Can Your Marketing Materials Pass This Grade-School Challenge?

As the son of two teachers (my mom taught 7th and 8th grade English, while my dad was a sociology and anthropology professor at a local community college), I lived in an educational environment for the first 19 years of my life.

In fact, I was literally born in a school setting.

On May 19, 1975, my parents were at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan -- on a field trip with my mom’s 8th grade class -- when my twin brother and I entered the world two months early.

With all this seemingly insider knowledge about teaching, you’d think I might have had an advantage in school, especially when it came to taking tests.

But, like most people, tests made me nervous. I could study for days, but it still wouldn’t eliminate the sweaty palms and stomach aches I felt prior to putting my pencil to paper.

Today, however, tests take on a new meaning. Because of my curiosity, I am actually drawn to certain types of tests.

And here’s a fact: Many of your prospects also enjoy taking tests.

Presenting prospects with tests in the headlines of your marketing materials is a proven way to generate more responses.

By reading this far, you’ve confirmed how well a test works on you. Go ahead and re-read the subject line of this post to see what I mean.

In a previous article, I mentioned a legendary advertisement headline created in the early 1900s by Maxwell Sackheim that read, “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?”

This advertisement, which ran for 40 years without any changes, uses a headline that appeals to your curiosity. A perceived test that you can take yourself makes the advertisement difficult to ignore.

Here are a few similar headlines you can adapt to fit your own industry:

Can You Spot the Design Flaws in This Kitchen Remodel?

Does Your Mortgage Broker Ask You These Questions?

Do You Know These 5 Indicators That Signal the Start of a Recession?

When writing tests for use in your marketing materials, the key is to create “answers” that reinforce why it’s necessary to use your product or service.

For example, a publisher might use the headline in the third bullet above to demonstrate how you receive exclusive information as a subscriber to their magazine. Or, a mortgage professional might use the second headline to highlight characteristics that set his services apart from the competition.

Coming up with test ideas for marketing materials is often easier after reading samples. Here is a rare copy of Sackheim’s advertisement to help with your brainstorming. (If you can’t read the text, click on the image for a larger view.)

How 5 Words Can Instantly Create Curiosity in Your Headlines

I make no secret in my belief that curiosity is the strongest force in direct marketing. Since people have a natural desire to find out more than what they know, tapping into this trait is one way to increase the effectiveness of your marketing materials.

Whether you're writing a sales letter, website content or just an e-mail, your headline (or subject line in the case of an e-mail) is arguably the most important factor in determining your prospects' interest level. After all, as your prospects' interest grows, so does their desire to satisfy curiosity.

Copywriting legend Joe Sugarman is famous for saying, "The sole purpose of the first sentence in an advertisement is to get you to read the second sentence." Of course, your prospect needs a reason to get to the first sentence -- and that's why your headline is so important.

The success of supermarket tabloids relies on curiosity-driven headlines. After all, who wouldn't give at least a glimpse to the following statements?

Woman Delivers Own Baby While Skydiving!

Taco Vendor Turns Tiny Visitors' Abandoned Spacecraft into an ... ALIEN SOMBRERO!

Doctors Successfully Remove Banjo from Alabama Man's Knee!

Obviously, you don't want to make claims that are this outrageous, but that doesn't mean you can't brainstorm some surprising statements to trigger curiosity. Below are five words -- and five time-tested examples -- for helping create curiosity in your next headline.

1. How

I recently read an interview with John Caples, who mentioned using the headline How a Bald Barber Saved My Hair to promote a hair tonic. Although the market was saturated with products when he launched the advertisement, he generated a significant amount of sales. One reason why, he said, was because the word "how" tells prospects a story is involved. A compelling story is one way to keep your prospects reading and, ultimately, buying.

2. These

In the early 1900s, Maxwell Sackheim wrote the famous headline Do You Make These Mistakes in English? to promote an English mail-order course. The advertisement was so successful it ran for 40 years without any changes. Notice how the headline poses a question you can't answer with a simple "yes" or "no." Because of the word "these," you must continue reading to find out the mistakes.

3. Why

Read the headline Why Some People Almost Always Make Money in the Stock Market, and you feel like you're missing out on confidential information successful stock traders already know. What makes this statement credible are the words "some" and "almost." By demonstrating there's still risk and not everyone will make money, the headline portrays less hype and more believability.

4. Which

The headline Which of These $2.50 to $5 Best Sellers Do You Want -- for Only $1 Each? leaves you wondering what books are for sale and why they are priced at only $1. Unfortunately, I couldn't find who wrote this headline, but the pricing leads me to believe the offer is from many years ago. In addition to curiosity, this headline targets your prospects' desire for bargains.

5. What

When the copywriters at Bottom Line/Personal created a headline to help attract magazine subscribers, they used a subject that anyone who travels knows well: airline food. What Never ... Ever to Eat on an Airplane! will keep you curious for a long time -- unless you become a subscriber and find out the answer. Also, with this headline, you feel like you're getting access to rare information as a subscriber, which is perceived as being more valuable.

An additional benefit ...

When you write headlines similar to the samples above, prospects are more likely to view you as someone who provides information that solves their problems. As a result, they'll feel less pressure and your credibility increases -- two factors that go along way in generating more sales.