How To Craft a Compelling Headline Without Being Sleazy

Landing pages, email newsletters, Facebook ads, blog articles.

What do they all have in common?

They often rely on the craft of a compelling headline.

And really, this craft is as old as marketing itself, with roots set deep in the history of the journalistic news headline.

While there are tiny differences between the types of headlines used between all of these, many of the expectations, remain the same.

And that means we can learn a thing or two from them when crafting our own award-winning headlines.

Even more true for our purposes, a good headline means a better conversion.

And I like the sound of that!

Yet, one common concern among funnel builders is that their headlines sound… well, like a product pitch.

In some cases, they can even sound downright sleazy and salesy.

How do the pros avoid this problem when they write the amazing headlines you see all over the web?

How can we harness the same power for creating a truly compelling headline for our audience?

Even in the 21st Century, a few principles have remained the same for ages.

And rather than leave you guessing, we’re going to plunge in and explore several of them.

Go Beyond the Rulebook

If you’ve read other how-to’s on creating compelling headlines, you may have noticed one thing they have in common.

Many of them try to boil it all down to a few key rules.

And this creates a huge issue when trying to write headlines that don’t feel salesy.

You see, in today’s world, consumers are savvier than ever before. 

If all you’re using is a formula for your headlines… your audience is likely to see right through it and feel like they’re being sold.

Instead, as you use this guide, don’t think of all of these rules as must-follow.

Instead, recognize that sometimes the rules have to give when making an awesome headline.

A better the idea is to use them more as strategies or principles that make sense in context.

This way, your copy won’t stick out like a sore thumb because it tries to hit all the boxes on a checklist.

Protip: Pull out your AB testing strategies here to create multiple headlines for your campaigns. This way, you can identify which principals you’re using for each and which ones get you to a better headline for that campaign.

Stay Relevant and On-Point

As we’ve seen in the past, you have a very limited amount of time to draw your audience in.

In many cases, we’re talking mere seconds to impress your leads and keep them looking.

With that fact in mind, you’ll want headlines that get to the point quickly and instantaneously.

Wandering away from the message or including information that isn’t applicable to your audience is a surefire way to get them to move on.

A great example comes from tech heavyweight Apple Computers.

Their site often uses headlines to the brand’s advantage.

Take this one for example.

In 3 words, it hits a feature, a benefit, and a feeling. Perfectly on point in each one.

Protip: Consider what type of information your audience is looking for and expects when crafting your headline for the most relevance for them.

Stress Your Authority and Expert Connection

Let’s turn to an example from the popular Kissmetrics website.

While this headline is a tad long, it balances that length with a substantial message.

By highlighting that they’re offering the most powerful analytics tool on the market, their headline lets you know that they aren’t just another brand.

To add to that message, they also ground it with points that further solidify their expert connection.

For an audience looking to meet these goals, the headline is a substantive call to join a professional brand dedicated to being a dominate force in their niche.

Protip: Especially when there are bigger players in your industry, you can be left feeling like maybe someone else is the authority. But by always being confident that your brand is designed to provide a solution for your customers expertly, your headlines will benefit.

Master the Art of Urgency

Quick, let’s boost your brand and get results! Our example from trendy storage service Dropbox takes urgency and demand and does it just right.

And as you’ve probably guessed by now, the urgency is a pillar of marketing and sales.

When we bring it into our headlines, it increases the chances that your audience will be pushed through the next steps in our funnel.

But to avoid sounding sleazy, don’t overdo urgency in your headlines.

Give it a light, straightforward touch, and you’re probably good to go.

Dropbox’s headline works because it references specific needs and desires of its audience.

Protip: Really, the urgency is about pointing out a problem your lead has and offering a solution all at the same time. To best accomplish this goal with your headlines, create a checklist of issues your audience has that your brand is uniquely able to solve for them.

Make it About Action

On that note, another key way to avoid sleazy headlines is to give off a general feeling of action.

In line with this strategy, we’ve seen how customers report desiring experiences over products.

The takeaway is that they don’t just want to buy another item or service.

Instead, they want to feel like they’re doing something and enjoying an authentic story.

Our example for this one comes from none other than legendary marketing titan Coca-Cola.

Throughout its long history, this brand has been a real force in the marketing world, and our headline example is no different.

By inviting people to come on a journey, the brand asks them to feel like they’re taking action.

They also get a real experience that they’re sure to enjoy.

This is the right way to create an authentic sounding headline.

Protip: For a bonus strategy, you’ll notice that our Coca-Cola example also uses a prevalent tactic called alliteration. By starting each word with a “J,” the headline is easier to remember and has a nice ring to it.

Keep it Simple, Simple, and Simple

Our next example comes from McDonald’s, known for its recent rebranding strategy.

Although there’s nothing wrong with marketers getting clever, too often, it can also hurt their conversion rates.

And it’s not hard to understand why… many times what might impress a marketing team won’t necessarily translate to their audience.

For example, if we were marketing toys to 3rd graders, a witty turn of phrase might be completely lost on them.

Instead, staying simple almost always makes sense.

And you can see that shown off here in our example. McDonald’s wants the message to hit as much of their potential social media audience as possible.

That means appealing to young and old alike. Keeping it basic also has the benefit of not sounding gimmicky or try-hard the way salesy headlines often sound.

Protip: Our McDonald’s headline is very stripped down, and this level of minimalism might not always work for your headline. But it features just how simple you can make a headline and still get results.

Avoid Gimmicks and Focus on Value

When your leads scan your headlines, they shouldn’t feel like they’re talking to a telemarketer.

After all the hard work you’ve put into your brand and sales funnel, you want them to experience how your brand is a genuine industry leader.

Taking our next example from McDonald’s as well, you can see where they’ve gone with a stripped down message again.

But the real message here is that more choices, for their audience, equals more value.

Instead of worrying about creating a headline that tries to find some manipulative angle or advantage over their readers, the brand opts for an already existing strength.

Headlining those strengths is an excellent way to write converting headlines.

Protip: For some extra tips on branding strengthen, give our article on secret client jobs a read for more.

Build a Connection of Ideas

Along with our other tips, there’s one final important way that pros create compelling headlines.

And that way is through metaphor and connecting the dots.

The reason that this method escapes the salesy or sleazy angle is that it takes time and effort.

Instead of being obvious and writing “BUY, BUY, BUY!” a message like the one here from BMW shows an expert hand.

For customers, this extra time and effort mean that someone took the time to think about their reaction.

Now, you still want to be careful not to get too clever and risk them missing out on the meaning.

But a quick turn of phrase or an interesting connection in your headlines shows that your brand isn’t only about the sale.

Protip: This step is probably one of the hardest to master, even for professionals. Really, the best advice here is for you to think outside the box and to focus on your creative toolset. Our article on big ideas is a great place to start.

As a funnel builder, I can’t get enough of skillfully crafted headlines.

What are some of the very best examples you’ve seen out there recently?