Clever Headlines Usually Flop! Are You Being Too Clever For Your Own Good?

Copywriters that try to be clever, humorous, abstract, or use double entendre with their headlines and ads will normally find that they flop and are thus a waste of both time and money. Many of the Super Bowl ads fall in this category. While they are often funny to watch, most people don't remember what company the ad was promoting.

Ted Nicholas tells the story of how a book that he had written was not selling very well. He had titled it, "How Not To Drown In A Sea Of Debt." One day he stopped by a bookstore and looked for the book in the personal finance and self help sections but could not find it. So he went to the information counter and asked if they carried the book. He was told yes they had it in stock, and it was located in the swimming section!

Ted subsequently changed the title to 'How To Get Out Of Debt' and the book sold well from that point on.

If you are trying to promote something, keep your titles clear and simple. Leave clever and humorous to the entertainers.

Headlines that are too abstract are often unclear to the reader and do not clearly identify to the reader why they should be interested in the information contained in the follow on copy.

Make your headlines clear. Identify a benefit to the reader as to why they should read on further into your ad, article, or sales letter. If you do, you will find your desired results will improve.

George Dodge has been working on the Internet since December 1994 and has developed, and served as webmaster for, numerous government and commercial websites for the past ten years. Examples of his commercial sites include Seven Days To Profits that is an information product site revealing several methods for how you can get an online business up and running quickly with minimal resources and http://www.Headline-Creator-Pro.com which is a software site where you can get your copy of the amazing headline generating software tool that enables you to create winning headlines quickly with push button ease. Headline Creator Pro can generate 100 winning headline ideas in just 17 seconds flat!

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/WideOrbit-Welcomes-Angela-Bandlow-Chief/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B6911573C-60F3-4704-BC0E-9BF97BBB4758%257Dcid=1272701488ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNFoNjNR7VONC1ZoAr-CqA3tzxSqngWideOrbit Welcomes Angela Bandlow as Chief bMarketing/b Officer/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WideOrbit Inc. is pleased to announce that Angela Bandlow has joined the company as Chief bMarketing/b Officer. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/JHA-Hires-Leo-Tinkham-Vice/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B8AC13C65-AF4C-4FD4-8C0E-6DB5338C72B9%257Dcid=1272673916ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNGH7Jw1UNWVnddfmtQ_ThuUSA1ffAJHA Hires Leo Tinkham as Vice President, bMarketing/b and Business b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1In this role, Tinkham will lead JHA#39;s bmarketing/b activities and be involved in the development and delivery of value-added services for reinsurance clients. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Boscobel-Marketing-Communications-Wins-Best/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BFFCF4F2F-ACB7-49E2-9D9D-EA3FE461FD24%257Dcid=1272584877ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNGfwYgH5vf__j53TW6GFmweltl1xQBoscobel bMarketing/b Communications Wins Best Overall #39;Stevie b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr19 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Boscobel won top honors in the category of Service Businesses Up to 100 Employees in Advertising, bMarketing/b, and Public Relations. Joyce Bosc, president of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Macys-Ace-Marketing-Promotions-Inc/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B43AF11A5-9737-4189-905A-83E2C9A81574%257Dcid=1272572772ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNGr88dTBLjk0XNWTJ3Gjkp2VCmuNAMacy#39;s and Ace bMarketing/b amp; Promotions Inc. Partner to Make the b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1the innovator of Proximity bMarketing/b(SM) -- representing the convergence of advertising and merchandising -- today announced that the Company has partnered b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/2020-Marketing-Offer-RewardStreams-Lifecycle/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B23E5D12F-F6ED-41D8-99DA-A87757885313%257Dcid=1272636684ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNFkgC9fCwLMIbgb7QmcYmUVOv7HRw2020 bMarketing/b to Offer RewardStream#39;s Lifecycle bMarketing/b b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr15 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The agreement allows 2020 bMarketing/b to execute a complete range of sophisticated loyalty and incentive and programs using RewardStream LMP as their core b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/10/f-sapieha-mediaplayers.htmlcid=1272624622ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNHf3DWMduvDaho8PInQWq5xhjqukwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Fy5jVDaCdMYJimgurl=www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2008/11/10/ipod-touch.jpg width=80 height=77 alt= border=1brfont size=-2CBC.ca/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_11034850cid=1272624622ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNE1-IsL-rwB8aXQP_Urh9qQ3h8r3gMicrosoft#39;s Zune jams to new bmarketing/b beat/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Jose Mercury News,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Zune#39;s latest campaign, said Chris Stephenson, a bmarketing/b general manager for the company, stresses that quot;mixviewquot; is designed to be quot;a reason to download b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388410_msftzune19.htmlcid=1272624622ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNGNnuCznAV3Z0CS7iXlmnA-60UWWgMicrosoft slashes prices of several Zune music players/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSeattle Post Intelligencer/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/personal_tech/ipod/showArticle.jhtml%3FarticleID%3D212100949%26subSection%3DAll%2BStoriescid=1272624622ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNHRthssV9NZPTlII0H5hnRcXtGCFwMicrosoft Cuts Zune Prices For The Holiday/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrInformationWeek/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/microsofts-gift-for-the-holidays-zune-price-cuts/cid=1272624622ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNEd1DrfbGVMb7YIcEO_0nATgCtACAMicrosoft’s Gift for the Holidays: Zune Price Cuts/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272624622hl=ennobrall 42 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/11/17/daily70.htmlcid=1272722473ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNEKyaytsE3-ZZQRsMv7vNHM9L9VegLazar mixes bmarketing/b savvy, financial expertise at Atheros/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1“I kid him that I think he’s actually a bmarketing/b guy in an accountant’s body, “ Szilagyi said. “I don’t have to explain to Jack what’s going on because he b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html%3Fid%3Dbbf70be9-c039-4cc0-bdc8-9e4fba1c0287cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNExQVJ6bE0IZaUJDERJMI1FPOMaNgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=SjngC8d8FMkJimgurl=a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/otct/20081118/159402-61332.jpg%3Fsize%3Dl width=80 height=80 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Ottawa Citizen/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081121/SPORTS0101/811210341cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNGEnaGmaOuaMLNqHglil_YMqhOvtQCaught in the middle of a storm/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDetNews.com,nbsp;MInbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Steve Tihanyi, GM#39;s general director of media operations, said his department is examining the return-on-investment of all sports bmarketing/b and advertising b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://adage.com/article%3Farticle_id%3D132739cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNFj_B7zRZlgHx0heXeRs_rNJrZyuAWas Detroit#39;s Bailout bMarketing/b Blitz Too Little, Too Late?/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAdAge.com (subscription)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm%3Fnewsid%3D20199418%26BRD%3D2737%26PAG%3D461%26dept_id%3D576361%26rfi%3D8cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNEkYr4tu73LhKNB0BsrGbYOt5c3GQFiscal Reckless Driving And The Proposed #39;Big Three#39; Bailout/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrEvening Bulletin/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html%3Fhpcid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNHHQ6vHRj1GrNJ0qaf16u6Rye6C7wOp-Ed Contributor Let Detroit Go Bankrupt/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081120/GJOPINION_01/711204019cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNFOp3kpc9Y9ViyKdjPeoYKqPW5TTwnobrFoster's Daily Democrat/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://adage.com/article%3Farticle_id%3D132584cid=1272866575ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNEmfcKcDcjdzn9wOIe6sbDWr105zwnobrAdAge.com (subscription)/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272866575hl=ennobrall 1,713 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.eptrail.com/news/2008/nov/21/marketing-district-picks-officers/cid=1272821744ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNENGSDs2pUXuDXVUg9bkupFn9R3kQbMarketing/b district picks officers/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fEstes Park Trail Gazette,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobr3 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Juley Harvey Although the final tally of votes certifying the voter approval of the Local bMarketing/b District (LMD) is not due until today, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Crohns-Me-a-UCB-Website/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B4D256E65-670B-4161-8F02-659AD915186A%257Dcid=1272653220ei=048mSZmDNY_u6gOV2JFKusg=AFQjCNEe0rMEFDZilTszbUI_waLU-sPYcgCrohn#39;s amp; Me, a UCB Website Created by Heartbeat Digital, Wins b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Held at New York#39;s celebrated Tavern on the Green, the night honored the medical industry#39;s most creative and innovative bmarketing/b campaigns. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
marketing - Google News


