Make Good Headlines Great
February 19, 2012
If you’re a blogger, a professional blogger or an info-marketer you might be like almost everyone else and struggling to write those headlines that get attention, even amidst all the noise that everyone is dealing with.
A swipe file is a file of Copywriting ideas that you have “swiped” from somewhere to use for inspiration. Building a great swipe file is a key towards copywriting success.
Here’s today’s installment for you to add to your swipe files that come from one of my favorite sources “Men’s Health” – the largest men’s health magazine. This particular issue is the December 2007 issue.
How to use these swipes? I’ll post the fill-in-the-blank headline here for inspiration as well as the original headline immediately below it to see how it was originally used. For some of the headlines they’re a bit harder to use for another topic so I’ll simply post just the original headline.
Although many of these wouldn’t be a great choice for a headline for a sales letter, they WOULD make for great inspiration for a blog post. So – swipe away!
100 Best New _____ for _____
100 Best New Tech Toys for Men
_____: Get ____ in Just 8 Days
Flat-Belly Foods: Get Lean and Fit in Just 8 Days
Make Good _____ Great
Make Good Sex Great
Gain _____, Lose _____: Tap Your Secret Source
Game Muscle, Lose Pounds: Tap Your Secret Source
Work _____, Live _____
Work Smarter, Live Richer
_____ Cool New _____ Tips
2,594 Cool New Health, Fitness, Sex, Style and Nutrition Tips
Strip Away _____! In 30 Seconds or Less!
Strip Away Stress! In 30 Seconds or Less!
Great _____ Made Easy
Great Abs Made Easy
The Ulimate ____ Plan! Everything you need to know about building a bullet-proof _____
The Ulimate Cardio Plan! Everything you need to know about building a bullet-proof heart
Seize the Moment of Truth
Make _____ Look Easy
Make Success Look Easy
Magnetize _____
Magnetize Her Gaze
Avoid _____ 20 Worst _____
Avoid America’s 20 Worst Foods
Think Yourself _____
Think Yourself Better
Seduce Her With Your _____
Seduce Her With Your Smile
The _____ He/She Really Wants
The Gift She Really Wants
Push Past Your _____
Push Past Your Limits
Outdo Your Greatest _____
Outdo Your Greatest Feat
Enter the Zone
Take Control of Your _____
Take Control of Your Money
Survive the _____
Survive the Holidays
Max Out Your _____ Time
Max Our Your Spare Time
Dump Your _____ Baggage
Dump Your Baggage
The Sobering Truth
Makes Other _____ Look Like _____
Makes Other Injectors Look Like Carburetors
Fuel for Life
Forever is a Long Time. She’ll Need Something to Wear.
(A diamond is forever.)
Joy Can Sometimes Be Found _____
Joy Can Sometimes Be Found Strapped to the Bottom of Your Feet (a shoe ad)
_____ is a State of Mind
Independence is a State of Mind
Your RX: _____
Your RX: Sex
Same _____, Bigger _____
Same Workout, Bigger Muscles
_____ Types _____
Creative Types Wear Black
The Greatest Luxury in Life is _____. _____ Every _____.
The Greatest Luxury in Life is Time. Savor Every Second.
Play Hard. _____ Soft.
Play Hard. Land Soft.
Your Blueprint for a Better _____.
Your Blueprint for a Better Life.
Custom-Built _____
Custom Built Muscle
_____ Hot List
Holiday Hot List
12 Things to ______
12 Things to Make Peace With
Succeed, or ______
Succeed, or Go Home
How to Give Your _____ an Instant Boost
How to Give Your Heart an Instant Boost
The New Rules of _____
The New Rules of Strength
Your Best _____ Ever
Your Best Body Ever
Motivator. _____ Coach. And Yes, it’s a _____, too.
Motivator. Fitness Coach. And Yes, it’s a Calendar, too.
All Your _____ Worries Solved
All Your Health Worries Solved
All-Star Career Coaches. To go from good to great in any sport – including business – you must first perform consistently at championship level. Start here.
_____ Secrets of Real _____
Sex Secrets of Real Animals
_____ Artists’ _____ List
Love Artists’ Holiday Gift List
“_____ Education for Me?” Know-How is Still the Best _____
“Sex Education for Me?” Know-How is Still the Best Aphrodisiac
_____ Revolution, Not Evolution
Embrace Revolution, Not Evolution
_____ New Rules of _____
21 New Rules of Technology
The Million Dollar ___ for ____ and Under.
The Million Dollar Reaction $100 and Under.
The Internet Can’t Hide From _____.
The Internet Can’t Hide From the AT&T LaptopConnect Card.
_____ in ______ Just Like a _____
Shoot in High Definition Just Like a Network Cameraman
Once Upon a Time, _____ Best Way to _____. The end.
Once Upon a Time, Sony Created the Best Way to Watch Movies. The end.
Of course it’s ______ than ______. There’s an entire _____ in there.
