This guide will empower you with a useful collection of proven headline formulas so you can get more attention and sales fast.
As you might have heard before, the headline is THE most important element of any sales message.
It's the first thing people see - and you only have 2 seconds to grab their attention...
And if you don't... well, they'll be gone in no time.
And you'll probably never see them again - hurting your ROI and increasing your bounce rate.
So how do you counter this?
Simple: by crafting an engaging headline that stops people dead in their tracks and immediately grabs their attention (never letting it go until they click the call to action button!)
Quick 15-min TL/DR in the video below...
However, this is easier said than done, and most people tend to have a hard time coming up with a really strong headline.
But how come? It's only a sentence, right?
Well, in length, it is... however, in complexity, it's FAR more than that!
That's because a headline is the entry point to your entire sales message. It needs to encapsulate the very essence of your sales message in just a few words!
And that's the hard part.
How do you accurately capture the essence of your message in just a few words while:
And this is just the beginning!
No wonder the top marketers spend about 50-80% of the TOTAL time it takes to write a sales page just on coming up with the perfect headline.
In fact, consider this:
David Ogilvy, one of the brightest marketing minds who ever lived rewrote the following famous headline a whopping 104 times!
And he was already one of the best copywriters ever when he did it.
This shows you how much time & effort goes into crafting the perfect headline - and also explains why so many people are intimidated by it.
But what if you don't have time for that?
What if - instead of investing tens of hours into customer research, voice of customer data, and review mining, you just want a headline that works 90% as well - but can be crafted in just 5 minutes?
In that case, boy do I have a treat for you today 🙂
Because I've collected 39 of the best headline formulas on the planet so that you never have to worry about bad headlines ever again.
This list is based on decades of high-performing headlines that pulled in billions of dollars for the companies that used them.
From now on, think of this list as you own 'ace in the hole'.
Want a great headline for your sales page? Just pick one.
Need something for that Facebook ad you're planning to run? I got your back.
Looking to increase email open rates with a killer subject line? Say no more!
There's something for everybody here, covering every situation you may encounter.
Just take a headline formula, fill in the blanks, and you're done.
It really is that easy.
And for best results, do grab the convenient checklist below and print it out or save it to your desktop because it'll make your life even easier whenever you need to write a headline from scratch:
And with that, you're life just got waaay less complicated.
You're welcome ?
However, before we dive deep into these 39 proven headline formulas, I'd like to give you a word of WARNING:
Even if you use THE perfect headline formula for that sales message you're writing, chances are it won't work so well if you don't have an established product-market fit.
What does this mean?
In a nutshell: your product/service/topic you want to talk about NEEDS to be of interest to your target audience.
Because I could hire the ghost of David Ogilvy himself to write me the perfect headline for a Hummer commercial, but it would mean nothing if my target customers were women who recently had a baby, for example.
Case in point: Your target market needs to be a good fit for what you want to write about.
Please consider this before picking any of the headline formulas: speak to the right audience with the right message, and you're golden!
Interested in more great content on copywriting? Check out my Copywriting Resource Hub where you'll find in-depth guides, interesting case studies, and practical resources that will help you boost your conversions and sell more, without being salesy or aggressive.
Now, with that being said, here's my collection of the 39 proven headline formulas that will help you shock anyone out of their zombie state and grab their attention instantly.
The “Who Else”
Who Else Wants To ______ With ______?
Example: Who Else Wants To Cure Acne With a Completely Natural & Safe Remedy?
The “Everybody Should Know”
What Everybody Who _____ Should Know… (Hint – The _____ Will NEVER Tell You This)
Example: What Everybody Who Suffers From Low Self-Esteem Should Know… (Hint – Psychologists Will NEVER Tell You This)
The “Warning - Do Not Until...”
Warning - Do Not Try Another _________ Until You ____________…
Example: Warning - Do Not Try Another Multivitamin Until You Know These Facts:
The “Finally Revealed...”
Finally - Someone Reveals The ________ That Will _______ And ________
Example: Finally - Someone Reveals The Copywriting Secret That Will Fix Your Low-Converting Website And Generate You Tons of New Customers...
The “Expert’s Promise”
_______ Expert Promises To _______ Your _________ Completely And __________
Example: Dating Expert Promises To Fix Your Love Life Completely (And Without Gimmicks)
The “How, When, Even If...”
Find Out How _______ When ________ – Even If _________
Example: Find Out How To Sleep Soundly When You've Been Tossing & Turning For Hours – Even If Everything You've Tried So Far Has Failed...
The “Way To”
The _____ Way To ______
Example: The Easy Way To Make More Money
The “Ugly Truth”
The Ugly Truth About ________
Example: The Ugly Truth About Weight-loss Supplements
The “Behind & Why”
The _____ Behind _____ And Why ____
Example: The Unexpected Story Behind Every Single Pro Athlete And Why You'll Never Be One Without These 7 Simple Tips
The “Secret To”
The Secret To ________ In ________
Example: The Secret To deadlifting 250 Pounds In Just 7 Days
The “Stop & Start”
Stop _____ And Start ______
Example: Stop Wasting Time on Gimmicky Tactics And Start Making Actual Money With Your Website
The “In As Little As...”
________ In As Little As ______
Example: Get Rid of Back Pain In As Little As 5 Days
The “Here’s The Way...”
