Writing Headlines for Advertisements

Writing Headlines for AdvertisementsWriting Headlines for AdvertisementsA headline is one of the fruchtwein important pieces of communication in advertising. Whether its a print ad, a billboard, an online banner, or a brochure, this is your chance to grab the consumers attention, and entice them to read on. Do it well, and youll start a conversation that ends in a sale. Do it poorly, and youll never have the chance...theyll look elsewhere before you can give them any more information. But what makes a good headline. Where do you even begin? Its time to do a little research. Look At The Headlines That Entice You Before you start writing headlines for advertisements, take a quick test. Flip through a magazine, newspaper or even visit a website and read a few stories. How did you make your decision on which stories to select? It wasnt the fancy opening sentence or the little picture that went along with the article. The headline and maybe even the subhead made you want to read or ev en ignore the story. The same rule applies to print advertising. Consumers scan headlines before committing to reading the entire ad. If you havent written a powerful headline, your print ad copy might as well say, blah, blah, blah, because its not going to be read. Writing your headline is one of the fruchtwein important factors in writing your print ad. An effective headline doesnt just pique your readers curiosity. It hooks them. They are drawn into the ad, compelled to read more. There are many approaches you can take to write a solid headline. Explore these various methods for every print ad you create. Its OK to Be Direct with an Offer or Guarantee If you have a special offer that will lure customers in, dont think you have to spend hours trying to create a witty, humorous headline to go along with your ad copy. Sample headlines from existing print ads 30 Free Digital Camera Prints from SnapfishPrint ad for SnapfishLifeStyle PartyTime Kitchen $159.99Print ad for Step 2Take a 30-day test drive and decide for yourself.Print ad for Escort Radar Make a Memorable Statement These are the popular type of headlines you usually see in print ads running in national magazines. Sometimes theyre creative and catchy. Sometimes theyre just a couple of short words. Sometimes theyre a sentence or two. Magazines are loaded with these headlines. This is why a lot of people think you must write this type of headline in reservierung for your ad to be a success. That isnt always the case, of course. Knowing your market, your products and what exactly it is youre trying to sell will help you determine if using a statement as your headline is right for your ad. Sample headlines from existing print ads Be One in a Million, Not One of a MillionPrint ad for Pantene Pro-VEasier MacPrint ad for Chef Boyardee Mac CheeseStop. Rinse. Play.Print ad for Mr. Clean AutoDry CarwashViruses can live on surfaces for days.Print ad for LysolThe Gorilla Has Evolved. Now It Gets Stronger, Faster.Print ad for Gorilla Glue Use News in Your Headline If your ad is introducing a new product to the market or an improvement on one of your existing products, you can use that news in your headline. Introducing, Finally, Announcing, Now and New are popular choice words youll find in these types of headlines. Sample headlines from existing print ads Introducing Freschetta Pizzamore. For Take-Out Taste at Your Place.Print ad for Freschetta PizzamoreWeve Always Helped You Rock. Now We Help You Roll.Print ad for XM NavTrafficNew Southwestern Style Veggie CakesPrint ad for MorningStar FarmsIntroducing a World of Healthy FlavorsPrint ad for Pilgrims Pride EatWellStayHealthy The Question (and Sometimes Answer) Headline The question and answer format can easily be overdone in advertising. A questions wording can also run the risk that your potenzial customer can answer the question with a no and theyll skip reading your ad. Carefully choose your question so you dont lose your reader right from the start. Sample headlines from existing print ads Need Curb Appeal? Go With a ProPrint ad for Classic Gardens and Landscapes Inc.Do your plans include having another baby in the next five years?Print ad for MirenaHow do you heal dry skin? Use a lotion thats actually attracted to it.Print ad for Curel Ultra Healing Intensive LotionUncomfortable? Comfortable.Print ad for