Headline Hacks: How to Draw in Your Ideal Customers!

Your headline is everything in copywriting; it’s the key to drawing your audience into the second important part of your copy: the first paragraph or sentence.

But writing a good headline doesn’t just fall from the sky. You have to know the right questions to ask, like: Who are my customers? What are the most important features of my product? Why will the customer want to buy my product? (What product or features are most important to them?) Stay tuned; I will explain why you should ask all these questions and how asking the right ones will help you craft a compelling message. So without further ado, let’s dive in.

Who is my customer?

I don’t know — why are you asking me? Just kidding! Before writing a headline, you must know who your ideal target audience is. This is copywriting lesson 101.

Knowing your audience is crucial because if you don’t, you won’t know the exact words or phrases to catch their interest. It’s important to do your research on your ideal customer. When you’re doing your research, there are three categories you should focus on:

1. Demographics: Find out the age of your target audience. How old are they? The age group determines how they will use or respond to your product or service. Check their gender — are they male or female? Knowing this helps you choose the right keywords and how to position your copy to catch their attention.

2. Income Level: Knowing your audience’s income level is important. It helps you price your product or service in a way they’ll be comfortable with.

3. Education: Understanding your audience’s education level helps you craft your copy better. You’ll know whether to use complicated words that appeal to their intelligence or simple words that everyone understands. (Normally, using simple words is the best bet when writing a headline.)

What are the most important features of your product?

Knowing your product’s features is important because it helps you know what to highlight in your headline that will interest your audience.

We’re all attracted to different things when buying a product. If you’re selling a TV, you know the resolution and screen quality matter most. If you’re selling a phone, you’ll want to highlight how fast it is and its battery life. Every product has different features that customers care about, and here are three you should look for:

1. Unique Selling Proposition (USP): Your USP makes your product or service stand out from the rest. It’s that unique feature or benefit no one else has. It’s the main advantage of your product, that will make people choose you over everyone else selling the same thing.

2. Benefits Over Features: In copywriting, benefits are what your readers care about, not just the features. Features describe what your product does, while benefits explain the advantages those features provide. For example, if you’re buying the latest iPhone with a dark mode feature, the benefit is it helps you see better by reducing brightness. Features attract interest, but benefits sell the product.

Why will customers want to buy my product?

It’s important to know the emotional triggers that will elicit a positive response from your audience. Understanding this helps you evoke certain emotions associated with your product or service.

Think about it: you buy most products because of how they make you feel, not just because you need them.

Take the people who buy the latest iPhone each year — they don’t buy it because they need a new phone; they buy it for the feeling of superiority and status that comes with having the latest model. Find out the emotional triggers that resonate with your audience and use them. It can be happiness, security, or status.

Social proof

This is another reason why people might buy your product. People are more likely to follow the crowd — as the saying goes, “Monkey see, monkey do.” people often react automatically to things because others are doing it. Try to associate your product or service with the power of the crowd. Show your audience that people are using your product or service, this can be included in your headline or copy.

What tone and style will resonate with my audience?

There’s a saying that we all think alike. That’s true, but our interests are different. The tone and style you use are very important when writing your headline or copy.

The way you write kids’ products will be different from how you write adult products. You must ensure your style and tone resonate with your audience.

It should feel as if they’re speaking to their people. A product for single moms will have a different tone than one for single dads. They’re both single, yes, but their genders are different.

These steps don’t just apply to headlines; they apply to copy in general. Asking these questions will not only help you write compelling headlines but also great copy.