Can You Guess Why These Headlines Were So Successful?

I was going to go deeper into writing headlines today, but I thought I'd do a little something different first.

A big part of being a good copywriter lies in being able to figure out why some things work and some things don't.  By knowing that it's easier to reverse engineer good copy and use it to your advantage when writing your own copy, instead of just swiping all the time.

So, I'm going to list a few well-known headlines and see who can come up with the best explanation as to why it worked.

Some of these are very well known others maybe not so much.  However, what I will say is, they were all successful headlines and made a bundle of cash for the advertiser concerned.

Here they are:

1. A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year


2. How to Win Friends and Influence People


3. Do You Make These Mistakes in English?


4. Why Some Foods 'Explode' in Your Stomach


5. Whose Fault When Children Disobey?

Why do YOU think they were successful?  What I can tell you is, in all cases the explanation is a real simple one.  Think about why the headline appeals to you.

Try as many as you can, but don't cheat by looking them up.  You can use this to test your own copywriting skills.

I'll give you my take on why I think they were hits next week.  I'll also be going into the anatomy of a headline, and it'll be quite in-depth.

I'm moving around a lot so I'll be posting about once a week, unless I can get around to writing more.

Best,
Rezbi