Dulcolax Stool SoftenerWant to Know How to Make Kids Happy? Look Inside.Print ad for Kraft Singles Note that not all question headlines have the answer in the headline and they dont have to be straightforward questions that rely on a yes or no answer. You can be creative with your questions and this can also help you avoid the question headline that allows your potential customers to easily answer no and move on to the next ad. Sample headlines from existing print ads From scratch? Itll take 15 minutes to find out if youre out of garlic.Print ad for Ore-Ida Roasted PotatoesHow do you redesign the most beloved small SUV? Very carefully.Print ad for Subaru ForesterWhy use fake flavors and additives when you can use lemongrass and coconut?Print ad for KashiAre the hairs on the back of your neck begging for exercise?Print ad for Ford FlexWhat will you keepsake?Print ad for HallmarkIs it a vacuum cleaner that kills germs? Or a germ-killer that vacuums?Print ad for Halo Vacuum Cleaner Show the Benefits You know theres a benefit for customers choosing your product over your competitors. Putting the benefit(s) right into your headline can immediately capture the readers attention. It all comes down to that dont say it, prove it mentality. Sample headlines from existing print ads Spread Endorsed by Cardiologists. And Taste Buds.Print ad for PromiseWe have twice the antioxidant power of orange juice and we help protect your immune system.Print ad for Welchs 100% Grape JuiceIve got 60% less fat than regular potato chips and the killer abs to prove it.Print ad for Chex MixValvoline SynPower Offers 4X Better Wear Protection Than Mobil 1Print ad for ValvolineOnce-monthly Boniva builds bone density to help keep my bones strong and healthy.Print ad for BonivaMy, What Strong Teeth You Have. bahnorbit Extra Helps Fight Cavities, Strengthens Teeth.Print ad for Orbit Gum Testimonials Are Powerful Persuaders Your headline can be straight from your customers mouth. Testimonials arent as popular as other types of headlines but they can be very convincing for a potential customer to keep reading. Sample headlines from existing print ads Ive relied on Lexol products for 30 years.Print ad for LexolI learned about Little Remedies from experience...my cousins.Print ad for Little RemediesMy Ultra is 9 years old and still looks and works as good as new.Print ad for Ultra wet GrindersI Use usaa.com to Manage My Accounts Every Day.Print ad for USAAA 14 on a Scale of One to Ten. Its That Good.Print ad for Zon Create a How-To Using a how-to headline is found more in newsp aper ads these days as opposed to print ads in magazines. Using a how-to headline like, How to Stop Smoking in 2 Weeks, can give your ad a lot more mileage than, Quitting Smoking is Hard. This can be a very easy headline to write if your product is right. These headlines dont have to sound like a how-to instructional book either. They can be creative too. Sample headlines from existing print ads How to Get Results Super Fast with New XomaxPrint ad for XomaxHow to Destroy Canadas Ancient Boreal Foreset, in 3 Easy Steps.Print ad for Greenpeace Share the Reasons Reasons are another quick way you can come up with a good headline. In fact, a headline that states the reasons can help jump-start your entire ad. Simply state that there are so many reasons why your company is this or your product is better than that, and then the body of your ad copy backs up those numbered reasons. Sample headlines from existing print ads Here are 200 Reasons Why Coldwell Banker Properties is 1Print ad for Coldwell BankerThe List of Reasons to Use the Body Journal is Endless. But It Starts Here.Print ad for Body Journal6 Ways Chevrolet is BetterPrint ad for Chevrolet Used Cars Try writing your headline from a variety of these approaches. You dont have to narrow your list all the way down to just one headline. You can always run an A/B test to see which headline is pulling in more consumers. Run one ad in one magazine with your first headline and change the headline for the second magazine. An easy way to track your A/B test results is by using a different URL in each of the ads. Create two identical pages you want your customers to visit. Put one URL in one ad and the other in the second ad. That way, youll know exactly which headline is attracting the most customers and generating the most sales for your company.

