The important headlines are the headlines that make money! John Caples, head of the third largest advertising agency in the USA for 40 years, analysed the most commonly used words in one hundred successful headlines. Headlines that made money!

The headlines which were repeated over and over by advertisers, and the advertisers measured the response from every advertisement.

Here is a list of the ten most frequently used words, in the most effective 100 headlines ever written. Next to each word is a figure showing the number of times the word was used

You 31

Your 14

How 12

New 10

Who 8

Money 6

Now 4

People 4

Want 4

Why 4

The most common words used were you and your. The ten top words are the most frequently used words in all successful advertising and marketing materials.

For successful response rates, it is important that every advertisement, promotion or letter should be aimed at the person reading it. Advertising should never be aimed at the masses. It should be written specifically and personally to the target audience.

Image you are sitting across from the person you want to reach and write to them and them alone.

There are seven rules for writing effective headlines:

1. Headlines should appeal to the readers self interest by promoting a benefit. Will it save them time, make them money, will it make the reader more beautiful or healthy, give them more miles per gallon, or a whiter wash. What will it do for them?

2. Do not be concerned about length. The headline should be as long as it needs to be to get the message across clearly. 14 word headlines get almost as much readership as three-word headlines. It is more important to get the message across than worry about the length of the headline.

3. Put news in the headline. The news can be an improvement of an old product, the announcement of a new product, or a new way to use an old product. We are always on the lookout for something new, for something that will benefit us.

4. Never use headlines that are tricky, confusing or incomplete in their meaning. A headline is usually competing with an average of 350 other headlines in a newspaper or magazine. And most people are busy and read too fast to figure out what the message is. They will simply move on.

5. Never use headlines that require the readership of the rest of the advertisement to be understood. Four out of five readers will not go further.

6. Important: Target the market. The main purpose of a headline is to pick out the people who will be most interested in the product or services offered.

7. Lastly, the headline is a critical element to the success of the advertising. It can therefore be beneficial to spend more time on the headline than the body!

A great tip for all good copywriting, including headlines, is to start a swipe file. Collect examples of copy and headlines that work well. Of course, the swipe file is not to be used for direct copying, but for inspiration! All great copywriters have comprehensive swipe files.

Discover copywriting secrets to massively improve sales, or to build your phenomenal new career by joining the high-income copywriters, and writing copy for profit. Copywriting can be the key to business success both online and offline.