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Better Business Communication Results
Fresh News:
Headlines - how important are they for your business communication?
Vital!
Do you think that headlines are only used by advertisers trying to sell something?
Well, forget the myth that people are only interested in information and if you have great information then they will read you. They won't if you don't give them a reason to. Which is where headlines come in...
You have seven seconds ('seven' is a magic number for the brain) to grab their attention, otherwise they move on. If you don't give them a compelling reason to pay attention to your communication then they won't. They'll move on and you would have missed a great opportunity.
Even if you think you are not selling them anything, in reality you are. You are selling them on you and your company; your abilities, your experience, your knowledge, your potential to help them solve their problems.
Make sure that you always offer your audience (be that audience there 'in person', or being communicated to via the written word) a compelling reason to pay attention. Otherwise they won't. It doesn't have to be a 'highly charged' sales message. But it does have to be enticing enough to get them to want to pay more attention.
Don't use trickery, such as a headline about 'sex' that has absolutely nothing to do with your content. This will only annoy your guests (quite rightly so) and you'll never see them again.
Give them a reason to read and you'll find that the majority will. Those that don't are probably not interested in the subject anyway and you'd be unlikely to be doing business with them at the moment.
40 great headlines
Here's a collection of great published headlines that have garnered for their authors considerable success.
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How would you spend an extra $200,000 - starting tomorrow?
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A good reason not to settle for a 10% return.
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Maintenance problems giving you a headache? (Aspirin attached)
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Toxic People: 10 ways to handle people who make your life miserable.
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Supposed this happened to your car.
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Take one day to learn how to read men's minds.
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How to literally write any size pay cheque you like, as often as you like.
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How to print all the money you want - legally!
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Advise and profit - how to create exceptional income as a consultant.
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I know 97 specific 'tricks' to creating ads that reach out and suck money right out of peoples' wallets like an out-of-control vacuum cleaner 'monster' - how many of my tricks would you like to know?
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What to write on a simple postcard mailing that will make people flood into your business.
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Discover how to turn what you already known about your work, hobby or personal interests into a million dollar information products empire!
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How to rub your stomach away.
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Why do Chinese women have such an impossibly low rate of breast cancer?
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The 7 critical things you must do to guarantee that your athletes win under pressure
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Yes, YOU can learn to paint works of art that you can be proud of and that others will admire.
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How a $7 investment can make you a celebrity and boost your business by 367% or more!
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How to triple your income by doubling your energy.
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What's the key secret to increasing your income by 917%? If you don't know, read on. You'll find out what it really takes to pull more sales and profits from every ad or sales letter you ever use.
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Solve all your money problems forever (with absolutely no work whatsoever).
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How easy 'instant mail order' lets you quickly escape the payday-to-payday rat race.
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Learn to make money like a millionaire
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How to make big money writing and selling booklets in the next 30 days.
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50 idiot-proof ways to make money on the internet.
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Think and grow rich this year and for the rest of your life!
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Ex Marketing Director of international publishing firm REVEALS priceless 'trade secrets' that have been kept under wraps for years!
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A surprising new discovery for those who've always suspected they had the 'right stuff' to succeed in their own business... but who haven't yet quite got going.
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Do fears hold you back?
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How to accomplish anything you want in life.
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How to be your 'possible self'
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To become financially independent, it helps to BE YOUR OWN BOSS.
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Is your future worth ten dollars?
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Attention entrepreneurs: what would it take to make 1998 your best year ever? Would an extra $100,000 help?
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Financial strategies for successful retirement.
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Here, at last, are the unspoken sexual health secrets you'll never hear from your doctor. Your husband. Your wife. Or, heaven forbid, your mother!
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It's ugly but it's beautiful [...for a Volkswagen, if you are curious]
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The Post Office wouldn't let us mail you a cup of fresh, hot coffee. Look inside for the next best thing.
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We can free the writer in you.
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What will your life be like in five years?
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How to recruit, interview and hire the right person. A step-by-step system for selecting the best person for every job.
...and one more for luck: "My friends and family were convinced I'd fail my exams. But when the results came through..."
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Related material :
Better Business Writing
You’ve probably always wanted to improve your writing skills in your workplace, but perhaps there wasn't a training course around to help you.
Well, now there is.
Social Media White Paper
(3rd Edition)
Trevor Cook and I wrote a booklet to help our clients and friends come to grips with this new online phenomenon called 'Social Media' or 'Web2.0'. Now in its third edition, it is still being widely cited and is receiving lots of favourable comments.
Download your free copy now (pdf)
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What you say about Lee Hopkins:
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"One of Australia's leading public relations practitioners in the so-called new media"
"While I only had the pleasure of actually meeting Lee face-to-face several months ago, I have been aware of him in conference programs and through feedback from one of my team members for a while. Lee has an amazing and unique skill for managing the new media to support business outcomes"
"Oz's best social network strategist"
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"Lee was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He demystified social media for me and he made me feel it IS possible."
"His enthusiasm is infectious - exciting stuff!"
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"A very difficult topic but it was explained in a fantastically simple way."
"The Walkleys relies on the good will of Australia’s talented communicators to make events like these happen and I can’t thank you enough for taking time out from your heavy schedule to make the convention such a memorable event."
"The workshop was very useful in that it enabled us to directly relate what we learnt in the seminar to our business. Lee was very easy to relate to and he presented all the information in a way that was simple to understand."
"Informative and engaging - gave good overview of new on-line technologies and how they can be applied to businesses. Particularly valued the opportunity to have a separate session to look at the specific needs and potential uses for my own business."
"Great to talk to someone who is expert in their field and passionate."
"The ability to interact one on one with Lee, as well as seeing new technologies and how they can be easily implemented into current business processes [was great]"
"Great. Lee was very engaging and presented info in easy to understand language and examples. Use of music, video, PowerPoint etc keep contents fun and educational. Great stuff!"
“Great! Even I could understand and appreciate the content. Excellent examples, wonderful presentation. I’m going back to share with my team. Thank you. "
“Lee was a great facilitator and his energy and passion for social media was evident."
“Excellent, enthusiastic presenter who is right into what he is talking about. Walking the talk. Just the right amount of info about the different topics. Not too geeky. Strong emphasis on how the tools can assist effective business communication. Relaxed friendly atmosphere. The workshop opened lots of doors, stimulating. I’m strongly encouraged to try things out. Many thanks.”
“Lee was great – knowledgeable, enthusiastic, generous in sharing his expertise. I liked the demonstrations."
"Great Workshop... helped me crystalise my thoughts on social media and now I feel ready to develop the strategy and make use of this great new medium"
Would you like me to run a workshop in-house for YOUR company?
Contact me to discuss how we can bring your company into this new and exciting communication universe.
Download a recent presentation I gave to the 8th National PR Convention in Sydney. Office2007 version (zip) Office2003 version (zip)
Why does employee communication matter?
Download a recent presentation I gave to a group of PR students (pdf)
For your consideration:
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"I communicate therefore I am"
Available in medium and large mug sizes.
You KNOW you want one!
Available in men's and women's fittings. You KNOW you want one!
Writing for a web audience
Want to write more powerfully for a web audience?...
Right-click on this image and download the pdf file to your computer's hard drive.
"The definitive guide to writing for the web" says Lee
