Hello and welcome to the fourth lesson of the course “Copywriting from zero in 30 days”. The main part of almost any copy is a headline. It attracts audience attention and makes people read the rest of the text. It can be said without exaggeration that the title is the seller of the entire copy. That’s why writing catchy headline is so important. This skill is also very useful because it allows you to convey the key benefit to any person in just 1 or 2 lines of text.
So today we are going to learn how to write simple, yet powerful and effective catchy headlines, using 4U formula. Of course, there are other formulas, but according to my observations and experiments, the 4U formula leaves them far behind in terms of efficiency.
Four attributes of a catchy headline (4U formula)
According to 4U formula a catchy headline in copywriting should contain four attributes:
- Usefulness
- Urgency
- Uniqueness
- Ultra-specificity
Let’s take a closer look at every attribute individually and with illustrative examples. Oh, and by the way, the examples will be in two parts. The first and main part is about headlines for commercial copy that sells products, services or ideas. And the second part is about headlines for articles, blog posts and other information content.
1. Usefulness in the title
In the second lesson of this course we talked about the audience and its needs. And from the third lesson, you remember that the benefits are the closure of these needs. The usefulness in the headline is a benefit, conscious or subconscious, and it usually goes in the first place, at the very beginning of the title. Here are some examples.
Example 1: copywriting lessons
In this example the target audience segment is B2C. And the crucial moment is whether our audience is consciously looking for what we sell. And if it does, for example via search engines, we should know, what wordings our potential clients use for that. We can get this information either from a PPC or SEO specialists or using the keyword search services, such as Google Keyword Planner.
Let’s assume that our audience is looking for copywriting lessons and enters the same query in search engines. In that case we can use it in the very beginning of the headline to show that we understand and can cover the actual conscious need of the audience, so this phrase automatically becomes benefit.
- Copywriting lessons
Ok, that was quite easy: start a headline with a key phrase that the audience enters in the search engine. But what do we do if the audience is not looking for our lessons at all? What if the audience comes from creative ads in social media, for example?
In that case we should start our headline with the benefit that the audience is clearly interested in. And for that we should define the target group. Let’s assume that our target group is people who want to master the profession of a copywriter, so they can work in companies or as freelancers.
With a high degree of probability the main interest of the audience is making money. So we can use it at the beginning of the headline, adding some numbers for specifics. For example:
- Earn up to $2000
So, we have the benefit at the beginning, and of course, we will not stop and strengthen it with other attributes of the 4U formula. But for now, let’s take a look at two more example of using usefulness in the headline.
Example 2: phytoncidal plants for offices
In this example, we sell phytoncidal plants to companies in bulk. These are the plants that exude volatile organic antimicrobial substances. For example, ficus, myrtle, lemon, eucharius, codiaum, etc. By the way, this is a codiaum.
The segment is B2B. The default target group, especially when we talk about active sales, is directors and business owners. Just because furnishing the entire office with plants is a strategic decision that is most often made by senior managers.
And here’s the most difficult part. This target group may be not interested in our product at all. Business owners may need neither plants nor their antimicrobial effect. Especially if they don’t care about their employees.
But what they are most likely interested in is increasing profits, reducing costs and raising the status of the company. Of course, we can’t offer a profit increase, because we can’t influence on it directly.
But we can influence on the number of sick leaves by reducing the microbial load in the office with the help of the plants. Plus, we can enhance the company’s image through an eco-trend and impression that a green office has on customers and partners.
And this is exactly what we can write at the beginning of the headline. That’s a pretty strong benefit.
- Reduce sick leaves by up to 20% and enhance company image
In addition to directors and business owners, there may be another target group: office managers who carry out the task of purchasing and placing germicidal plants in the office.
In this case, we should know how they formulate their conscious need and what channels they use to find the product. Then we can offer a relevant solution. If the need is formulated as “germicidal plants”, and not “phitoncidal plants”(although, in fact, they are the same), then we should use the first wording:
- Germicidal plants
This way we show the maximum compliance with the audience need. As you can see, the right information and preparation are crucial here.
Example 3: hoverboard on sale
We are back to the B2C segment and sell the hoverboard at a discount. The discount itself is already a benefit. Because many people are interested in discounts and want to save money. And we know that the audience is initially looking for hoverboard. So the question is how to offer the discount to the audience. And it depends on how much the discount is.
If the discount is large, say more than 50%, then it will attract attention by default, and it can be used in the headline.
- Hoverboard sale with 50% discount
If the discount is small, say 5% or 10%, then there is not much point in using it in the headline. At least because a 10% discount from an unknown price is still the unknown price for the audience. In this case, it is better to replace the percentage discount with the amount of money that the buyer saves.
- Save up to $35 on hoverboard sale
Please note that the first heading is more suitable for situations where the audience is specifically looking for hoverboards. The second – when not (if it comes, for example, from advertising in social media).
2. Urgency in the catchy headline
Urgency is the time frame within which the audience receives the benefits. For example, it can be the time of the effect, frequency, deadline, etc. Let’s add it to our headlines.
Example 1
- Copywriting lessons twice a week
Here we use the frequency of classes as the urgency.
Next, let’s add urgency to the headline with making money. It’s quite easy, because we can just specify the earnings time.
- Earn up to $2000 per month
Example 2
In the first heading of the second example, we can use the plant effect time as the urgency.
- Reduce sick leaves by up to 20% and enhance company image in 1 day
In the second example we can add information about delivery and specify it’s time.