Wind Chimes and more...

Windchimes for great gifts!

Laws of Marketing ? The 10 Immutable

Most marketers believe that anything is achievable if you are... Read More

Key Marketing Questions - Planning Your Marketing Campaign

So you started a business. How's it going? Did you... Read More

Mortgage Marketing - Viral-Email, Referral Marketing Strategy

This is a devastatingly powerful way to extend your marketing... Read More

4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure

Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure... Read More

Wealth Knowledge & Power ? Lost Secrets From Ancient Masters

Behold! He with the light cometh!He shall light thy darkest... Read More

Using Flyers In Your Business

If you are not using flyers in your business you... Read More

Using a Contact List Profitably- Part Two

Besides a survey, your contact list can be used to... Read More

Increase Your Profits Through Customer Loyalty

The job of convincing your existing customers to spend higher... Read More

5 Ways to Upgrade Your Existing Marketing Materials for Practically Nothing!

In addition to direct marketing strategies you want to be... Read More

How Do You Get Past The Gatekeeper?

The best joint ventures are with people in your own... Read More

Package Your Products for Thunder Thigh Women - Big Butts Too

Wake up women (and you men too). I think we... Read More

Corporate Branding and Trade Shows - 8 Tips for Marketing Managers

Trade shows are part of the marketing mix and the... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane

I step outside my back door and look at some... Read More

Notable News - Its Not About You!

You enjoy what you do. In fact, you love your... Read More

Marketing Worksheet

Even the world's best marketing strategy won't work for you... Read More

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 1

In the following 'special report,' I will reveal some very... Read More

Promote your Business and Products through Submitting Articles to Top Web Sites

Articles submitted to online publishers bring your site new visitors... Read More

The A-Z of Exhibiting Overseas

Exhibiting overseas is one of the fastest and most cost... Read More

5 Ways to Market for Immediate Results

Sales are down, and I need more customers now! Sound... Read More

How to Use Your Newsletter to Research Your Market

A few decades ago, in the early days of automatic... Read More

Are You Sabotaging Your Marketing Success?

What?!? Sabotage your own success? Who would do that? Well,... Read More

Marketing From Both Sides Of The Ball

In the world of business, marketing is often conveyed as... Read More

Your Ideal Client

A lot of small businesses make the mistake of thinking... Read More

Marketing: Can I Trust You?

We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of... Read More

Clever Headlines Usually Flop! Are You Being Too Clever For Your Own Good?

Copywriters that try to be clever, humorous, abstract, or use... Read More