Business121 Small Business Newsletter #29

In this week's Business121:

1. How to write customer-grabbing headlines
2. Top 10 Search Results rankings more important than ever for businesses
3. Search Engine Marketing - Important Steps to Take Before You Start
4. Permission-Based Email Marketing Fundamentals
5. So, where is all the spam coming from?
6. 10 Great Resources to Help you Write a Winning Business Plan
7. Sales for Non-Salespeople - June 3rd Workshop
8. Small Businesses see a strong start to 2006
9. New rules could increase "sickies" taken by staff
10. everywoman invites entries for 2006 awards

* Or read this issue online: http://snipurl.com/_121_issues *

How to write customer-grabbing headlines
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Every advert, brochure, sales letter, email or press release you produce MUST have a good headline to succeed!

In fact, your degree of success will be in direct proportion to the ability of your headline to stop and grab your audience.

A good headline can double your response - a great one can increase your returns by up to 17 times!

So if it's possible to multiply the returns from your adverts or sales letters by merely improving a few headlines, it's worth spending a little time on learning how to write great headlines.

But why can a headline have such a dramatic effect on the response to an advert, press release or sales letter?

I'll let some of the greatest names in the history of advertising to tell you...

David Ogilvy, founder of the world-renowned advertising agency and one of the true advertising geniuses, said about the power of headlines:

"On the average, 5 times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money."

And Ted Nicholas, the direct marketing legend, reveals just how big a difference a great headline can make:

"Based on hundreds of tests conducted, a good headline can be as much as 17 times more effective than a so-so headline."

With so much at stake here's a quick crash course to help you write stronger, attention-grabbing headlines and multiply your responses;

USE THE POWER OF NEW
---------------------------
To give your headline an instant boost, start with the word 'new'

e.g. 'New The killer headline writing system'

Alternatives to 'New' are, 'Announcing', 'Introducing'

e.g. 'Announcing The Very Latest Advances in Writing Profit-Making Adverts'

HOW TO...
-----------
Another simple but effective trick is to open your headline with the words 'How to'

e.g. 'How to write adverts that bring you customers'

SOLVE A PROBLEM
-------------------
Try being a little more adventurous and pitch your product or service as a solution to a problem or that it satisfies an unfulfilled need.

e.g. 'The sales training workshop that erases the fear of cold-calling'
or
'Finally, a sales training workshop designed for small business owners'

START WITH ACTION
----------------------
You want your target audience to act, so start your headline with an express command to action:

e.g. 'Turn this page and find out how you can write better headlines'
or
'Click here to discover the way to quickly boost your ad responses'

BE SPECIFIC
-----------
Your headline doesn't need to appeal to everybody. You'll often get a better response if you target your headline specifically at a well-defined group of customers.

e.g. 'Heartburn - suffer no more with this 100% natural remedy'

USE A TESTIMONIAL
----------------
It's rarely used, but a headline that is a customer testimonial can work outstandingly well. By using a testimonial your headline gains instant credibility. Instead of it merely being a 'claim' that needs supporting and convincing it becomes a 'fact' and therefore instantly believable.

e.g. 'Within 7 days of using your formula my painful heartburn had disappeared'

If you follow these tips you should be able to write better headlines for your sales letters, brochures, press releases, adverts or emails. Strong headlines alone, don't guarantee success but without a good headline your efforts are almost sure to fail.

If you'd like to learn more about writing headlines and producing better advertising materials in general, I recommend you buy John Caples' Tested Advertising Methods. There are 4 chapters dedicated to headlines alone - such is the importance Caples' gives to headlines.

http://snipurl.com/Tested_Ad_Methods

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Top 10 Search Results rankings more important than ever for businesses
------------------------------------
New research into search engine users' online behaviour shows that, more than ever, businesses need to have their key search terms appearing on the first page of search results to yield significant web traffic;
http://snipurl.com/Search_results_vital

Search Engine Marketing - Important Steps to Take Before You Start
------------------------------------
One of the most important aspects of a search engine optimisation campaign is also one of the most overlooked - preparation! There are some important steps to take in advance of launching your campaign that will make sure it has a better chance at succeeding;
http://snipurl.com/_SEO_campaign_tips

Permission-Based Email Marketing Fundamentals
------------------------------------
How to send the right email information to the right customers on your email marketing database;
http://snipurl.com/email_marketing_tips

So, where is all the spam coming from?
------------------------------------
An interesting study of the key spam senders worldwide shows that Europe will soon overtake the U.S as the leading spam-sending region.
http://snipurl.com/_sources_of_spam

Top 10 Resources to Help you Write a Winning Business Plan
------------------------------------
Writing a compelling business plan is easier said than done, particularly when time can be so precious. This article outlines the key resources available to UK entrepreneurs when preparing a business plan. They'll help you with the writing of the plan and to understand the implications of certain business decisions you make in the process, such as whether to form a limited company, what sources of funding to use etc
http://snipurl.com/Top10_plan_resources

Sales for Non-Salespeople - June 3rd Workshop
------------------------------------
Spaces for our sales training workshop, Sales for Non-Salespeople, are going quickly. If your small business could do with making more sales, you shouldn't miss it. Find out how this intensive one-day workshop can help you to transform your sales success;
http://snipurl.com/_Sales_Training_Day

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===================
SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
===================

Small Businesses see a strong start to 2006
------------------------------------
SME's enjoyed a strong start to 2006 as domestic demand picked up, confidence improved and the end of the financial year encouraged customers to make purchasing decisions, according to the PKF SME Index;
http://snipurl.com/Strong_2006_for_SMEs

New rules could increase "sickies" taken by staff
------------------------------------
Government proposals to scrap the 'three waiting days' rule before employees are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay could increase the number of sick days taken by people who are not genuinely unwell
http://snipurl.com/Sick_pay_rule_change

everywoman invites entries for 2006 awards
------------------------------------
everywoman, a resource for women in business, has just announced that it is now accepting nominations for its 2006 Awards.
http://snipurl.com/_everywoman_awards

** For the latest Small Business News, visit http://snipurl.com/Bytestart_News **

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(c) Business121.co.uk 2006