Why force yourself to write creative headlines from scratch when you’ve got 5 landing page headline formulas and 3 case studies to prove they work.

Digest...

In all three case studies, the benefit headline performed best while loss aversion came in second place, followed by the question headline that came in last. These were just 3 case studies with an accumulated sample size of a little over 50.000 visitors. However, the results are representative of the overall pattern I see, when I perform landing page headline tests: a clear headline that focuses on a benefit generally performs best.

I think it has to do with the fact that online people are usually looking for a solution to a specific problem. They are in research mode and want answers. A clear headline with a relevant benefit usually confirms that they have found the right solution.

In the more classic marketing and advertising world, there seems to be a consensus that the most creative headline is automatically the best one. While super creative might be the right approach for offline marketing, I have seen very little data indicating that this assumption holds water in online marketing. In fact, I have yet to see a creative headline beat a clear headline in an A/B test.

A headline has one goal: inspire the reader to read the next line. How do you write the perfect headline? Which headline writing technique works the best?

Key excerpt...

And if you buy into this technique, which I’ve labeled “perfect,” you’ll understand the perfect headline is a teaser. A hint. You hold out on the big idea. You work up to it.

You pose a question. Why? Good question.

It drives you crazy not to know the answer, doesn’t it? You may even get more worked up when you don’t entirely understand the question. Or the question is the answer. Or the answer is a question.

I’m messing with you a little. It’s working like a charm too. I keep stringing you along and you’re hanging in there.

I love that about you. You’re curious. Your customers are curious. I’m curious. Everyone is. So choosing your words is also about choosing which ones to leave out.

Yet again Unbounce comes through with a valuable post.  This is one that you can put to work right away...

Headline Formula A: All Gain, No Pain

Get the [Rarely Seen But Relevant Adjective] Power of [What Your Product Does] Without [Pain]

For use when: Your prospects have a clear pain they’d love you to eliminate

Example: Get the Conversion-Boosting Power of Optimized Landing Pages… Without IT

Headline Formula B: The Promise-Based SEO Headline

[Adjective] & [Adjective] [What You Are / SEO Keyword Phrase] That Will [Highly Desirable Promise of Results]

For use when: SEO is a major consideration for you, and you offer a highly desirable outcome
Example: Modern, Sexy Landing Page Templates That Will Bring in More Sales

Headline Formula C: The Explicit Promise

We Promise You [This]: [Highly Desirable Promise of Results]

For use when: Your visitors will believe a promise from you (e.g., driving from email)
Example: We Promise You More Conversions When You Use Our Optimized Landing Pages

Headline Formula D: The Comparison

[Known Competitor] [Does This Undesirable or Unimpressive Thing], and
[Your Brand Name] [Does This Highly Desirable or Impressive Thing]

For use when: You know your visitors are using or considering a key competitor
Example: Your IT Team Has No Bandwidth for Marketing Initiatives, But Unbounce Gets You Set Up in Minutes with Great-Looking Landing Pages

Headline Formula E: The Value Prop

The Only [SEO Keyword Phrase] Made Exclusively to [Highly Desirable Outcome or Benefit]

For use when: You offer something that’s both unique to you and highly desirable to your visitors

Example: The Only Landing Page Templates Made Exclusively to Boost Conversions

Formatting tips:

• Center your headlines
• Make them big and dark, dark grey (or, when on a dark background, white)
• Use “Title Case”, aka Capitalize Each Word
• Don’t use a period at the end as such visual cues present mental stopping points for your visitors
• Break up lengthy headlines with “eye rest” punctuation marks, such as ellipses and em-dashes
• Consider putting quotation marks around the headline as this can draw the eye
• Support each headline with a meaningful subhead written in sentence case, aka Capitalize the first word only