How important are good headlines? They can make or break your message!

According to all-time great advertising master David Ogilvy, "Headlines are 90% of your ad's effectiveness. I’ve had one ad out-produce another ad by 22 times. The only difference was the headline.

So, what makes a good headline? The trick is to NOT be self-serving, but to provide your reader with a clear benefit...from their perspective. Try to step outside your own experience and into your prospects' shoes. For example, what would be important to you if YOU were buying or selling a home?

Also, the number of words is not always so important. As long as your message is meaningful to your reader, it doesn’t matter if it's interesting and speaks to them.

So whenever you're creating a flier, sales letter or anything designed to be in a prospect's hands...focus on the headline. As Ogilvy also said, "If it doesn't sell, it's not creative."

Top tips: Headlines should be written with the self-interest of your reader in mind; they should appear to be newsworthy, as people love news; make headlines seem to offer a quick and easy solution to a problem; avoid headlines that only provoke curiosity...combine that with all of the above, and you’re virtually guaranteed a winner!