Is That My Butt?

Is That My Butt?

By Jeff Neil

Is that my butt? Now that's an interesting question. But to
be perfectly honest I'm not concerned with my butt. Not your
butt. Not any one's butt.

But...

It sure got your attention. Just like it got mine. And that
is the purpose of a killer headline.

Let's start this story from the beginning:

Here I am sitting at the doctors office. I'm waiting for my
wife to get done with her check up. And "no", we are not
expecting a baby, thank you.

Anyway... Here I sit. Notebook in hand. I brought it to
write some content for a new website. So I'm looking around
just waiting (hoping?) for the creative juices to start
flowing.

You know how it is waiting at the doctors office. I started
staring at all those magazines. You know... All those women
magazines. No Hot Rod or anything interesting like that.

And then I saw it. "Is That My Butt?". Right on the front
cover of Seventeen, April, 2002 Edition.

Normally that's not the type of reading I'm into. But I
couldn't resist. I just had to find out what the heck that
question was all about.

So yup, I walked clear across the waiting room just to see
that magazine. The story was about jeans. No, I did not read
it. But the headline worked. And it worked well!

And that's what you need to do with your headlines. Grab
their attention. And to be really effective you should be a
little creative. You've got a lot of competition out there
so sometimes being completely of the wall is required. As
long as you can make it fit.

Some of the best headlines I've ever seen are at the
supermarket check out. The tabloids. Headlines like Three
Headed Martian Calls 97 Year old Grandmother from Outer
Space.

Yeah, it's silly. But people look. And then they see other
headlines like 33 Year old Kansas School Teacher Reveals
Life after 17 Divorces.

That's a little more believable. And people want to know. So
they buy.

Here's four things you can put in your headlines to make
them pull.

Benefit
How to make money. Most of want to know how to make more.
Don't you? If someone knows more about a subject than we do,
we want to know. Nosey creatures, aren't we?

Occupation
What's the job of the person with all this knowledge? Is it
an expert of some kind sharing their valuable secrets? Or
some average Joe that stumbles on a unique idea.

Geography
Where do they live or where did this happen?

Odd numbers
Odd numbers make your headline more specific and believable.

This type of headline works because people want to know
about people. And they (we) want to know what other people
know that can improve our lives.

Shall we try one?

Benefit: How to be debt free.

Occupation: Financial Consultant

Geography: Florida

Odd Numbers: 27, 5

27 year Financial Consultant from Florida Reveals How to
Become Debt Free in 5 years or Less...

That's something that people want to know. And that's a
headline that gets attention, gets read, and makes sales.

Have you heard of the pizza delivery guy and the truck driver
selling their secrets to their success?

Take a look at their headlines again. You'll see this
formula. It's not the only way. But it's a good way.

After all, *Is That My Butt? 37 Year Old Maine Cop Tells How
the Answer Can Increase Your Profit By 277%*

© 2002, Jeff Neil, All Rights Reserved.

You may publish this article in your ezine and/or
web site as long as this resource box is left intact.

Jeff Neil is editor of Always Marketing and Editor`s Column.
Ezine and mlm newsletters for people that are serious about
a home based business. Jeff specializes in the combination
of the Internet, network marketing, personal success and
home business tax tips for those who will never create their
own product. Visit at: http://www.alwaysmarketing.com
Subscribe: mailto:always_marketing@infogeneratorpro.com