I get a lot of questions about this one. It’s something I’ve addressed many times, but admittedly, it’s confusing to say the least. So here goes…
You know, one of the greatest headlines I’ve ever seen was in the form of a question. The question read, “Is This Food Dangerous To Your Health?”
Why is this headline so incredible?
Let’s take a look: for starters, it provokes an incredible amount of curiosity for almost anyone, but most definitely for people concerned about health and wellness — which is the target market for this ad.
Second, EVERYONE who is interested in this product will have to answer “Yes” to the question, and this is one of the hard and fast rules about using questions in your headline, as a matter of fact.
If you can’t answer “yes” to the question, and you’re in the target marketplace, then it’s NOT a good headline.
So for example, the question “Do you like oranges?” would NOT be a good headline here, because although SOME of the folks who are in this target market (health and wellness) will surely say “yes,” MANY of them will say “no.”
So if you want to use a question, your question really needs to meet two standards: One, the answer to the question has to be answered “Yes” by everyone in your marketplace. Two, you want your question to provoke and arouse as MUCH intense curiosity as possible within your marketplace itself.
And three, you also want your question to dis-qualify as many people as possible. Meaning this: ALL the folks who answer the question with a “No” — should NOT be part of your marketplace. This is basically the inverse to the first rule, but it’s also a standalone rule in and of itself.
Got it?
O.K., now listen — the person who wrote the “Is This Food Dangerous To Your Health?” headline, is my good friend Christian Godefroy. Christian has been a successful publisher, copywriter, and self-help author in Europe, for over 35 years now, and he’s sold well in excess of over $300 Million dollars of goods and services, AND… Christian is actually this month’s Audio Success CD of the month interview! I interviewed Christian while sitting in his living room in his beautiful Oceanside home in Portugal, and the things he revealed were outstanding.
Here’s what Erik Johnson from Newark, California had to say: “By the way, I got the August newsletter yesterday. The Christian Godefroy interview is pure gold.”
Christian is not only a dear friend of mine, but he’s also a mentor and someone I look up to and respect — and those folks have been few and far between in my life, so if you have even an INKLING of a desire to improve your marketing AND your life, then JUMP on this last chance to listen to Christian Godefroy, by taking a FREE test-drive of my offline Seductive Selling Newsletter — and get a TON of bonus gifts to boot (including TWO FREE marketing critiques!), right here: http://www.kingofcopy.com/ssnl
(Take a look at those nice new graphics on top of the page too!)
Now go sell something, Craig
P.S. One of my clients recently struck “paydirt” with a mailing that pulled in over $218 for every one dollar he spent. Read about his story, right here, at
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