Headlines are supposed to get you noticed

How invisible is your headline? Here are some examples of headlines that get overlooked:

(breed) Babies for Sale (you and a thousand other people)
Quality ________for Sale (what does “quality” really mean?)
Great __________Now Available (“great” is nebulous. It’s overworked—boring)
Herd dispersal (and why should they care????)
Handcrafted natural fiber _______ (how does that make a customer feel better?)

The above headlines are missing the point of a headline which is to get you noticed. Why? Because they don’t give the customer any reason to care about what you have for sale.

So the question is how to get them to care.

1) Who are you talking to? If you’re talking to someone who wants to show a particular species and become a well known breeder, your approach has to be different than if you’re talking to a homesteader who wants more sustainability in her life. Your animal or your product might be perfect for both, but how to catch their attention is very different because they want different things. So decide who you’re trying to reach and what matters to them!

2) If you talk about yourself and your stuff, no one will notice. They don’t care about you. Customers only care about themselves. They might someday be your best friend, but right now they do not care about you, your stuff and what matters to you. They care about themselves! When you can reach them at that level, they’ll pay attention.

3) Go ahead, jot down a headline. Now ask yourself, “Am I talking facts?” Because facts are about you. To catch attention figure out how the fact makes the customer feel better, solves a problem or fulfills his hopes. That’s why the fact matters to your potential customers. Now change the headline with the reason it matters.

Here are some headlines that talk about why facts matter.


Wrap your Loved One in a cloud of Softness
Move your farm into Blue Ribbon Territory
How your child can get that sense of accomplishment
How to improve taste and boost nutrition too
Want your own line of top notch udders? Here’s the genetic prepotence to do it!
More milk and easier milking too
Protect you investment without breaking the bank
Catches your eye with spots, spots and more spots!
How we brought home 6 purple ribbons
He’ll put more milk in the bucket (lower microns on the fiber
We’ll make it easier & you more successful with our 3 year mentoring program
Make the softest, downiest sweater with baby alpaca yarn

Ask yourself, is it a fact? If it’s a fact, then it’s about you and your stuff. Potential customer are saying, “Who cares!”

For every fact, there is a reason that it matters to your potential customer. Tell them why it matters and you’ll get noticed!


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