What on Earth is a Killer Ad and Where do I Get One....?

So, you have an excellent product or service to sell, you have designed a *wicked* web site, you find a *super* web site host, and there it is, your web site is up and running in all its glory for the whole world to see, your products are *blinding*, you cant fail!

or can you....... ?

There you sit ready and waiting. Waiting for what? Surely you dont expect any sales, why not?... Because nobody knows you are there!

Unlike offline businesses, when you launch your business onto the WWW, nobody is ever going to just *pop in* in passing. Unless you market your web site, consistently every day you will fail. No *ifs, buts or maybes* Nothing is more certain in this world of Internet Business, as this ....

No marketing, No traffic, No sales, No money!

Okay, now that I have got your attention, lets begin with the fundamental basics of all advertising and marketing techniques, that of *headlines*.

Whatever method of marketing you try, Classified ads, FFA sites, opt in email, Search Engines, message boards, newsgroups and yes, even banner advertising. Without a *killer* headline (one that really compels the onlooker to click on the link), you will most definitely fail in your online business.

Writing a *killer* headline is probably one of the hardest aspects of online marketing there is, (unless of course you are a gifted copy writer) I myself spend hours every week writing, testing and changing the headlines for advertising my web site. Below I have listed some of the things to consider in writing your headline and suggested some methods to make your life easier.

1. First you MUST find your own USP (unique selling position), in other words, what makes your web site and product stand out from the crowd.

2. The best way to find your USP is by getting a sheet of paper and writing down 10 reasons for buying your product or visiting your web site. Do not include the words *Quality or Excellent service*, you need to describe the actual benefits to your customers/visitors of coming to you.

Ask yourself these questions:

What will they find?

What will they learn?

What can they use?

How will they use it?

What part of their life will be enriched by using it?

How will their life be made easier by using it?

What parts of their dreams and aspirations can be met at your web site or with your product?

How will they benefit by visiting or buying now?

After the initial visit and or purchase, what are the benefits of visiting or buying again?

What extra bonus can they expect to receive from you, especially *free* ones?

3. After you have answered all the above questions, write the questions and answers on your sheet of paper. These are your selling points, somewhere amongst them is your USP, find it, refine it, refine it again then submit it.

4. So what does refine it mean? simple, whenever you think up a new headline, write it down, read it, think about it and refine it to contain between 8 and 10 words. Leave out the hype think of *benefits*, if you fails to see the benefits for
your customer, find a new product.

5. After you have refined your headline, refine it again to contain between 6 and 8 words (with headlines, less is better)

6. Right, you now have an excellent product, a wicked web site, a super host and a *killer headline*, what to do next, test, test, test.....

*Testing the effectiveness of your ads*
We highly recommend testing your headlines for effectiveness and we highly recommend Roibots Ad Tracking System for this purpose.

More information on tracking can be found in our Marketing Section Classified Ads Tutorial.

OK, so now you know:

What to include in your headlines.
How to create your USP.
And how to effectively track your advertising.

All you need to know now, is how to design your headlines!

Follow these tips and you cannot go far wrong:

Your headline should not be more than 6/10 words long, (less is better).
Make sure you include your USP (unique selling position).
DO NOT USE ALL CAPITALS IN YOUR HEADLINES, it is considered rude and implies that your are angry or shouting.
Do not use these headline *shockers* -
L@@K, FR$$, Loads of !!!!!!!!!!, $$$$$$$$$$$, ????????????,
The above looks amateurish and any professional marketer will not click on these headlines.
Do use these headline designs.

******* Notice !*******
*Free* Limited Time Offer!
~~~Unbelievable~~~
++ Stop, Listen, Learn & Earn ++

Use designs sparingly and tastefully and you will boost your clickthru rate. Listed below are some powerful words to use in your headlines.

Stop (we are conditioned from birth to respond to the work Stop)
Free, Limited, Unbelievable, Success
Secret, Discover, Truth, Uncover
Sex, Create, Unleash, Power
Urgent, How to .., Attention, You
Exclusive, Offer, Explosive, Announcing
Introducing, Important, Guaranteed
Risk free, New, Latest

All the words above instills the reader with curiosity to find out more.
Ask a question in your headline.
Offer something of value for free.
Do not hype up your headline.
And finally, Do not lie -

The amount of times I click on a headline and the email or web site has absolutely no relevance to what was offered in the headline, i.e *You have won*, *Your Check* *Free top selling Ebook/software* only to find that it is an exert or trial version, if this is the case, let people know in your headline that it is not the full version.

Free - trial software available
or
Read this Exclusive exert from ....... Ebook.

Like many others I would never buy from a misleading headline out of principle, the truth always wins through at the end of the day.

What to do next....

Take what you have learnt, put it into practice and earn some money, simple..

About the Author

Simon Baxter is a marketing consultant and reviewer both online and offline. He is a peoples man and derives great pleasure from helping people reach their goals.

His web site *Net Income Affiliates & Associates Resource Center helps affiliates to do just that. netincomesite.com

webmaster@netincomesite.com
http://www.netincomesite.com