5 things every young person should look for in a mentor

5 things every young person should look for in a ratgeber5 things every young person should look for in a mentorI have had multiple mentors in my life, all in varying industries, niches, and interests.I can say with one hundred percent confidence that they were one of the biggest drivers behind my growth as a person.However, knowing how to find a mentor and also knowing who to let mentor you are two extremely difficult things for people to wrap their headsaround.A lot of people say, I wish I had a mentor, not yet sure of what it is they actually want to learn.And a lot of other people are quick to call someone their mentor without even asking themselves whether that person is the right fit for them in the first place.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreIf you are looking for someone to mentor you, especially if you are just getting started with something new, maybe you recently grad uated college or are looking to make a career change, here is what you need to be aware ofand what you should look for1. They practice what they preachFinding people who talk the talk isnt hard - and honestly, you can find that on YouTube.What youre looking for is someone who walks their walk. They wont be perfect - and you shouldnt expect them to be (we are human after all). But pertaining to the thing you want to learn, look for someone who walks the walk.Thats the thing about mentorship that people get confused. People think of mentors as all-knowing people who can help them with everything, when in reality a successful mentorship is very focused. You choose a mentor for a specific reason, something you want to learn. And yes, there will be ancillary benefits, but a mentor is someone who does what you want to do one day, really well. Youre there to learn that one (or those two, or three) things from them.Not necessarilyeverything.So, based on what you want to learn, look for so meone who walks the walk with the thing you want to one day embody yourself.2. They want to invest in you, and you want to invest in themA mentorship goes both ways.It is an exchange. It is not, Im young and inexperienced and so you should give me all the answers. Not even close. Even if you are young and inexperienced, its your job to push yourself to learn, integrate, and then bring new knowledge to the table.If you can do this, your mentor should (and often will) want to invest even more into you - because you are now providing value to them as well. This is a positive sign of a healthy mentorship, because both parties are growing.However, if your mentor isnt all that engaged, or if you as a student arent giving it your all, then the relationship isntworking.A valuable mentorship happens when both parties are feeding each other knowledge, in some way, shape, or form.3. They know when to push youYou cannot be properly mentored by someone who isnt willing to push you.As much as I have wanted this to not be the case (because in those moments, things are not easy), it is the only road that truly makes a difference. A good mentor knows how far to push you - and you are going to question it.You are going to fight it. You are going to try to convince them, yourself, or both otherwise. You are going to complain. You are going to feel overwhelmed. You are going to feel very, very uncomfortable - and thats the point.If the person you want to mentor you, or who is mentoring you, does notconstantly make you feel comfortably uncomfortable, you need to find a different mentor. There is an art to it, and the best mentors know how to make you feel both at ease and so uncomfortable you want to crawl out of your own skin.But thats what growth feelslike.Growing pains.Get used to them.4. They care about you as a human beingAll of my mentors have become some of my closest friends.A mentorship is about so much more than just learning something. Yes, that is the foundation, th ats the primary intention, but along the way a dynamic tends to unfold that is difficult to put into words. You spend so much time together that you end up knowing each other in a very unique way. Its a friendship that comes around once in a lifetime.Its one thing to find someone who can push you to practice one skill. Thats somewhat robotic. The true value of a mentorship is the emotional growth that tends to accompany it.Yes, you should (and often do) end up far more skilled in your chosen area of expertise by the time the path comes to a point of separation, but if you reflect back, youll see that you grew in so many other ways.A mentorship challenges you as a person, as an emotional being, and thats where the real growth happens.5. They want to see you succeedA true mentor wants you to know everything they know.They want to teach you so that you can one day take what youve learned and integrate it with your own unique skill sets. A true mentor wants to watch you go from Padawan to Jedi Master.Your mentor should be your biggest advocate, the one who you can always go back to and share in those early days of learning. They provide context, and are a reminder of where you first began - and they are proud to have seen you come so far.A true mentor only wants to see you succeed, unselfishly. And so, it then is the challenge of the apprentice to one day take on the responsibility of all that he or she has learned, and fully integrating it on their own, as well as the challenge of the mentor to know that they gave them all the tools to do so.Finding a mentor and being a mentor is an art initself.It requires a certain level of dedication and commitment few have.It is a test of patience - on both ends. And it asks you to be open, constantly. But it is also one of the greatest things anyone could possibly experience - to be a mentor or to be mentored.And so, in the end, it is always worth it.This article originally appeared on Inc Magazine.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

