Copy Posse

H.O.T. HEADLINE FORMULA
TO CAPTIVATE, MOTIVATE & SELL

If you’re an entrepreneur who needs a high-converting sales page that actually works in today’s online market…

A new founder, coach or consultant who is ready to put your work out there, but don’t have thousands of dollars to pay a copywriter (yet)…

A freelance copywriter who is struggling with a client’s sales page and needs fast-track guidance to get high-quality copy out in under a week… Or an aspiring copywriter who wants to have a freshly-minted professional sales page in your portfolio so you can get clients ASAP…

Then The Write & Ignite Challenge is for YOU.

GET THEIR ATTENTION

Right From the Start.

No matter how incredible, valuable, amazing, game-changing, or effective your product, service is...

You will never be able to truly help people, earn money or make an impact on the planet if you can’t first capture attention with a great headline…

But hey… that’s harder than it sounds. Like, a lot harder. Because it turns out that 80% of people NEVER even read past the headline.

That right… today’s consumers are more distracted than ever before, and there’s more and more content out there competing for their valuable time and attention.

So if you want your article, ad, sales page, and yes - even emails - to stand out in a sea of clickbait and juicy competition…

80% OF PEOPLE DON'T READ PAST THE HEADLINE.

Then you have to make sure your headline is H.O.T., your messaging matters, and you're speaking to the correct audience.

As I like to say... the right phrase pays! But before you capture the attention of your audience, you first have to understand who your audience is and where they are on the buying journey…

Eugene Schwartz’s 5 Levels Of Customer Awareness is my favorite model to follow. With this, you'll be better able to clearly understand your audience and write to them, in the headline and beyond.

5 Levels Of Customer Awareness

Using this model, you can easily break down your prospects' needs, wants, and desires and then use THAT to help write your headlines. To start, take some time to think about the following:

Who Are You Talking To?

1. Totally Aware

   At this level, your prospect is not only completely unaware of you and your product… but they have no freaking clue they even HAVE the problem you’re helping them solve. These prospects require more indoctrination before you’ll be able to sell them. You want to grab attention with a powerful hook and then help your audience diagnose or understand a problem they don’t know they have. This is often done through stories, secrets, and education. Think quizzes, science, & content marketing. Any copy with a more indirect sales approach.

2. Problem Aware

   At this level, your prospect is aware of the pain they need to solve, but they are still not aware of the solutions available, including your product or service.
   You want to focus on pain, solution, and benefits.

3. Solution Aware

   This prospect knows that there are solutions out there for the problem or pain they have, which also means that they have a clearer idea of what’s possible to achieve. They are simply looking for the right solution for them and are evaluating options. At this level, social proof is going to help build the trust you need to hook your prospect. So gather up your testimonials and showcase happy customers! You’ll also want to make sure to feature your product USP here – what it is that makes it unlike the other brands and products in your realm.

4. Product Unaware

   At this level, your prospect is familiar with your product. They may already be a lead, follower, or subscriber. They’ve made the connection between their pain and what your product can do to help resolve it, but they’re just not quite sold… yet! At this level, you need to do some extra convincing to get them on the bandwagon. This is best done by injecting some scarcity or giving them an incentive — such as a free trial, discount, or bonuses.

5. Very Aware

   This customer knows what your product does, what your brand is all about, and provided they had a good experience with their previous purchase — are likely willing to buy again if you have something new and better to offer.
   
   So, at this level — you are simply giving them the option to add-on, top-up, or upgrade. Your copy can just cut straight to chase and deliver the price and the offer. Is it a new version of your product? Does it come with a free gift, new bonus or free delivery this time? Show them an even better deal than before!

Level Up Your Headlines

Make 'em H.O.T!

Now that you know who you’re talking to… it’s time to level up your headline game, and write copy that gets more clicks, views, and conversions.

Here's my simple 3-step formula that we'll cover in the next few pages.

I've used this formula thousands of times, and I know it'll help you write headlines that get your readers' past the headline and into the rest of your copy.

H: Stands for Hook

In copywriting and marketing, a hook is exactly what it sounds like — a concept or an idea that gets people interested in what you have to say. A good hook has the job of reeling in a prospect by getting their attention enough to take the next step.

