Headlines are hands down the SINGLE most important component of any marketing campaign, full stop. They can make or break every piece of marketing media. A good headline can double the campaign response rate.
What Is a Headline?
In direct response copywriting, a headline is the first line of text readers see at the beginning of a landing page, newspaper ad, social media ad, or email message (also known as a “subject line”). It’s specifically crafted to capture the target audience’s attention, encourage them to interact with the content that follows, and ultimately convert them into paying customers.
A well-composed headline will do one of the following:
- Highlights a key benefit of the product or service it’s promoting
- Describes a problem while hinting at a solution
- Develops an intriguing statement that prospects simply can’t miss out on.
This inevitably leads us to the masters of copywriting. Legends like David Ogilvy, Joe Sugarman, and John Caples have spent countless hours writing thousands of headlines and honing their craft to perfection. Their insights are invaluable to any marketer who wants to become solid and reliable at writing great headlines, and their headline examples serve as shortcuts to marketing greatness.
Here are some of the most potent headline tips, insights, and guidelines from the best copywriters in the field.
David Ogilvy Suggests Using Clear, Descriptive, and Emotionally Charged Language
The following 10 headline guidelines come from the mind of the late great David Ogilvy, a true master of the copywriting craft.
1. Include one or more product-related benefits
Benefit-centered headlines serve both as second-order product descriptors and emotional triggers to hook the customers into reading your article. They outperform aimlessly listing product features because the former aligns more closely with what readers want to hear, keeping them engaged rather than lulling them to sleep.
Examples:
- “Transform Into an Elite Scorer With Our Brand-New Soccer Cleats”
- “Toyota Highlander: Reach Your Destination Faster and Conveniently Worry-Free”
2. Add emotionally charged words
Some words carry more weight than others, especially when it comes to composing magnetic headlines readers will want to click on. For example, headlines that contain the words “joyful”, “love”, “fear”, “terrifying”, “grief-ridden”, and “heartbreaking” are more likely to capture your audience’s attention compared to plain, uninteresting words.
Examples:
- “This Guilt-Stricken Actor Vowed To Never Work With Hollywood Ever Again”
- “Fearmongering Identified as a Serious Issue in Online Discourse, Study Claims”
3. Leverage the brand name’s power in your headlines
This approach might work better for established companies, but small businesses and startups can also use it to build their reputations early on. For customers, stumbling across a recognizable brand name in the headline will entice them to read the rest of the article, increasing your chances of converting them into a contributing patron.
Examples:
- “Unlike Inferior Sodas, Dr. Pepper Doesn’t Cause Brain Freeze”
- “Starbucks: Like Home, But Cozier”
- “At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”
4. Include an irresistible promise
Sometimes, the promise of a better tomorrow triggers the dopaminergic system more than getting the reward at the end of a long journey, turning anticipation itself into a powerful motivator. By including an enticing promise in your headlines, you’re making this system work in your favor.
Examples:
- “Triple Your Conversions in 60 Days With Our Proven CRO System”
- “Remodel Your Skin Overnight With Our Breakthrough 100% Organic Skincare Formula”
5. Use straightforward language
People don’t like to be led astray. If they end up confused after reading one of your headlines, the likelihood of them buying something drops significantly. Avoid cute headlines, and use clear, concise, and straightforward language to get your point across.
Examples:
- “Supercharge Your Coding Skills in Just 15 Minutes a Day”
- “Get Fit Quick, No Equipment Required”
- “The man from Schweppes is here”
6. Add even more wonder-inducing words and phrases
Piggybacking off emotionally charged words, there’s simply no shortage of adjectives, nouns, and phrases that induce wonder in readers and make them interested in diligently going through your offer. Some of these words include “amazing”, “sensational”, and “wanted”, plus phrases such as “the truth about”, “important development”, and “last chance.”
Examples:
- “7 Amazingly Superior Zucchini Recipes To Knock Your Guests’ Socks Off”
- “Breaking: Important Development in Microchip Production Could Change the Way We Look at GPUs”
7. Remove words that carry a negative connotation
If you’re selling a course of an ebook, try to avoid negative words such as “no”, “not possible”, and “impossible” in your copy. Prospects might associate a negative feeling with your product or service, after which you can lose them for good. Or, they might miss the negative word and misinterpret your headline’s main message.
One exception to this rule is news articles, where negative words might arouse negative emotions in readers but increase user engagement with the publication. Either way, overuse of negative words can confuse your readers in the short term and tarnish your outlet’s reputation in the long run.
