How many website headlines or ppc ads you come across everyday full of words like get free, act now, offer valid only for today, how I made $1000 in 1 hour, etc.? I am sure you must have seen hundreds of these.
What reason do you think webmasters/content writers use these words in copy of their headline or ads? In fact these words are frequently used in offline advertising materials as well. And they seem to work quite well. Why?
Why FREE works?
Humans by nature are greedy and inquisitive. When we see an ad saying they are offering something for free, immediately it gets our attention and we read the rest of the ad.
If the offer is good and free as well we click on the ad or take some action beneficial to the advertiser. When we know we are not paying a cent to get the offer, we naturally tend to take some action.
Infact free works so well that most pay per click search engines do not allow advertisers to use this word unless they think the ad is worth it. If the editors feel the word free is used just to get the attention of the surfer, they would disapprove the ad. Many times the software itself will reject the ad before it even goes to the editors.
Note that using the word free in a PPC ad might work against you. You might get a lot of visitors but they may not show any interest in the offer at all after reading the terms. We all know that nothing comes for free in this world. Any advertiser offering something for free will definitely have a condition in place, like signing up for their newsletter etc. This may drive off many visitors.
The word free is good – it works. But use it with caution.
Why NOW works?
Now word instills a sense of emergency in our minds. When you see a phrase like “act now” you actually tell to yourself – if I don’t act now possibly I will miss the offer.
So you act, click on the ad or read the rest of the copy etc.
Why Today works?
Today is the same as NOW except it gives you some time to think. When you read the ad you say – hey I have some time to decide. But if you are really inclined to know more you click.
Or you visit the site, read the offer and come back before the end of the day to take action.
Please understand that now works better than today, but today brings more qualified buyers than now.
Why How works?
How is the most frequent word used in the headlines of websites. This word has passed many tests. Most internet marketers agree that using the word how in a headline improves the effectiveness of the headline. People tend to read at least the first paragraph following the headline with the word how.
As I said earlier humans are inquisitive in nature. When we read the word how, we feel there is something to know (for free) and therefore read the rest of the copy.
Let me give an example:
Read this:
Headline - How to Get to Top Search Engine Rankings in One Month
Sub Headline – Read this report to know all the secrets to get to the top ranking in the search engines in a month
Copy – Won’t you read this copy? You will read this because you feel you may get some secrets for free to get to top of the search results and that in turn may help you to get more out of your online business.
NOTE: There are many other words that work well too with ads/headline/copy. Words like Get, Fast, Improve, Increase, Decrease, Create, Buy, Limited etc work well too. In fact a verb (a word that denotes an action) works well in internet marketing.
I hope you got an idea of why you read so many headlines/ads with these words.
Disclaimer: These words are time tested and effective. But there is no guarantee that they may work for your headline/ad/copy. Please test your ad/copy before being sure they are working for your site too.
It will be great to hear from you. Please leave a comment.