Remember – no matter your business or niche, we are ALL in the attention & retention business FIRST. This is why using a powerful hook in your video titles, subject lines, or at the beginning of a social caption, sales page or landing page is absolutely critical.

It’s what the reader sees first and determines whether or not they’ll click to watch a video, open the email, or keep reading.

There are a lot of different ways you can Hook Attention. Here are some examples... Empathy Correctly identifying a pain point that makes a prospect want to find out more. It’s scientifically proven that as humans, we are hardwired to avoid paid over gaining pleasure.

So here’s a great example from MindBodyGreen: How To Fight Loneliness With Wisdom, According To A Neuropsychiatrist.

social proof

This hook uses social proof in your headline or title to create the sentiment that your prospect is missing out on a certain benefit or secret. It’s the good ol’ “Everyone knows/uses this. Why don’t you?!”

Here’s an example from Hello Magazine: 7 Netflix shows and films that everyone is talking about right now.

Belonging

Everyone wants to feel like they belong to a specific group or community. So in this hook, speak to your prospect’s values and sense of identity in your headline or title to have them rally behind your message.

A great example from Buzz: 13 Awkward Moments Only Harry Potter Fans Will Understand

step two

O: Stands for Open Loop

Next, a great headline always OPENS A LOOP.

In marketing, an open loop is any concept or idea which naturally forces the brain to seek out some sort of conclusion. It piques curiosity and one can not help but click or continue reading in order to close that loop that's been opened in their brain. So how do you create an open loop in your headlines and titles? Here are a few ways...

specificity

One of the simplest ways to open a loop is through specificity. Have you noticed that most viral content includes numbers in the headline? That's because people love learning in sets. Like… "the 5 steps" or "4 tips" or "1 technique that you must learn." By including numbers, the odds of people clicking through to consume your content increases!

Like this article from Cosmo: 13 Bomb-Ass Yoga Apps That Will Help You Touch Your Toes.

Preview

This type of open-loop offers a little preview of what your reader will learn! Preview headlines often start with: “Here” or “These” or “This…"

Here’s another example from BuzzFeed: Here Are 18 Of The Best Products I Use In My Daily Beauty Routine.

Cliff Hanger

This type of open-loop is a form of foreshadowing – a kind of “you’ll never guess what happened next…” type headline.

Here’s another Cosmo example: According to This Big-Deal Data, Your Post-Pandemic Sex Life Is Going to Be…Interestibr

rhetorical question

This is when you ask a question designed to evoke controversy or curiosity. If there is anything we’ve learned about humans lately – everyone has an opinion! Asking a rhetorical question is a great way to spark engagement (and advice).

For example, this title from MindBodyGreen.com: Does Hand Sanitizer Work? + How To Use It, According To Doctors.

Step three

T: Stands for Target Audience

Finally, a great headline speaks to your target audience. Remember: Make it about them, not you. An effective headline will always call out the reader and you can do this two ways:

Directly

By calling out a very specific group of people….

Here’s a great example from Vogue: A Guide to Ageless Makeup for Women Over 50, According to an Industry Veteran Or this one from BuzzFeed which is a bit more subtle (but definitely relatable): 19 Pictures You'll Understand If You're Always The Only Person Who Wants Dessert.

indirectly

By correctly identifying the values, needs, desires or fears of your avatar.

Like this example from Cosmo: 32 Subtle Signs You're For Sure Falling in Love With Your Person No matter what, you should have language that makes it clear who you are speaking to… and always use the word “YOU” or “YOUR” instead of “I” or “My”.

And Remember

practice makes man perfect

We practice our H.O.T. Headline skills every single Saturday over on the Copy Posse Instagram Page! But you don’t have to wait for Saturday to roll around, you can check out all the previous H.O.T Headline exercises we’ve done here!
Okay, so now you’ve mastered the art of capturing attention through killer hooks… that’s step #1.

But what’s the whole point of capturing attention in the first place?

To actually SELL your product or service, right?!
And if your H.O.T. Headline is leading people to a LAME Sales Page, then all your hard goes to waste and you’ve just lost a perfectly good lead and missed an opportunity for conversion… Yikes! Turns out... Step #1 won’t get you very far without Step #2. So what’s Step #2? A Sales Page that’s optimized for connection and conversion…