This double-whammy headline does two things: it asks a question, and it creates curiosity. As a copywriter, you’re probably thinking, “Of course I don’t throw my best copy away. My best copy goes to my clients for their websites and promotional materials. Why would anyone throw away their best copy?”
Now that I’ve got your attention, I can tell you that if you aren’t writing compelling headlines, you are effectively throwing all the rest of your copy into the trash. If no one is interested in your headline, they’ve already decided they won’t be interested in what follows the headline. That means that no matter how good your copy is, it’s wasted. It’s gone straight into the trash. No copywriter wants that.
Put a Monkey on Your Head
Be a little crazy. Stay relevant, but use word play, alliteration, and interesting points from your main content to create a funny, intriguing, and yeah, slightly strange headline. That kookiness may not make sense at first, but that’s what’s going to make your reader keep reading. They figure your copy will make the headline make sense, and they want to know what that crazy statement was all about.
Once you’ve got them, don’t let them down. You have to deliver on kookiness, or you’ve disappointed your reader and lost the reason they’d want to keep reading. I’m going to explain that putting a monkey on your head is a metaphor for putting something offbeat (a monkey) on your head(line).
Now you know. That’s why you kept reading. So give it a shot.
Tags: copywriting, headlines, perfect headlines
