What a great headline! It comes from a letter that was published in my local paper this week. The letter draws attention to the fact that we’ve over fished the North Sea and as a result there is nearly no cod left (hence the play on fish and chips). While over fishing is certainly an issue that needs to be addressed it’s beyond the scope of this blog, but the headline is a great example of what is missing from most small businesses advertising material/press releases – a good headline.

Make no mistake a good headline can drastically increase the number of people that look at your advert and when it comes to press releases the headline will almost certainly determine if your press release is binned or used. Somehow I don’t think “Cod Over Fished In North Sea” or “Did You Know Cod Is Nearly Extinct?” would have stood out quite as well.

So next time you’re designing your advertising (or having it designed for you) or preparing a press release, take some time to make sure your headline stands out. Some of the best direct marketing copywriters devote 50% of their time to the headline – they understand just how important it is to get it right.

Photo by mozzercork.

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