- The Roadmap Newsletter
- Posts
- The Perfect Headline Framework
The Perfect Headline Framework
How to use pain points, numbers, copywriting tactics, and power words to trigger engagement and action from your audience.
Sebastian Morino
July 22, 2023
Knowing how to grab your audience's attention is more critical than ever.
Were are in a day and age…
Where attention span only narrows down to less than 7 seconds.
That is the most time on average we have at our disposal.
The result?
Huge amounts of competition in war trying to see - who is worthy of your time.
Most of us were born in the technology era.
We are military-trained to just ignore 90% of the content we see day to day.
Attention became the most scared resource.
And that is WHY, we are now in the attention economy.
Whoever gets the most attention wins…
And knowing how to tap into that attention, will open doors for opportunities that you couldn’t ever dreamed of.
In today’s newsletter, I will give you a copy-and-paste system to build your social media empire.
It’s broken down into 4 essentials:
In this post you will learn:
How to use trigger words to create big emotional reactions in your audience
How to create irresistible intrigue in your potential customers, making them beg to learn more.
PLUS= 3 bonus resources to start applying these concepts today.
Now that being said, let’s dive.
Warning: This article is packed with information, please proceed with caution.
Essential 1: Use of Trigger Words
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy”- David Ogilvy
People who write copy and craft headlines and ads for a living are called copywriters.
Copywriters have mastered the art of using words to influence human psychology.
Copywriters are clear, concise, crisp, and, all in all…
They have the most easy-to-understand writing possible.
I am not an expert copywriter by any means.
But I have studied the big ones across my 3 years in the industry.
Over the years I have learned that the headlines from the best copywriters in the world always possess 4 core essentials.
One of those essential characteristics is the use of trigger words.
Or as I like to call them: Power Words.
Power Words
Power Words are emotional trigger words that strike up very visceral emotions in your customers.
These are words like: ‘Exposed!’ ‘Revealed!’ ‘Confession!’ ‘Horror!’ ‘Secret!’ ‘Torture!’
These words create an emotion in your audience, and you can use them in your favor to get them to take certain actions:
Sign up for your newsletter
Click on a certain link
Be interested in a resource you're giving away
Etc.
Very probably you are asking…
How do I know which trigger words to use?
On what circumstances?
How many power words are out there?
Fortunately…
I took the time to actually go and find ALL the trigger words you can use in your content:
Bonus Content: 210 Power Words
Here is a list of ALL the trigger words you can use alongside your headlines to extremely increase the pulling power of your content.
Absolutely Lowest
Advice
Alarming
Alert Famous
Amazing
Anniversary
Announcing
Affordable
Approved
Astonishing
Attractive
Authentic
Bargain
Beautiful
Best
Better
Big Bonanza
Bonus
Bottom
Line
Breaking
Breakthrough
Challenge
Colorful
Colossal
Compare
Competitive
Complete
Compromise
Confidential
Crammed
Create
Daring
Delighted
Delivered
Destiny
Direct
Discount
Discover
Easily
Easy
Edge
Emerging
Endorsed
Energy
Enormous
Excellent
Exciting
Exclusive
Expert
Exploit
Extra
Extraordinary
Fascinating
First
Focus
Fortune
Free
Full
Fundamentals
Genuine
Gigantic
Greatest
Growth
Guarantee
Guaranteed
Health
Help
Helpful
High Tech
Highest
Hot
Hot Special
How To
Huge Gi
Hurry
Imagination
Immediately
Important
Improve
Improved
Improvement
Increase
Informative
Innovative
Insider
Inspires
Instructive
Interesting
Introducing
It's Here
Just Arrived
Know
Largest
Last Chance
Last Minute
Latest
Launching
Lavishly
Learn
Liberal
Lifetime
Limited
Love
Lowest
Luxury
Magic
Mainstream
Mammoth
Miracle
Money
Monumental
More
New
Noted
Now
Obsession
Odd
Oer
Opportunities
Outstanding
Perspective
Pioneering
Popular
Portfolio
Powerful
Practical
Professional
Prot
Portable
Promising
Promote
Protect
Proven
Quality
Quick
Quickly
Rare
Reduced
Refundable
Reliable
Remarkable
Results
Revealing
Revisited
Revolutionary
Reward
Safety
Sale
Sampler
Scarce
Secret
Security
Selected
Sensational
Shocking
Shrewd
Simple
Simplified
Simplistic
Sizable
Skill
Soar
Special
Special Oer
Spotlight
Startling
Strange
Strong
Sturdy
Successful
Suddenly
Superior
SureFire
Surging
Surprise
Survival
Take
Technology
Tell Us
Terrific
Tested
The Truth About
Timely
Today
Tremendous
Trust
Ultimate
Unconditional
Under Priced
Understand
Unique
Unlimited
Unlock
Unparalleled
Unsurpassed
Unusual
Urgent
Useful
Valuable
Value
Wanted
Wealth
Weird
Willpower
Win
Wonderful
Worst
You
Zinger
Essential 2: Use of Numbers
Numbers give your prospects a tangible object or logical idea to wrap their head around.
This also makes them lay out a structure of the content.
The reader instantly knows what they are about to consume.
Would you rather read:
5 things you must know before hiring a wedding planner
OR
Some helpful information about hiring a wedding planner
The answer should be obvious.