Example:
- Instead of “Piggly Wiggly Reports a High Cohort of Not Unsatisfied Shoppers”, use “Piggly Wiggly Reports a High Cohort of Satisfied Shoppers”
8. Write descriptive headlines
The headline must be as descriptive as possible, eliminating the need to bait readers into something they don’t want to read. Plus, only 20% of everyone who reads the headline will read the rest of the copy, which leaves the majority of interested prospects out of your sales funnel, to begin with. Remember: specific headlines are more likely to engage the 80% of prospects who usually bail out after just reading the top of the page.
Examples:
- “Save $5,347 a Year on Food by Following These 11 Simple Cooking Tips”
- “The 5-Step Plan to Shed Off 30 Pounds Without Eating Like an Ascetic”
9. Address your ideal buyers
If you’re selling a remedy for insomnia, for example, you should carefully consider the people who are most likely to be interested in your deal. In other words: build your ideal buyer persona, step in their shoes, and think of how, where, when, and what is driving their shopping habits.
Finally, use the second person to address your ideal buyer persona, emphasizing your dedication to solving their problem.
Examples:
- “Prevent Excessive Snoring Before It Ruins Yours and Your Partner’s Lives”
- “The Consumer Isn’t a Moron; She Is Your Wife”
10. Use NEW and FREE to supercharge your headlines
Customers are always on the prowl for new products and free offers, so why not use this fact to your advantage? Utilize these two highly impactful words to get more traffic, drive more sales, and increase your customer base.
Examples:
- “Explore Our Brand-NEW Collection of Waterproof, Army-Tested Phone Cases”
- “Download Your FREE Course Sample Today and Ride the Wave to Copywriting Success”
John Caples Advocates for Testimonials, Special Offers, and Weaving a Compelling Story
John Caples is the grandfather of modern direct response advertising. These are 10 of his best tips for writing great headlines.
11. Start your headlines with question-related words and phrases
Words like “how”, “why”, “which”, and “if” plus phrases like “how to” and “who else” serve as great precursors to stimulate your audience into wanting to learn more. An intrigued reader will be more open to accepting your proposal and becoming a recurring customer after going through your copy.
Examples:
- “Who Else Came to Attend Peanut’s Virtual Commemoration Besides Timothée Chalamet?”
- “How To Get Your Old Job Back in 10 Days”
12. Use testimonials in your headlines
A satisfied customer is a walking advertisement. All you need to do is get a couple of genuine reviews from people who’ve purchased and used your product or service, integrate these reviews into your headlines, and watch as they capture people’s attention and generate more sales.
Examples:
- “Julia C: It’s Like Nutribullet Replaces 10 of My Other Kitchen Appliances at Once”
- “From One Mountain Biker to Another: This Helmet Had Saved My Life on More Than One Occasion”
13. Tell a captivating story
People love a good story. On the flip side, not everyone has the time to read an entire direct response advertisement from beginning to end. So, what if you condense a good story into 15 words or less to act as a prelude to a larger overarching theme? This approach delivers a powerful hook that captures your audience while setting the stage for a more comprehensive engagement down the marketing funnel.
Examples:
- “They Laughed When I Boosted My POE2 Account, but When I Launched Diablo 4…”
- “How Good Is Our Steak? Last Week a Man Who Was Choking on It—Refused—the Heimlich Maneuver”
14. Frame your headlines in a test-like fashion
Overcoming obstacles and solving tests is in humankind’s DNA, it’s just who we are. Frame your headlines in the form of a test to capitalize on this fact and elevate your business to the top of your niche.
Examples:
- “Will Your Tummy Pass the Soda Test?”
- “Can Your Kitchen Overcome the Ultraviolet Light Test (With Flying Colors)?”
15. Insert a date into your headlines
Important historical dates are the number equivalent of emotionally charged words, in that both act as universal signs to pay special attention to the headline. For news publications and daily chronicles, feel free to use dates liberally. For other types of platforms, however, it’s important to avoid overloading your audience with date-centered headlines, as they might start noticing a pattern and avoid your articles/ads in the future.
Examples:
- “October 16, 1962—the Day the Earth Stood Still”
- “Off With Your Head: Why July 28, 1794 Will Remain the Most Scrutinized Date in French History”
- “1913 or 1914? The Year(s) a Cryptic Author Vanished Without a Trace”
16. Include a special offer
Headlines with special offers perform better than headlines with regular offers. The caveat is that your merchandising offer has to be really exceptional so customers can notice it and click on your post instead of migrating their hard-earned bucks to your closest competitors.
Examples:
- “Combine 2 Crofter’s Raspberry Spreads + 1 Nature’s Own Butterbread To Get 50% off a Crate & Barrel Silverware Set”
- “Third-Semester Fashion & Arts Students Are Now Eligible for up to 80% Discounts at Abercrombie & Fitch”
17. Warn the customer to postpone making a purchase
Coaching potential customers to delay buying your product or service may sound counterintuitive, but it’s actually a valid strategy to generate interest and manufacture future demand. This tactic works best with products, services, and subscriptions that are genuinely in short supply.