- Germicidal plants — delivery within 3 days
As you can see, the basic principle of writing headlines here is to start with benefits and gradually build up with additional attributes.
Example 3
In the third example, we can use the deadline or deficiency as the urgency.
- Hoverboard sale with 50% discount until the end of summer
Until the end of summer is a deadline.
- Save up to $35 on hoverboard sale (only 10 items left)
“Only 10 items left” is a shortage that makes people rush to make a decision.
3. Uniqueness in the heading
Uniqueness is the details that distinguish us from competitors or that competitors do not write about. Ideally – the benefits of the company (we talked about them in the previous lesson). Here’s how we can add the uniqueness to our headlines.
Example 1
In the first example we can say that the lessons are from the practitioner.
- Copywriting lessons twice a week from a practitioner
In addition to being unique, because not everyone can boast of this, it is also a benefit, because it is a label that closes the needs of the social instinct. Simply put, our audience reads the label and thinks: “The practitioner knows the niche from the inside. Knows how to solve applied problems, find clients and communicate with them. The practitioner also knows all possible pitfalls and ways to avoid them. I will study here.”
In the title about making money we can’t write about practitioner yet, because at this point it is still completely unclear what we are selling. After all, there are a lot of people who offer to make money online. The detailing of the method in our case will be the uniqueness. So our headline will be as follows.
- Earn up to $2000 per month by learning the profession of a copywriter
In this case, everything becomes much clearer. Moreover, we can further strengthen the headline with additional urgency and uniqueness about the practitioner.
- Earn up to $2000 per month by learning the profession of a copywriter from the practitioner in 30 days
Example 2
We can use the same approach in the example with plants. We offered a benefits, and now we are revealing how these benefits are obtained.
- Reduce sick leaves by up to 20% and enhance the company image in 1 day with phytoncidal plants
For the second target group we can show company benefit as a uniqueness. This benefit will also be a usefulness so we get a double effect! And if we add a few more emotional words that enhance the impression and cover the need of self-preservation instinct, then the efficiency will increase even more!
- Powerful yet safe germicidal plants, bred in a lab — delivery within 3 days
Example 3
In the third example, we can use labels as a uniqueness, allowing the audience to make necessary conclusions in favor of our product.
- Brand new german hoverboard sale with 50% discount until the end of summer
Or we can add a company benefit as an additional usefulness, urgency and uniqueness at the same time.
- Save up to $35 on hoverboard sale with extended 24 months warranty (only 10 items left)
4. Ultra-Specificity in the headline
Ultra-specificity is the details that fall into one of three categories.
- They clearly indicate our target audience (e.g. gender, profession, belonging to any other group).
- They indicate what is directly related to the audience (region, interests, circumstances, etc.)
- They indicate what the audience will recognize. For example, the exact names of brands, products, special terms, abbreviations, etc.
When a person sees words that are familiar to him, he automatically pays attention to them. That is why this aspect is often used in the headlines.
Example 1
In the first example, we can add ultra-specificity if we indicate who our lessons are for, niche or a region.
- IT copywriting lessons for beginners twice a week from a practicing copywriter
- Earn up to $2000 per month in Riga by learning the profession of a copywriter from the practitioner in 30 days
Example 2
In the second example we can use the type of the workspace.
- Reduce sick leaves in the open-plan office by up to 20% and enhance the company image in 1 day with phytoncidal plants
Or we can emphasize that we deliver plants to offices in bulk.
- Powerful yet safe germicidal plants, bred for offices in a lab — bulk delivery within 3 days
Example 3
In the third example, we can show ultra-specificity by specifying a particular characteristic.
- Brand new german 8″ hoverboard sale with 50% discount until the end of summer
Or we can show it by specifying the type of the hoverboard.
- Save up to $35 on off-road hoverboard sale with extended 24 months warranty (only 10 items left)
As a result, when we have added all four attributes, we get a full-fledged headline, according to 4U formula.
It is important to remember that the title should ideally not exceed 100-110 symbols with spaces, otherwise it may be difficult to place the headline on the page. If the headline is too large, and can’t be shorted, we can divide it into two parts: heading and subheading.
Catchy headline for articles and blog posts
The 4U formula can also be used to create titles for articles and blog posts. The principles are the same, but there are two key differences.
- An article, unlike a commercial copy, usually does not sell benefits as such. It sells the information about the benefits and the ways to obtain them (so-called information benefits).
- In the articles keywords usually come to the fore, since the audience often finds the text through search engines, and therefore it must be optimized.
Here is an illustrative example. Let’s say we have a search query (and the topic) “How to bake a cake”.
The query itself is already a conscious need, and therefore an informational benefit if it is used in the title. And then we just add other 4U attributes, ideally capturing low-frequency keywords. We will talk about them in a separate lesson about articles.
Now let’s add some urgency. For example, using the phrase in 30 minutes. Then let’s add double uniqueness using keywords “at home” and intriguing insert “the best-kept secrets of the legendary pastry chefs”. All that is left is ultra-specificity. Let’s add some specifics, say, “5 ways” and the magic word “delicious”. And that’s what we’ve got.
- 5 ways to bake a delicious cake at home in 30 minutes: the best-kept secrets of the legendary pastry chefs
Practical task for self-test
Now it’s time to practice. Try to create your own headlines using 4U formula for the following niches.
- Sweet cherry from your own garden
- HR services
- New article about how to sell a pen
You will succeed! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below. Take care of yourself and see you in the next lesson.