So, let’s try it for different businesses:
Expert Travel Tips: 7 Things You Must Know Before Booking Your Dream Vacation!"
"Confessions of Top Fashion Stylists: 12 Things They Won't Reveal About Looking Flawless!"
"Startup Success Exposed: 22 Business Blunders No Entrepreneur Wants You to Know!"
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, this is cut and paste:
“Shocking reporting reveals: 5 things you must know about X”
I’ve used these formulas hundreds of times and it WORKS.
Remember, your prospects are more distracted than ever before.
People browsing the web are basically sleepwalkers and you must jolt them awake like an electric shock.
Remember, they’re only one click away from someone else website.
In the first few seconds, you must grab them by the throat and drag them into your world.
Use numbers to move the balance in your favor.
Essential 3: Create Irresistible Intrigue
You need to genuinely pique your reader's interest.
One powerful way to create an irresistible pull is by using certain words and phrases that evoke curiosity.
This is similar to the use of trigger words but with a purpose in mind.
Words like 'Must,' 'Alarming,' 'Shocking,' 'Won't Tell You,' 'Exposed!,' 'Revealed,' 'Confession!,' 'Horror,' and 'Secret'
Have a way of captivating your audience's attention, making them eager to know more.
Additionally, consider adding a twist or qualifier to your hook.
For instance, you could say something like:
'How to start and scale an online business, even if you don't know what to sell.'
This not only sparks interest but also…
Speaks directly to those who may be uncertain of their skills.
By doing so, you engage your audience, making them want to find out how it's even possible.
Essential 4: What's in it for them?
Your content should ultimately be about them and their desired outcome.
Your prospect needs (and wants) an immediate benefit
And the key to this is to write about them – not you.
Show them how they’ll learn simple tips that will help solve their problem.
Show them what their desired outcome looks like, and then educate them on how to get there.
This can be done with the:
Milestone Journey Framework: 6-step lead magnet strategy to make your customers pay for your most expensive products.
This framework will be covered after 2 newsletters in the future.
If you want to get your hands on it now…
Just give me a follow on Twitter.
Also, make sure to send me a DM to know you are coming from the newsletter.
Bonus Content: Live Exercise
Now that you know the core essentials to write an attention-grabbing headline.
Now let's see how this teaching applies in the real world:
To start you must add as many specific and vivid details as possible.
So let's make a quick headline for this exercise:
7 Things You Must Know Before Hiring a Marketer
That’s already better than most.
Most people would generally go with something very vague like:
7 Things to Know About Marketers’
How can we juice this up and make it more irresistible?
Well, we already have numbers in there. (Essential 2)
What else do we miss?
Right, let's add in some power words. (Essential 1)
(writing headline…)
7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Marketer
7 Shocking Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Marketer
7 Horrors You Must Know Before Hiring A Marketer
That’s a bit better, but what else can we do to really get these to the next level?
Well, one more thing…
We can make them as specific and bursting with intrigue as possible. (Essential 3)
(writing headlines…)
7 Horrors You Must Know Before Hiring a Marketer (Not knowing these could cost you $10,000s!)
7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Marketer (#3 Will Blow Your Mind!)
That last one is strong.
The intrigue has been dialed up.
Let’s go with that.
These are essential to hook people's attention
They can be used in infinite ways.
Experiment.
Get creative.
Don’t just copy.
Innovate.
Bonus Content: Timeless Formulas
Here are some of the most timeless formulas that you can use for your content:
Timeless Formula #1
X ways to achieve [Desirable Thing] without doing [Undesirable Thing]
Example:
6 Ways to Get Washboard Abs Without Doing a Single Sit-up
Timeless Formula #2
[Do Difficult Thing] in [Specific Period of Time] Even if [Shortcomings]
Example:
Pay Off Your Mortgage in 7 Years Even if You Have a Modest Income
Timeless Formula #3
Achieve [Desirable Thing] like [An Expert] Even Without [Something Expected]
Example:
Paint Masterpieces Like Picasso Without Ever Having a Single Lesson!
Timeless Formula #4
How to Eliminate [Biggest Problem] without doing [The Thing They Hate] Within [Specific Timeframe]
Example:
How to Eliminate Your Muffin Top Without Giving Up the Foods You Love – Within 21 Days or Less!
Ultimate Action List
Now that you know exactly the essential components that you need to have to grab people’s attention.
Here is a quick action list you can use every time you are building headlines:
Speak to your prospect’s needs in a clear and concise way.
Make sure to add numbers to make it easier for your audience.
Use the Power Words List to create specific emotions in your headlines.
Always think about how your reader is going to benefit from your content and express it clearly.
Use the timeless proven formulas to create quick high-pulling power headlines.
There you have it, the Perfect Headline Framework!
I hope you found this helpful.
Take some time this Monday to begin implementing what I've shared here today, and then hit me up on Linkedin in a few weeks with an update.
Let’s build together!
Sebastian Morino
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
1: Build your clarity, systems, and growth with 1:1 consultations here.
2: Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Threads for more operating systems, marketing tips, sales funnels, and automation systems.
If you find this helpful and think It can help someone else…
Share this post using the Click to Share button below:
Or copy and paste this link to others:
See you again next week!
Reply