Use Magazines as a Marketing Weapon

When you’re putting together a promotion you need a Headline.

It’s vital. Ads, sales letters, special reports, white papers, TV and radio spots, even your email subject lines. They all must use a headline. There are exceptions, but lets focus on the obvious here.

Research suggests that over 80% of people will read your headline, first. If you study any copywriting course or program the recurring theme is “headlines are the ads for your ad…”.

Which means, if your headline sucks. You can bet your ad will bomb.

So how do you come up with a strong headline?

1. If your profession is copywriting you can take courses. I recently got an invitation (advertisement) to attend a 3-day Headline and Lead seminar, $1,300.
2. You can buy home study copywriting courses, at least $400.
3. Or you could buy a simple book, starting at $15.
4. Then you have to put in the time to read and study and review.
5. Then put in even more time to practice and perfect and refine.

If you’re not a copywriting professional, all the above is a huge pain in the romp.

Here’s a trick that can point you in the right direction if you’re pinched for time

Get a notebook and pen. Go to the bookstore. And read all the magazine come-ons.

This is a practical exercise because they must sell a magazine with few words and competition is fierce.

There’s at least 3 dozen health and fitness magazines alone. Easily 2 dozen travel related pubs. And rows of business, glamor, auto, and home and garden magazines. We’re not even talking about books or newspapers here!

One health magazine somehow has a “get fit abs and lose the gut” article EVERY month! If your beer belly and muffin top isn’t a hot button I don’t know what is.

So, with your paper and pen start writing all the come-ons. Then at your office tweak them to your needs. For example:

• 5 Minutes to Rock Hard Abs
• X Minutes to Greener Lawn/Purer Water/Deeper Sleep

• 23 New BBQ Recipes for Labor Day
• XX New Security Features for Your Enterprise Database

• How to Make Your Man Do What You Want
• How to Train Your Dog To Do What You Want DVD

• Discover the Real Shanghai
• Discover More Horsepower with XYZ Synthetic Motor Oil

• What You Need to Know Before Buying an Electric Vehicle
• What You Need to Know Before Buying a Foreclosed Home: a message from your local Realtor

You literally have millions of dollars of market research at your finger tips (that’s what these magazines spend to sell their wares). Keep it quick and let me know how it goes.

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