4 Eyeball SUCKing Headline Secrets
This is Part 2 in a series of posts on practical ways to use the findings of the 2007 Poynter Eye Tracking Study in your online and offline marketing.
You can read Part 1 of this series and watch the free 6 minute video here...
Poynter Eye Track And Copywriting
The 2007 Poynter Eye Tracking study included testing of 46 people reading online news sites.
The first finding of this Eye tracking study was that people scanning a web page look at the upper left corner first but there is an exception to this...
If the headlines at the top of the page are centered they'll look at headlines first.
The first 1-2 inches of the headline get special attention.
It's also interesting to note that if there are images AND headlines on the first page readers looked at the headlines FIRST and if the headline didn't engage them in just one second they would move on.
What does that mean to you as an online marketer...?
In 20 point Tahoma font (the most commonly used font and size for headlines in an online sales letter) 1-2 inches is just 14-16 characters...
2 or 3 words...or 4 very short words.
So whether your prospect scans your headline could come down to the first 3 words of that headline stopping him dead in his tracks.
A few inconclusive tips for achieving this from the study...
In one test the word "FCUK" in capital letters drew special attention even though it was way down the page.
There could be 2 reasons for this word drawing attention.
First the obvious one that the readers thought the word was something else far more offensive at first glance.
The second reason suggested was that the word was written in full capitals surrounded by words that aren't all capitals...hence it stands out.
So that gives us a couple of tips we can test...
1. Use a word that will shock or create some kind of "what the hell!" reaction with your prospects in the first 3 words of your headline.
2. Put that word in full capitals or a different color or make it stand out from the surrounding words in some other way.
3. Remember that the FIRST 2 or 3 words in your headline are absolutely vital at getting attention...you have less than a second or you're likely to lose your prospect.
And to that we add another tip from the study...
4. Large headlines will attract more readership than small headlines.
Hope you find these tips helpful.
In the next post we'll look at how you might improve the other elements on your web page.
Also read...
Headline Secrets
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
More FREE High Value Online Copywriting Secrets Than Any Other Site On Earth. Andrew Cavanagh's Online Copywriting Blog
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You can read Part 1 of this series and watch the free 6 minute video here...
Poynter Eye Track And Copywriting
The 2007 Poynter Eye Tracking study included testing of 46 people reading online news sites.
The first finding of this Eye tracking study was that people scanning a web page look at the upper left corner first but there is an exception to this...
If the headlines at the top of the page are centered they'll look at headlines first.
The first 1-2 inches of the headline get special attention.
It's also interesting to note that if there are images AND headlines on the first page readers looked at the headlines FIRST and if the headline didn't engage them in just one second they would move on.
What does that mean to you as an online marketer...?
In 20 point Tahoma font (the most commonly used font and size for headlines in an online sales letter) 1-2 inches is just 14-16 characters...
2 or 3 words...or 4 very short words.
So whether your prospect scans your headline could come down to the first 3 words of that headline stopping him dead in his tracks.
A few inconclusive tips for achieving this from the study...
In one test the word "FCUK" in capital letters drew special attention even though it was way down the page.
There could be 2 reasons for this word drawing attention.
First the obvious one that the readers thought the word was something else far more offensive at first glance.
The second reason suggested was that the word was written in full capitals surrounded by words that aren't all capitals...hence it stands out.
So that gives us a couple of tips we can test...
1. Use a word that will shock or create some kind of "what the hell!" reaction with your prospects in the first 3 words of your headline.
2. Put that word in full capitals or a different color or make it stand out from the surrounding words in some other way.
3. Remember that the FIRST 2 or 3 words in your headline are absolutely vital at getting attention...you have less than a second or you're likely to lose your prospect.
And to that we add another tip from the study...
4. Large headlines will attract more readership than small headlines.
Hope you find these tips helpful.
In the next post we'll look at how you might improve the other elements on your web page.
Also read...
Headline Secrets
Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh
More FREE High Value Online Copywriting Secrets Than Any Other Site On Earth. Andrew Cavanagh's Online Copywriting Blog
Products From Andrew Cavanagh:
Offers Unleashed: How Many Of These 17
Profit Multiplying Offers Is Your Website Missing?
Make $1,500 Today: This 48 Page Report Reveals
The Simple Step By Step System For Selling Your Online
Marketing Skills To Businesses Right In Your City
$500 In 24 Hours Without A Website: From Offline Store Front
To Online Gold. Charge Local Businesses To Explode Their Sales From Walk Past Traffic And Turn That Traffic Into Long Term Online Income (Perfect For Copywriters)
Online Gold For The Offline Business: The Definitive
eBook On How To Use Online Marketing To Power Up
The Profits In Any Brick And Mortar Business
Make My Website Sell: FREE 11 Minute Video
Insider Secrets Of Web Design That Sells
$7 Secrets: How I Made Over $3,000 In Just 7 Days
By Selling A 30 Page Report For $7
Make Money Copywriting: 34 Insider Secrets To Making Money
As A Copywriter And How To Land Your First Copywriting Client