Examples:
- “Patience Is Finally Paying Off: Modified Cybertruck To Hit EU Stores Soon-ish”
- “Ginormous Flash Sale Coming Next Week; See You on the 25-Th!”
18. Use INTRODUCING and ANNOUNCING to create hype
Attention-grabbing words such as “introducing” and “announcing” are self-explanatory: they exist to snatch your audience’s attention (from whatever they were doing before that) and fixate it onto your headlines. It’s a sturdy approach to create hype and bring more eyeballs back to your posts.
Examples:
- “Announcing an Offer You Can’t Refuse—Our Platinum Exhibits Now Selling at HALF the Price!”
- “Attention Job Seekers: Do These 5 Tricks To Land 30% More Interviews in 2025”
19. Use facts and figures to fortify your claims
Scientifically-backed headlines exude more authority than, for example, fluffy or pithy ones. Plus, they give off the impression that whoever has written the article or ad is a seasoned expert in the field, even when that is not the case.
To clear any misconceptions, Caples doesn’t advocate for falsifying expertise, rather it simply suggests using numbers and data to strengthen the claims in your headline examples. This will give you a leg up over competitors who are stuck writing bland and unsubstantiated copy.
Examples:
- “Client Sign-Ups Spike 70% During Nighttime: Why Late Hours Are Perfect for Freelance Workers”
- The Surprising Node.js Error That Shaved 25% off Our Initial Sales (and How We Solved It)”
20. Compose one, two, or three-word headlines
Short headlines can be a powerful weapon to set your brand apart from the thousands of repetitive messages out there, but it comes at a cost. If you’re not being extra careful, you’ll end up confusing everyone and the headline will quickly turn from attention-grabbing into straight-up junk. Unless you really know what you’re doing, it’s better to leave these types of headlines to the pros.
Examples:
- “Elon???”
- “SBF Jailed”
- “This Trick Works!”
Joe Sugarman Recommends Honesty, Explosiveness, and Consequence-Based Headlines
Joe Sugarman, a marketing icon, managed to generate billions in revenue for the products he advertised during his ads’ lifecycle. Here are 5 approaches to how he did it.
21. Start your headlines with a bang
In marketing terms, a “bang” can be thought of as an improved hook, something readers will latch onto while scrolling whether they actively think about it or not. It’s a copywriting tactic that makes people say: “I can’t believe I read that. Is there more to this story?”
Examples:
- “Karpov Accepts; Soviet Chess Champion Agrees To Endorse American Chess Computer in Surprise Answer to Computer Challenge”
- “Before TV, Two World Wars. After TV, Zero.”
22. Be honest
If you want people to pay attention to your messaging, you must be honest in your headlines. The simplest way to achieve this is by telling the truth. It won’t only boost your online presence, but it’ll provide your audience with genuine value, establishing trust and paving the way for long-term partnerships.
Examples:
- “Introducing Torch: The Most Powerful Chess Engine in the World After Stockfish (And Maybe Leela)”
- “Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. It Can’t Get Any Worse. But We’ll Do Our Best”
23. Create a slippery slide
Joe Sugarman, similarly to how South Park’s creators choose to structure their episodes years later, was a strong proponent of storytelling through consequences. So, instead of listing a trove of unrelated consecutive events in his copy, he advocates connecting the outcome of each sentence with the beginning of the next one: effectively creating what he called a “slippery slide.”
This copywriting technique aims to bring the reader from the top of the page, starting with the headline, to the end of the page as quickly as possible. Some of the ways to create a slippery slide include writing short and snappy sentences, telling engaging stories, and interspersing transitional words throughout your copy (“however”, “because of”, “but”, “in spite of”, “regardless”, “truthfully”).
Examples:
- Bone Fone; A New Concept in Sound Technology May Revolutionize the Way We Listen to Stereo Music”
- The Chess Club’s President Tripped and Fell During a Live Event. What Happened Next Might Change the Way You Think About Chess Forever”
24. Sell a concept instead of a product or service
By focusing on the bigger concept of a product or service, without explicitly mentioning their features, you’re essentially creating an evergreen headline that will remain relevant for years to come. The difference between a concept and a benefit is that concepts are larger in scope and typically carry several benefits alongside them, like an older brother who’s responsible for his younger siblings.
This is a sureproof way of crafting emotionally resonant headlines your audience will remember every time they interact with your brand.
Examples:
- “Peloton: The Ultimate Fitness Experience”
- “Yves Saint Laurent: Embrace the Future”
25. Write deeply personal headlines
Knowing your target audience is a prerequisite for cooking up deeply personal headlines.