Of course it’s bigger than a plasma. There’s an entire movie theater in there.
Faster Than a Dog Chasing a Cat Chasing a Mouse Chasing a Piece of Cheese That’s Been Shot Out of a Bazooka.
‘Tis the Season for _____
‘Tis the Season for SprintSpeed
Ask ____ Why He/She Love His/Her _____
Ask Jennifer Rubell Why She Loves Her Blackberry
Put Yourself on a ____ Budget
Put Yourself on a Button Budget
The _____ of ____ Meets the ____ of _____.
The Power of Bluetooth Meets the Beauty of High Design.
The Top ____ Products of/for _____
The Top 100 Products of the Year
Bring Something New to _____
Bring Something New to the Conference Table
What Are You Made of?
Stay On Top! Building Your Headline SwipeFile
January 24, 2012
If you’re writing your headlines from scratch, not only are you probably boring your audience to tears, you’re also spending way too much time inventing them.
Thomas Leonard once said that the real art of being original is concealing your sources.
Here’s today’s contribution towards your fill-in the blank headline and bullet point swipe file:
The Laid-Back Guide to Success: Do Less, Earn More
Smart _____ Moves Right Now: Don’t Just Survive, Thrive
Why and When To Fire Your Guru
100 Best New ____ For _____
Carve Your Own Path
Rise Above the Rest of the Field
Skyrocket Your Motivation
In the Greater _____, Pioneers Take the _____ Less Traveled
Your Weekend-Only Business Plan
Become a _____ (Yes, We Mean You)
Live Large. _____ Small.
No Holds Barred
_____grams: Everything That Matters to _____
Holiday Hot List
Give Your ___ an Instant Boost
Do Less, Achieve More: Ease Your Way to _______
Build the _____ You Want
You Know Those People Who Always Seem to be _____? Be One of Them.
Far Easier Than _____
Take Charge of Your _____
Because Life’s an Adventure
## Ways to Become _____, _____ and _____ by _____
____ and _____ Like Never Before
Men’s Health Headline Swipes
January 17, 2012
Men’s Health consistently offers up some fantastic headlines. Generally considered to be the best magazine on men’s health, they are a wonderful source for not only headlines for swiping for health and fitness ideas but for any subject.
Here are my personal favorites to add to your swipe file:
Lose your gut! Six-pack Abs in Just Minutes a Day
Yours FREE: _____ Big Black Book of Secrets!
Build an Instant _____
Master the ##-Minute _____
(The original headline is 23 Foods That Burn FAt… 12 that Build Muscle!)
## _______ That ______… ## That Build _____
Double Your _____
You Can Keep Hoping for _____… or Have It Now!
Are Your One (Trick, Technique, etc) From _____?
Are You One _____ Away From ______?
Get This ##-Page Treasure of _____
Experience Life in the _____ Lane – It Starts Right Here!
The _____ That Will Make it All Happen For You – Fast
You Are Seconds Away From ____ – And Tons More!
Art of the Headline
July 6, 2009
Food for thought: what are your headlines saying about your blog?
When people are reading your feed your headlines are going to make you or break you.
Aggregators may either list only the headline or may feature it prominently enough to overshadow your actual content.
I suppose a good way to look at it is that the headline is like the icing on the cake; it’s what most people first see and notice and should be designed to entice!
Delicious!
Be well all,
Tracy Batwinas
Looking for a Publisher?
May 2, 2009
LEE & LOW BOOKS,
95 Madison Avenue,
New York, NY 10016.
Email: general@leeandlow.com
Website: http://www.leeandlow.com
Louise May, Editor in Chief
Jennifer Fox, Senior Editor
"Lee & Low Books is a small, independent trade publisher. We publish multicultural books for children ages 5 and up. Our list consists of fiction and nonfiction picture books and middle grade works that feature people of color. Additional information, including writer’s guidelines, can be found on our website."
Publishes 12 new titles/year. Welcomes new writers. Average first print run varies. Offers advance. Publishes ms 18-24 months after acceptance. Responds 4 months but only to authors of manuscripts that interest them. Catalog for 9×12 SASE with $1.98 postage.
Guidelines online at http://www.leeandlow.com/editorial/wguide.html , or by mail with SASE.
CURRENT NEEDS: "Fiction: realistic fiction and historical fiction; Nonfiction: interesting multicultural topics (including biographies) that have not received much attention in children’s books." Advance and royalties vary per contract. Books average "approx. 1500 words max. for picture books and approx. 3000 words max. for nonfiction. Middle grade: no limit, but consider the age of the audience." Submit complete manuscript, cover letter, bio and background of story and/or yourself by mail. We will respond only if we are interested in a manuscript."
HINTS: "Please check our website to get a sense of the kinds of books we publish, and do not send materials that do not have a multicultural focus. All our books feature people of color and tell stories from their point of view. We do not publish folklore/fairy tales and stories with animals as protagonists."