6 Phrases to Never Tell an Interviewer

6 Phrases to Never Tell an Interviewer6 Phrases to Never Tell an Interviewer For most employers, profanity and showing up late are grounds for instant disqualification in an interview . But there are also mora subtle ways to raise a red flag in a hiring managers mind. Some common phrases that you think might be harmless, or even helpful, can, in fact, make employers question whether youre really the right person for the job.If you want to wow your interviewer, make sure to avoid the following six phrases. While you may have the best intentions, you dont want the person youre interviewing with to get the wrong impression.You may have worked at a genuinely bad company, but whining about it or trash talking them will not earn you points with an interviewer.When asked about a former boss or colleagues, never disparage them, says Roy Cohen, career coach and author of The Wall Street Professionals Survival Guide . Doing so will raise questions about whether that is how you will view the interviewer if, at some point, you dont get your way.After all, if you talk smack about your current company, whos to say you wont do the saatkorn at this company? Rather than talking about what you dislike about your employer, talk about how excited you are about the company youre interviewing with, whether its the culture, mission or work that gets you excited.You might think that offering to take on any challenge the company can throw at you would be a good thing, but truthfully, it sounds a little desperate. Remember, interviews arent just for showing that you want the job, but also proving that youre the right person for the job. In other words, you shouldnt just be willing to do something - you should be knowledgeable and passionate about what you do.Tell your interviewer what you are most comfortable doing or what your background is in, or even things you havent done before but are interested in doing, recommends DW Bobst, CEO of Trend HR . No one wants t o hire the short-term person who is just going to leave. Make sure you leave your interviewer with the impression that you are in it for the long haul.These are all good things in theory, but throwing out a bunch of buzzwords like this without any evidence to back them up is hollow.It signals a lack of authenticity and reliance on superficial sound bites. Interviewers tune you out - theyve heard it all before. What does it even mean? asks Laura MacLeod, leadership coach and creator of From The Inside Out Project . If you want to use this, youll have to elaborate with specific examples of problem-solving, collaboration, managing conflict. Express it and explain it rather than just name it.For example, if you want to show off your leadership skills, talk about how you stepped up for a group project. Provide as much detail as you can about what you did, how you did it and why it made a difference.Odds are, you wont already be familiar with every single task of a given job. And thats okay - most of the time, recruiters and hiring managers wont expect you to know everything, especially if youre at a more junior level. But theres a right way and wrong way to express that you dont know how to do something. Saying no flat-out makes it sound like youre not only completely clueless, but also unwilling to learn.Instead, answer the question with a qualifying response. For example, if asked whether you have worked with a software that you have no experience with, you should talk about the similar software that you do have knowledge about and how they relate to the software in question, says Patrick Lynch, President for the southeast region of talent and transition firm CMP .You can also give an example of a time you learned a different tool or technology quickly to make it clear that youll be able to get up to speed in no time.When an interviewer asks if you have any questions for them, its an opportunity for you to demonstrate how well-informed you are - not a ch ance to ask questions that you could have easily figured out on your own with just a few minutes of research.This question is a dead giveaway that you didnt do any homework on the company or their products, says Elizabeth Becker, Client Partner and Career Expert at recruiting firm PROTECH . Instead, use questions as a way to demonstrate you did some homework.For example, you might do some research on a company and discover that they primarily target small to medium businesses (SMBs). In that case, you might want to say something like I found it interesting that your software is targeted to the SMB space - do you have any plans to launch enterprise solutions as well? Becker suggests.Salary and benefits are important, and often play a large role in whether or not you decide to accept a companys offer. But bringing up details of the salary or perks you want unprompted and early in the interview process is a bit presumptuous.When you dont know exactly what a company will pay for a pos ition, play it safe at first. Give the impression that you are flexible on compensation rather than make demands, Bobst says. If you make it to the final interview rounds, they will let you know what the job will pay.Conversely, they may ask you what your salary expectations are. In that case, dont just throw out a number - figure out what you really deserve.If you dont know what pay you are qualified for, you should consider the amount of experience you have and what industry you are interested in working in and do a little research, Bobst suggests. Start with Glassdoors Know Your Worth calculator, which offers personalized salary estimates based on your job title, location, years of experience and more. That way, you can assess whether youre getting a fair deal.