Without it, you’ll be naively taking shots in the dark, relying on sheer luck, coincidence, or divine intervention to hit your targets. Either way, every headline you create should be personally tailored to your intended recipients, regardless of where it appears.
Examples:
- “Reclaim Your Life: Legal Support for Women Starting Anew”
- “The Firm Brush of Quality: Handcrafted Handkerchiefs for the Accomplished Gentleman”
Gary Halbert Encourages Frameworks, Punchy Words, and Celebrity Names
Gary Halbert was a legendary direct response copywriter whose eponymous sales letters generated around $1B in sales, cementing his place in the marketing hall of fame. He also had a couple of things to say about writing great headlines consistently. Here are 5 of Gary’s best tips on the topic.
26. Use the AIDA copywriting formula
AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. It’s the quintessential framework to writing, according to Gary, “killer headlines.”
One example of AIDA in action is addressing your prospects by name, a real-life equivalent of shouting a person’s name in a crowded area to get their attention. When you grab a prospect’s attention, it becomes easier to guide them through the next three steps (interest, desire, action) of the AIDA copywriting framework.
Examples:
- “John Doe: Get Shredded and Swole From Atlanta to Seoul!”
- “Jane Doe’s Spending Habits Are Out of Control. We Can Help You Sidestep Bankruptcy.”
27. Use phrases like THE ART OF and THE SECRET OF
The goal of phrases such as “the art of” and “the secret of” is to generate intrigue, leaving readers with no choice but to open that email, turn that page, or click on that article to satiate their curiosity. Use them in combination with some of the other emotionally charged words to make your headlines inviting and irresistible.
Examples:
- “The Art of Selling: How One Man Made $100K in a Year From His Garage (He Doesn’t Own a Computer)”
- “The Secret of Productivity American Billionaires Swear By Revealed”
28. Start with WARNING
If you really want to get your audience’s attention, what better way than to start your headlines with the universal sign for it: “Warning.” In marketing, you can think of the word “warning” as an escalation of the word “attention.” When encountered, people will say to themselves: “I should definitely pay attention to this or who knows what might happen.”
Examples:
- “WARNING: Stop Cooking With Vegetable Oil Until You Read This”
- “Warning: Does Your Mirror ‘Uglify’ Your Face?”
29. Piggyback off a celebrity
Tabloids have been using this tactic for decades, but we’re not referring to clickbaity, sensationalist headlines with little actual substance to boot. Instead, the trick is to piggyback off a celebrity’s name (even without their endorsement) without raising unsubstantiated claims. Then, you have to follow your headline with a high-quality copy, otherwise, readers will simply ignore your brand if you break their trust.
Examples:
- “Scientists Reveal Elvis Lives—Close Friends Confirm King’s Plan to Redecorate Graceland With Kacey Fine Furniture!”
- “Formerly Ousted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Signs $500 Billion Stargate Deal, Lambasts Musk”
30. Use the IF/THEN framework
Gary never explicitly said this, but the actual headlines that he sent out all boil down to a single blueprint: IF [qualifier], THEN [benefit]. If you can make your prospects identify with the qualifier, they will most likely express a desire to experience the succeeding benefit.
Examples:
- “If You’re Interested in Becoming a World-Class Prompt Engineer, These Claude 4.0 Shortcuts Will Blow Your Mind”
- “If You Ever Thought That Dinnerware Sets Were Overpriced, This Will Be the Most Explosive Message You’ll Ever Read”
Bonus: Drayton Bird Wants You to “Borrow” From the Greats
Drayton Bird was Ogily’s second-in-command during their marketing years. Here are his two cents on composing enticing headlines.
31. Steal (and adapt) from the best
The best direct-mail letters, email newsletters, advertisements, and landing pages convert well not because they’re original, but because they use the same tried-and-true headline/copywriting systems that worked in the past and continue to work today.
There’s simply no need to pretend to be a genius since most of the well-performing strategies have been discovered long ago. Your job is to scour the marketing landscape, single out the winners, and adapt the best headlines to your niche.
Examples:
- “Do You Make These Mistakes When Buying Computer Parts?” (adapted from Max Sackheim)
- “The Man From Coke Zero Has Arrived” (adapted from David Ogilvy)
- “At 200 Miles an Hour, the Loudest Noise in This New Tesla Model Y Is the Fart Sound” (adapted from David Ogilvy)
- “Have You Ever Wondered What You Would Look Like Without Pimples?” (adapted from Gary Halbert)
- “Exalted Comfort: When I Put On the Pair of Briefs What I Experienced I Could Not Physically Comprehend. Nor Will You.” (adapted from Joe Sugarman)
