Last month we setup an email campaign for delivering HTML newsletters to the membership database of the New Zealand Snowsports Instructors Alliance (NZSIA). Our chosen platform was Campaign Monitor. And we were impressed. The functionality was extensive, the approval process for campaigns was thorough and the reporting stats are substantial. 100% recommended!

For NZSIA the newsletter performed well. 50% of recipients opened the newsletter (which is very high for email campaigns), 25% clicked a link and only 0.35% unsubscribed. Pretty good results I’d say. The fact that the recipients of the campaign were a highly targeted market certainly helped. However the newsletter’s clean and simple design plus, getting back on topic now, the well-thought-out readable content would have made the biggest impact – particularly with the clicked link and low unsubscribe rates.

Yep, content is still king, that’s for sure. However, without the vessel to communicate such content the message would have never reached the audience. In this case the vessel was an HTML email campaign in the form of a newsletter. In another cases it might be a Twitter stream or a Vimeo channel, but the vessel must be matched with the message and suited to those you’re trying to reach.

This led to a good foraging through many blogs for inspiration. What I found was an abundance of information and advice about how to create good headlines. There really is endless amounts of articles that have been written on this subject, so I thought I’d boil a few down for our audience here at Tactical Thinking…

At Copyblogger: How to Write Headlines That Work

In this post Brian Clark, Author of Copyblogger, outlines eight different types of headlines all suited to different situations.

He begins with direct and indirect headlines, i.e. one that states the selling proposition directly or one that uses curiosity to raise a question in the reader’s mind. Here’s a relevant example for our audience:

Direct – “50% off on all 2009 outerwear!”
Indirect – “Why pay full-price for your new jacket?”

He goes on to describe News headlines, How-to headlines, Question and Command headlines, Reason Why headlines and finally Testimonial headlines. Very useful stuff as it opens the doors to many more headline-writing options.

At Wordbiz: 5 Easy Steps to Write More Effective Headlines

This post by Debbie Weil gives five solid steps to writing, as she puts it, “more effective headlines”. The first three steps in her process are excellent and very relevant for our audience here. They are as follows:

1. Appeal to your target audience’s emotions – think easy, quick and simple.
2. Identify their trigger words – use words like easily, reduce, create, deliver, protect.
3. Consider using a software writing tool – perfect for those lacking in time, writing skills or just a little untimely lack of creativity.

At NEWSTECHZILLA: Headlines and Titles – Writing for Readers AND Search Engines

Lastly, I picked out this post by Scott Adcox, as a way to explain the relevance of SEO in crafting better headlines.

Crafting better headlines isn’t just about using appropriate words. Of course, the words have to be relevant to the audience and topic of your article/post. However, your headline must also utilise keywords where possible, to help improve your site’s search engine optimisation.

In Scott’s post he discusses using appropriate URL’s for your articles. He also covers Title Tags – particularly relevant for search engines.

In Summary

When I’m writing any article or post, I’ll always make sure I have a title to begin with, no matter how poor it is. Whilst writing, I’ll revisit this title many many times, helping it evolve with the context of my piece. Unfortunately, this isn’t always enough.

So next time you’re struggling to write a suitable headline or title on the web, ask yourself these three questions:

1. What type of headline do you want to use?
2. Who are your audience?
3. How can you optimise it for search engines?

…And refer to posts above to help you find some answers.

I’ve just started reading the copywriting guide ‘Words That Work’ by the political consultant and speechwriter, Dr. Frank Luntz. As you’d expect from a book on this topic, the main theme is masterfully condensed into the strapline “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear”.

I was barely three pages in when I read a passage that really caught my attention:

“The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives you is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself.”

Even though the words above are about speechwriting the advice is just as valid for crafting web content. Further than that, it applies well to other aspects of what we do as web designers and publishers.

Know your users and give them what they want

As the man says, there’s no substitute for knowing and understanding your audience. Research them, their needs and their habits. And when you’re done, research some more. This will help you ‘stuff yourself right into their shoes’.

If your offerings are relevant, your web content is clear and says what customers want to hear, you’ve a good chance that they’ll find you. Once they get there, if your site is intuitive and creates a satisfying experience – you’ll keep customers happy and keep them coming back.

In the age of the Experience Economy user research is vital to making that happen.

Your brand is what your customers think of you

In the last sentence quoted above Luntz claims the way others perceive you is more real than how you perceive yourself. The explosion of social media, online product reviews and digital word of mouth have made this ring true in the world of branding.

Companies are realising that they can’t fully control their brands online – but they can participate in the conversations that shape them.

I hope this riff on user-experience and branding has given you a few ideas, but I wouldn’t like to throw up this call-to-arms without suggesting how to act on it. Well, where to start?

Social media to the rescue

Your customers are out there on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed etc. and they are talking to each other. Whether or not they are talking about you, they are certainly talking about offerings just like yours.

The opportunity is there to spectate, to learn about your customers and what they think is important. If you’re not already then start monitoring social media discussions for:

• What they are saying about you
• What they are saying about your competitors
• What they are saying about the products and services they buy

There is also great potential to participate in these discussions – talking with your customers rather than talking at them:

• Getting meaningful customer feedback
• Discovering new product ideas or developments
• Managing your reputation and encouraging customers to engage with your brand

That’s barely brushing the surface, but hopefully enough to whet your appetite. We’ll be covering these topics in more detail in the coming months. So look out for more on social media here in the future.

Brian Clark at Copyblogger explains How To Use The ‘Rule Of Three’ To Create Engaging Content. In this rather compelling post Brian describes why the human brain is drawn towards three-part structures.

It’s no accident that the number three is pervasive throughout some of our greatest stories, fairy tales and myths.

It’s also no coincidence that some of the most famous quotes from throughout history are structured in three parts, nor is it surprising that the Rule of Three also works wonders in the world of comedy.

It all comes down to the way we humans process information. We have become proficient at pattern recognition by necessity, and three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. This combination of pattern and brevity results in memorable content, and that’s why the Rule of Three will make you a more engaging writer.

So next time you’re writing new content for your web site, updating the company’s brochure or just preparing a proposal for the boss, think about where you can apply the ‘Rule of Three’.