Please Don’t Swipe These Buzz Marketing Headlines
A friend of mine has a ‘little black book’ that he uses for phone numbers of girls he likes or has dated… I have a little red book that I use for killer buzz marketing headlines that are guaranteed to grab attention, and drive traffic to ANY blog post or article.
For years I have treasured this little book, and only three people have ever read it: me, myself and I.
That was until now, you see… I recently was at a seminar with Eban Pagen, and he talked about “moving the free line“. I won’t give you the complex explanation, quite simply, it means this: give people stuff for free.
So here goes, for the first time ever, I am going to share with you 7 buzz headlines/creative content blueprints taken randomly from my little red book. You can use these headline techniques for your content, and remember, they are guaranteed, proven winners.
1 . “The 7 Most Underrated xxxxx Of All Time”
Dean Says: This technique works because of a simple psychological trigger that makes us root for the underdog. Hollywood exploits this all the time, so let’s do the same. Simply look in your niche and find some products, services, items etc… that you think are not getting the credit they deserve.
2. “The Dirty Truth About xxxxx”
Dean Says: Ok, this is another simple and powerful technique. Your goal here is to uncover some dirt… has a programmer ripped you off recently? Do you know a secret? Have you experienced bad service? People are curious, and we all love gossip and dirt, so again, we are psychologically wired to be grabbed by this headline.
3. “If xxxx Was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest”
Dean Says: This technique/headline is more complex. It works really well with movies or TV shows, but essentially you can use it for any review based content. E.g “If The Steve Jobs Presentation was 10 Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest”.
4. “How To Make It As a xxxxx”
Dean Says: This is great for any piece of career based content. For example: “How To Make It As a SEO Guru”.
5. “The xxxx Cheat Sheet”
Dean Says: Another short, simple yet hugely powerful headline and content blueprint. This is great for a tutorial or how-to based piece of content. e.g “The WordPress Coding Cheat Sheet”. This works because people like to hear insider tips, and it also appeals to the rebel within us.
6. “This Is What Happens When You xxxxx”
Dean Says: This works well for case study based content, and this headline really grabs the attention and curiosity of the reader. e.g “This Is What Happens When You Put a Dog In a Blender” or “This Is What Happens When You Hire a Cheap Programmer”.
7. “What Your xxxx Says About You”
Dean Says: This works well for a product based piece of content. e.g “What Your Wallet Says About You”, or “What Your Signature Says About You”. You can have some fun with this concept, and it is a guaranteed attention grabbing headline.
There we go, I have shared 7 proven buzz headline blueprints with you, in fact, they re not just headlines, they are blueprints for creative content.
Which of these 7 could you use on your website today?
Enjoy.
PS: You can’t afford Dean, so don’t even bother reading this
17 comments so far… Leave a reply
Zak Show
May 20, 2008 3:09 pm
Good tips and great techniques, it really work, I already tested some headlines like those and that's rock !
Jonathan Volk
May 20, 2008 11:48 pm
Nice headlines! :) Another two that work well: "Warning: You're about to learn XXXX." "If you'd like to XXXX, this could be the most important thing you ever read."
dean hunt
May 21, 2008 11:27 am
Zak - many thanks. Jon - yes, those two work well ;-) Dean
Mike Michalowicz
May 21, 2008 3:30 pm
I hope you don't mind, I cut and pasted it in my queue of Blog Headings. Thanks!!!!
MC
May 23, 2008 5:15 pm
Alrighty There! This is fantastic. I think I'll use the "What Your XXXX Says About You" to raise awareness of dirty PC's. Great post!
Keshav
May 23, 2008 5:40 pm
"PS: You can’t afford Dean, so don’t even bother reading this" this was the best one!!
Shane
May 23, 2008 6:52 pm
ROFL! Dean amazing post! Very nice.
Blogger Lane
May 26, 2008 7:21 am
I think I just started my little red book. Thanks. Good stuff.
Michael @ Freshome
May 26, 2008 9:52 am
Great piece of inspiration. Until now top 10 lists were very popular, but I think that right now creative titles like these are the new trend.
M!hai @ Freshome
May 26, 2008 9:55 am
Great headlines. Until now the Top 10 lists were the big guys, but in the future titles like these will make the difference.
Children
June 5, 2008 8:40 am
Wow... you're really a good analyser!!
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June 10, 2008 7:05 am
[...] Retireat21.com - You may not be aware that I do some guest posts here. It is a wealth of info for young entrepreneurs, and is perhaps the site with the most entrepreneur interviews on the net… hey, gotta help out and give something back to the kids from time to time Here is my most recent blog post there: Please Don’t Swipe These Buzz Headlines [...]
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June 28, 2008 4:45 pm
[...] Hunt has several great headlines ideas that are sure to spark debate. Make sure you check the comments to find some reader [...]
the Blogoholic
December 6, 2008 6:07 pm
Bookmarked! An article like this is always helpful when I'm planning to whip a post but just can't seem to get the perfect title. I would say that the first headline works best on many social sites. Copyblogger also has a great series of posts related to buzz marketing headlines, you should check them out.
tom
January 19, 2009 8:56 pm
Wow, this is great. I have been looking for ways to create unique and eye catching post titles, this is perfect. Thank you.
Peter Carter
February 22, 2009 11:49 am
Like all the best ideas - simple but ingenious.
Online savings
March 16, 2009 12:23 pm
Cheers Dean! You've written great post on this blog and looking forward to reading more. It's been a while now..