Confessions Of A Master Clickbaiter

Wait, did you read that headline the right way? Yes, I wrote it to get you to click on it, but the content of this post is definitely not clickbait, although I am a master at that. Forty years and 100,000+ ads written, I've earned the title.

The headline of your ad is the SINGLE. MOST. IMPORTANT. piece of text your potential customers will see. Yes, the video stops the scroll. Sure, an incredible image will catch your eye. But those are not intended to do the selling. That's what the words are for. I've watched clients spend six figures on production and then slap a lazy headline on top of it -- like buying a Ferrari and putting a bicycle horn on it.

A strong headline cues up the reader to continue further into the ad copy or it turns them into a scroller. The words you choose to get their attention matter. They matter a lot. I've written more on this exact problem in Your Headline Is Doing 80% Of The Work. Stop Writing It Last., if you want the full breakdown.

Stop Trying to Manipulate. Start Solving Problems.

Too often marketers get caught up in trying to sell their product or service and trying to cleverly manipulate people to take action. But there's a better way: solve a problem. Yes, that's right! If your product or your service solves a problem, adds value, and makes life better, everyone wins!

You get the sale. The customer gets what they need. And we all sing and we all sing Kumbaya.

So how do you actually build a headline that does that? Let me show you three of mine that worked, and then I'll hand you the exact process.

Real Headlines That Crushed It

Let's take a page from my very own playbook. These three ran for us as actual client campaigns, three very different headlines, but the ads themselves all say essentially the same thing underneath:

Stop 🛑 Writing Your Own Ads

We Fix Broken Ads

Tag, You're It! We've Retargeted You

The first headline simply tells them to stop writing, the ad copy then explains why. The second headline clearly tells them that if their ads aren't working we can help them, then the ad copy goes on to explain how. While the third ad is a retargeting ad, we get their attention by calling ourselves out for what we're doing. Customers respect the crap out of us for being so blunt, that's the most honest form of advertising there is. The message in the ad is simply another flavor of how we make their life better. Every one of these earns the click before it sells a single thing -- that's the whole trick, and it's exactly the mechanic I break down in Your Headline Is a Bouncer, Not a Billboard: the headline's only job is to decide who gets let in.

How to Actually Write Headlines That Work

When you are trying to come up with solid headlines, get a whiteboard and start throwing every one of them up there. You never know what will work.

It's OK to be humorous, silly, serious, don't judge what comes out of your creative session, sometimes magic just happens.

Here are a few from our January 25 brainstorm session. None of these ever ran, and most never should, but they got our brains going, and that's exactly the point of the exercise -- you're not looking for the headline, you're looking for the muscle that finds the headline.

Morning wood leading cause of blindness

4 Of 5 Marketers Screw This Up!

Tribe of Vegan Cannibals found dead

Cow discovers steak quits grass

Weight gain growing epidemic

Gym memberships shrinking

A great headline is interesting without giving away the whole story -- it gives you just enough to justify the click, and not one word more. And don't forget, a great headline also leads you to content that makes sense; if the copy doesn't pay off the promise, you've spent your one shot at trust for nothing. For more on building hooks that actually earn the read instead of just baiting it, check out Your Headline Isn't Boring, It's Invisible. So brainstorm away, and don't be afraid to save something that doesn't work now and try to use it again later. Some of my best headlines sat in a notebook for two years before they found the right ad.