Here's The ________ & ________ Way To ____________________
Example: Here's The Fastest & Cheapest Way To Get Yourself a New Macbook Pro
The “Get Without...”
Get _______ Without ________ Or _______ And _______
Example: Get Rid Of Your belly Fat Without Drugs Or Medication And Using Only Completely Natural Remedies...
The “Free Show”
Free ____ Shows You How To _________ In Just _______...
Example: Free Report Shows You How To Make Money on The Stock market In Just 5 Days...
The “Quickly & Easily”
How To Quickly & Easily ________
Example: How To Quickly & Easily Make an Extra $5k With Email Marketing
The “Discover The Secrets”
Discover The Secret Behind _____ In _____
Example: Discover The Surprising Secret Behind Curing Acne In Just 5 Days...
The “Here’s The Secret To”
Here's The Secret To __________
Example: Here's The Secret To Investing in Bitcoin.
The “How You Can, Even If”
How You Can ______ In Just ______, Even If _______ and _______
Example: How You Can Cure ED In Just 7 Days, Even If You've Suffered For Years And NOTHING You've Tried Has Ever Helped...
The “Turn Your … Into...”
How To Turn Your ______ Into ______
Example: How To Turn Your Struggling Facebook Ad Campaign Into a ROI-busting Powerhouse
The “How To, So You Can”
How To ____ So You Can _____ In _____
Example: How To Find the Girl of Your Dreams So You Can Finally Be Happy In Just 30 Days
The “Get Rid Of”
Get Rid of _____ Once And For All
Example: Get Rid of Feeling Overwhelmed Once And For All
The “Hundreds Now”
Hundreds Now_____ Who Never Thought They Could
Example: Hundreds Now Make over $100k a year Who Never Thought They Could
The “Proud Of”
_____a_____ You Can Be Proud Of
Example: Get a Website You Can Be Proud Of
The “Why Almost Always”
Why Some_____Almost Always_____
Example: Why Some People Almost Always Make Money With Their First Product
The “How To And”
How To_____And_____
Example: How To Win Friends And Influence People
The “Seven Common”
Seven Common_____Problems - Which Ones Do You Want to Overcome?
Example: Seven Common Sales Page Problems - Which Ones Do You Want To Overcome?
The “10 Ways To Even If”
The 10 Ways To_____Even if
Example: 10 Ways To Build More Muscle Even If You're a Skinny Guy
The “What's New”
What's New In_____?
Example: What's New In Conversion Rate Optimization?
The “You Don't Have To”
You Don't Have To_____To
Example: You Don't Have to Be Rich To Have Girls All Over You
The “See How Easily”
See How Easily You Can_____
Example: See How Easily You Can Get In Shape With Our Help
The “The... Or Your Money Back”
The_____Or Your Money Back
Example: The Easiest Website Builder You've Ever Seen Or Your Money Back
The “Give Me And I'll”
Give Me_____- And I'll
Example: Give Me 1 Week - And I'll Double Your Conversion Rate
The “They Laughed When”
They Laughed When_____- But When I_____!
Example: They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano - But When I Started to Play!
The “Lazy Way”
The Lazy_____'s Way To_____
Example: The Lazy Man's Way To Riches
The “Do You Recognize”
Do You Recognize the 5 Early Warning Signs of_____?
Example: Do You Recognize the 5 Early Warning Signs of A Money-Wasting Facebook Ad Campaign?
The “You'll Hate Yourself”
If You_____, You'll Hate Yourself Later
Example: If You Don't Fix Your SEO Problems Now, You'll Hate Yourself Later
The “Do You Make These Mistakes”
Do You Make These_____Mistakes?
Example: Do You Make These Critical Website Mistakes?
The “Do Like”
_____Like_____
Example: Write Sales Pages Like an A-list Copywriter
BONUS HEADLINE TIPS
These 39 headline formulas will no doubt make your life much easier whenever you have to come up with any type of headline or subject line, however, I want to give you a few extra tips on how you can make the most out of them.
Buzzsumo recently analyzed a whopping 100 MILLION headlines and they've made some interesting discoveries.
They analyzed things such as: headline phrases that drive most engagement on Facebook, the optimum number of words, and even the most impactful numbers to use in headlines.
Let me share a few of their key findings with you here:
And another pro tip: before writing ANY marketing message, never ever forget to take into consideration your ideal customer's stage of awareness!
This is critical if you want to give them the RIGHT message at the RIGHT time.
Plus, do make sure that your landing is solid, please. Here's a great article that reveals 9 actionable landing page best practices that you should definitely optimize for if you want more conversions (and sales).
And that's it for this one.
Using these insights in conjunction with the headline formulas mentioned above will no doubt give you an edge over your competition, and perhaps most importantly...
Finally empower you to write killer headlines, without wasting tons of time doing doing.
Now you have everything you need for crafting bombastic headlines.
The only thing left for you to do is to get out there start grabbing your leads' attention.
Go get 'em, tiger!
Interested in more great content on copywriting? Check out my Copywriting Resource Hub where you'll find in-depth guides, interesting case studies, and practical resources that will help you boost your conversions and sell more, without being salesy or aggressive.
The free value you’re giving out is insane. I hope people can actually see what you’re doing for free is sold in fancy copywriting courses for thousands of bucks. Good Job Bruh.
Thanks, Mentro, I try to do my best at giving value to people
Real big fan of the Youtube series! Love your work!
Thanks, Buntzy, appreciate the kind words!