Using Headlines and Sub-heads in Web Copy

Fresh content is the best way to get search engines and humans to visit and come back and rank your site as quality.

Presenting the content well is important.

The Importance of Headlines

Readers scan websites for information. Headlines provide critical information. The title itself is a headline and the use of sub-heads directs a reader's attention.

Sub-heads tell them what they're about to read and they can reference as little or as much information as necessary.

Headlines and Design

I'm a writer and not a graphic artist as is painfully clear to most anyone. I do work with various graphic artists and can recommend some.

However, I'm smart enough to employ sub-heads as a form of design. Think of design as flow.

Headlines and sub-heads on web content can provide a pleasant reader experience.

Example – Article

Click here to read this article 7 Ways to Lose Weight, Burn Fat and Adapt to a Healthy Lifestyle.

Lists like "5 ways to …" or "10 Steps to …" are useful because the reader immediately knows what to expect and skim through the 5 or 10 steps and go back and review.

The lists help organize information, too.

Lists are good for blog writing or article writing.

When writing website copy, think of a main headline that's 3 words to 5 words and descriptive and a sub-head that gives a bit more information.

Another example I just made up for this blog post.

Headline: Dog Training Tricks

sub-head: Gain your dog's confidence and trust and he'll perform these amazing tricks

Play around with the copy and you'll get a feel for what works and study other websites in your industry to see how headlines and sub-heads are used.

Good copywriting uses a framework of Plan, Create, Engage. 

Click LA Content and Copywriting to read more.

Free Marketing Tip: Listen to Your Customer

When I write marketing copy for clients I have them first listen to what they say and then listen to what customer say about the services and products.

This process is taken from my upcoming book Plan, Create, Engage where I lay out my principles and provide a structure to help business owners structure and write copy for websites, brochures, social media posts, and more.

Listen to Your Customers

Customers and clients who have experienced your products or services have opinions – good, bad, indifferent. You may call some and ask a few questions. Take others out to lunch and get a more complete picture depending on the relationship.

You can read through testimonials or perhaps call a few and use the statements to form your thinking and ideas.

Ways They Found Me – if you know how your customers found you then focus attention on that marketing channel. My most recent clients found me through business networking events in Pasadena and Glendale.

What First Impressions Attracted Them (company, service, product) – what elements got their attention?

How Did They Make a Decision to Buy?

List Needs Met After Purchase / Service Provided – what did you do well and how did your product help the client? In some cases it may be clear.

List Needs or Expectations Unmet After Purchase / Service Provided – are there areas where you risk disappointing a client or the expectations were not met?

Click here for a previous post on planning your marketing content and listening to yourself.

How to Plan Your Marketing Content by Listening to What You Say

Marketing content is more than clever words placed well in a phrase. Effective content must be planned, created and revised, and sent to the right target audience to engage them.

Here is an excerpt from my upcoming book Plan, Create, Engage -- Your Guide to Creating Winning Content:

Plan Your Content - What is a Plan

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A plan for your content becomes a map, blueprint, or framework that has a strategic planning function. What you say about your company reflects your thoughts, your mission statement, and your company strengths.

You perform this function to benefit your customers-clients and a significant portion of your content should focus on meeting their needs, wants, and desires.

Have three goals for planning content:

1. Find three to five significant phrases that will lay the foundation for website content, brochures, social media posts, and other messaging needs.
2. Enter the content into a calendar so you can begin using it strategically and be aware of future events and needs that can help you create a more effective message.
3.  Write a statement why someone should do business with you instead of with absolutely any one else who provides the similar product or service.

Action Step - Review and Listen to Yourself

 

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Review Your Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Core Strengths

This may be personal if you're an independent sales rep or it may be corporate if you're the owner, executive, or on the management team. 

Your mission statement and vision statement should encompass the words and phrases you use. Your marketing collateral should also reflect everything in your mission and vision statement. If it does not, you will need to determine if you need to make adjustments in what you say or how your mission statement is written.

-->

Listen to Yourself

Write down the phrases you say about why your business exists, what you do, and what you want to accomplish. Be aware of what you say on phone calls and at business mixers or events like trade shows and you write in emails.

--> Why My Company Exists  

--> What I Do and Why I Do It

--> Problems We Solve 

--> Needs-Wants We Fulfill 

--> What Separates Me From Competitors? (personality, vision, goals, service, name, colors, area served) 

--> If You Could Only Say One Thing What Would it Be?  

 The next post and excerpt from Plan, Create, Engage will focus on listening to customers.
Click here for Content and Copywriting.

Don Simkovich is a journalist and copywriter with a background in nonprofit management and marketing. He holds a Master of Arts, Communication Management, from the Annenberg School of Communication at University of Southern California.

5 Types of Content for Your Content Marketing Strategy

The foundation of marketing is having worthwhile content to promote online or use in brochures, press releases, and trade show displays.

Here are 6 types of content you should consider in your marketing plan:

1. Text, Images, Video – the written word, combined with a picture, and even a video clip on YouTube gives the reader/viewer an overall experience and introduces them more to your personality, company, products or services.

Click here to see my copywriting site for use of screen shots of documents to use as images. 

2. Showing Customers / Clients How You Benefit Them – the heart of business is solving a customer-client problem or giving them what they want. Blog posts or online articles are great for this. Describe how you do this by posing the overall problem, how the customer-client came to you, and the specific actions you took and the end result.

You can also call these "case studies" which have more structured and formal language in my opinion.

3. Stories – the old adage Facts Tell and Stories Sell rings true at all levels of marketing. You can tell stories indirectly related to your business or your customers. Again, blogs work well for this.

4. Lists – 5 things to … 6 ways to … 10 Tips for … readers like lists because lists are concise and easy to skim. Like this post.

5. How to Tips – free ebooks, blog posts, or even have a solutions page on your website to show your customers-clients "how to" take a step that solves their problem. It gives you credibility and you're offering value.

Website Wednesday and Web Design Trends Using CSS

I like poking around and consider the future of web design or where trends are headed in the near term. Take a look whether you're looking for affordable web design or just browsing.

Design is one essential part of branding and thus an important element in an overall marketing campaign. Here's an article from Webdesigner depot on CSS. Good reading even if you're not a designer.

If the recent flat design trend has demonstrated anything, it’s how incredibly limited web designers are when it comes to composition. Now that we’re no longer distracted by bevels, gradients and gloss it’s clear that web designers have one structure to build their designs around: rectangles.

Click here to read more of the article on Weddesignerdepot.

Click here to consider affordable web design options in your marketing mix.