Writing a great headliner is difficult, especially for your own startup. Everyone wants to be the next Apple or Nike and create inspiring marketing. However, as a startup you shouldn’t focus on creating inspiring headliners. Instead focus on simple and functional marketing. Startups can’t play by the same rules as established brands when it comes to marketing, it just won’t work. Before you sit down to write your next big marketing headliner, know these tips to be sure you get a high conversion rate every time.
Let’s start of by looking at the 4 best performing headliners:
- “You could be due a mileage refund. Find out if you can claim for the last four years”-Mina
- “Photo Books in 5 minutes”-Popsa
- “Cook Restaurant Quality Meals at Home”-Simply Cook
- “Increase App Store Conversions and Pay less for Every Install”-Storemaven
Straight away, we notice that these headliners don’t sound like the conventional marketing we see every day. They aren’t inspiring or clever. However that’s the key, it doesn’t need to sound like marketing at all. Boring and functional is what you’re aiming for. I know it’s hard since as a founder we all want to create the next “Just do it” however as a startup you can’t compare yourself to these big brands.
If we examine the famous headliner “Just Do It” almost everyone in this world would know it’s Nike’s brand. This headliner has had so much success because Nike has spent over 40 years building their brand. Everyone already knows what they do so they have earned the right to create inspiring marketing. But as a startup, nobody knows who you are so you can’t do that just yet.
Its all about what your customer can do
Before you can inspire, you must first inform people about what you do, but more importantly, your marketing must convey what THEY can do. But what is the difference? A successful marketing message doesn’t talk about the product but talks about what they can help people achieve. With this in mind, here’s a tip on how to achieve this. Write a headliner and then insert the words “Now you can” at the beginning of it. Ask yourself, how does it sound? Does it flow well or is it awkward? For example, let’s look at the previous headliner “Cook Restaurant Quality Meals at Home” . If we insert “Now you can” we get “Now you can, cook restaurant quality meals at home”. This is an example of a good headliner because it focuses more on the customer rather than the product. It clearly shows what the company can offer to its customers.
Let’s compare this to a bad example, “The all-in-one flexible HR software”, if we add the words “Now you can” we get “Now you can, the all-in-one flexible HR software”. This phrase doesn’t flow nicely and it shows that its more focused on the product instead of what the customer can do, which is what you don’t want.
When writing a good headliner, you need to think of what is your customers “now you can?”. What are the customers struggling/hoping they can do? That will make a great headliner. As a startup, these types of headliners will see 5 to 10 times more conversion. Be sure to know who your customers are and what they want before you attempt marketing to them, this way you can find the perfect “Now you can” promise.
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