We
frequently receive questions from our email
subscribers asking marketing advice. Instead of hiding those
answers in a one-to-one email communication, we occasionally publish edited
excerpts of some of these conversations here on MarketingExperiments so they
can help other readers as well. If you have any questions, let us know.
Dear
MarketingExperiments: I read
some of your articles and bought the value proposition course
and testing course. I had a
question about an article you posted about headlines a while back — Headlines on Deadlines (Part 1):
How to consistently write effective headlines without working late.
I read
some of your articles and bought the value proposition course and testing course. I had a
question about an article you posted about headlines a while back — Headlines on Deadlines (Part 1):
How to consistently write effective headlines without working late.
It
seems like the four dyads (appeal, exclusivity, clarity and credibility) are
used to make the headlines have more force.
But the
question I had is would you go a step further and treat each headline or
micro-yes almost like an individual process-level value proposition to increase
the force of each micro-yes (headline, body copy, bullets, etc.)?
Austin
(McCraw) was teaching “Why should I read this headline rather than any other
headline?” (Designing a Value Proposition to Attract New Donors).
It seemed like he was treating each micro-yes like a derivative value
proposition (at the process level) to increase the force of each micro-yes in
the sequence.
I’ve
had this question for a pretty long time. If I’m understanding correctly, I was
wondering if you had a method or short cut to make it faster?
Take
care,
Patrick
Hill
Dear
Patrick: Yes, you are correct. Each part of the page is essentially a
micro-yes.
So when
writing a headline, you should consider two things:
1.
What value should the headline communicate about the company, a
product, to a specific prospect, or about a specific process (more on this
below)?
2.
Is it communicating this value in a way that would encourage the
reader to take the next action? This is the micro-yes you are trying
to get from them. They should subconsciously think “After reading that
headline, I now want to read the paragraph of text under it.”
Here’s
why this understanding is so crucial. You’re not going to sell a car with a
headline. Or even a bicycle. And you shouldn’t write headlines that are trying
to sell them on everything in one fell swoop.
However,
you can get the reader to see enough value from the headline that they choose
the next step (read the paragraph below the headline), and then the next step
(go to the URL listed at the bottom of the print ad), and after many more
micro-yes(s) — eventually buy that car.
A
shortcut to make it faster? Well, usually over time as you get more used to it,
it gets quicker. At first, most people have to step-by-step think through it.
And that step-by-step thinking is helpful. It makes sure you are writing
headlines with right intention — the intention of communicating value and
continuing the momentum of the prospective customer through the print ad or
landing page. It makes sure you’re consciously thinking of the customer, what’s
in it for them, and why they would want to take an action. It makes sure you
are focused on their needs and not your company’s goals.
But
after doing it a lot, it becomes intuitive. Here are a few things that might
help:
·
Start the page by understanding its goal. Then the journey on
the page should lead up to that goal. Here’s an example — Value Sequencing: A step-by-step
examination of a landing page that generated 638% more conversions
·
For a “shortcut,” you might think of it the way a story is
plotted out with a narrative arc. More on that here — Copywriting on Tight Deadlines: How
ordinary marketers are achieving 103% gains with a step-by-step framework
Translating
the primary value proposition into headlines that communicate a derivative
value proposition
Actually,
headline writing is an example of the benefit of having constructed value
proposition codex that includes a clear primary value proposition complete with
appealing claims and evidentials to back up those claims with credibility.
Without
that, you’re leaving copywriters out in the wind to use clever wordplay to
attract and engage a reader. Clever wordplay only goes so far.
However,
when writing headlines based on a value proposition, the copywriter can focus
on clearly articulating the value with the headline. The right value clearly
communicated to the right customer results in a conversion.
You can
further optimize your headlines by considering if there are derivative value
propositions the headlines should address. Very few headlines will be about the
primary value proposition of the overall company. For example:
·
Prospect-level: Based
on the goal of the landing page, newspaper ad, email, whatever — should the
headline be focused on a specific prospect set? For example, only B2B and not
B2C, or double-income suburban couples with no children, or however else you
segment your overall customer base.
·
Product-level: Much
like above, is there a specific product or product set the headline is focused
on, as opposed to selling the entire company?
·
Process-level: Should
the headline communicate the value proposition for the customer of a specific
action you are asking the customer to take? Again, focused on the customer, not
the company. For example, Ferguson Enterprises changed “Exclusive Product And
Event Information Delivered Right To Your Inbox!” to “Get The Ferguson Updates
You Want, When You Want Them.” and got a 120% increase in form submissions.
(Other changes were made too. You can see them all here.)
These
derivative value proposition-based headlines should tie into the same elements
of value of the primary value proposition, yet be context-specific. How
tightly you tie them to the primary value proposition will vary based on the
derivative value propositions. Everything might not apply — or it might apply
differently. Let’s take a look …
Example:
Prospect versus primary-level value proposition
For
example, we were working with a company that had
flexible payment options as an element of its overall primary value prop. So
the overall communication at the primary value proposition level (and on the
homepage, for example) has to do with flexible payment options.
However,
if your customer intelligence is strong enough, when you get to the
prospect-level value proposition you don’t want to communicate flexible
payments, you want to communicate the payment option that matters to that
individual prospect.
At the
prospect-level, about 20% of the company’s customers wanted to buy on a payment
plan instead of all upfront. This was unique, and something its competitors
didn’t offer. So for that prospect-level value prop, the value element isn’t
flexible payment plans, which does not have unique value; it is the specific
monthly payment plan, which has an only factor that creates
a strong value prop to the specific customer group who wants it.
Not to
all customers. Some couldn’t care less. It’s not appealing to them.
And on
the flip side, that specific prospect doesn’t care about flexible payment plans
as a whole which include types of payments they wouldn’t engage in, but they do
care that you have the type of payment they would buy with.
The
benefit of this understanding is that it could guide a targeted ad campaign to
try to find this specific prospect type instead of just communicating a more
general “flexible payment plans” (which you still might have to do in some
places, like an overall brochure or homepage).
Or, for
another example, let’s say you work for a bank. Your value proposition is that
your bank has the most branches in the nation. In a national newspaper ad, that
might be your headline.
But
when you’re sending out a direct mail piece, at the prospect-level, the
headline might change to “We have a branch within walking distance of your
home. Plus, the most branches in the nation, so we’ll take care of you wherever
you travel.”
The
biggest lesson is — begin with the customer — what matters to them and what
value you can deliver. Focus less on clever wordplay for the headline. And put
most of your energy into communicating that value.
You can
follow Daniel Burstein, Senior Director, Content & Marketing,
MarketingSherpa and MECLABS Institute, on Twitter @DanielBurstein.
Related
Resources
Value Proposition Development
Online Certification Course from MECLABS Institute (parent
organization of MarketingExperiments)
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