first three stage, you can now create the actual headline.
You can create 3 headlines to choose from or as many as 10. The choice is yours.
In the end, choose the best headline which you feel is the best for your target market.
Just like what I’ve always say: Test, test, test.
P.S. Going back… Later, I’ve mentioned that there’s a completely different reason why you need to create a headline. And it’s not to create an interest to read the next line or the next.
The real reason is this.
To attract the right audience and make them vote with their wallet.
Make the right audience take action based on what you want them to exactly do.