Should you add an emotional punch to every headline?

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

This question came in from Sheila, who has taken my course on How to Write better Headlines.

Her full question was a little longer. She has taken other copywriting courses that emphasize the power of using emotions to drive sales.

So… should every headline tap into our emotions?

I’ll give that a qualified yes. But mostly without the “punch” part.

Some headlines are going to be primarily just informational and useful.

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Do I write the page’s headline first or last?

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

Great question from Lynn who is taking my course, How to Write Better Headlines.

The answer to whether I write the headline first or last is… yes.

I do both.

Let me explain. And this is the case whether I’m writing a page of content or a sales page. Same process.

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Can conversational copywriting be optimized for the search engines?

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

An interesting question from Phillip, who took my course on conversational copywriting.

He wonders if using natural, plain-speaking and conversational language in your copy and content might be detrimental to optimizing for the search engines.

That’s a reasonable concern.

Five years ago I spent a lot more time focused on SEO and keyword optimization. Not so much today. But it’s still a factor when I build a new post or page.

To illustrate Phillip’s point, let’s look at how someone might optimize a text link for the term “cheap coffee maker”.

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Use simple anecdotes as a tool to sell your clients on the power of stories.

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

This is about collecting small stories or anecdotes, and then using them as a way to sell your clients or colleagues on the power of stories in marketing.

So… imagine you are trying to pitch a group of marketers on your idea for an upcoming campaign.

You want to use the company’s origin story. But first you have to persuade the marketing group this is a good idea.

Once again… stories to the rescue.

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Dear Matt, it’s not so hard to create a simple story.

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

Matt is a student of my course, Selling with Stories.

He wrote to me and asked…

“Nick, your course taught me a lot about the power of stories, and how they can be used to engage with an audience and ultimately help make a sale. But… even after completing the course, I feel intimidated and don’t feel confident about being able to create strong stories myself.”

Ouch. That sounds like a fail. On my part. Not his.

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What’s the easiest way to make your copy sounds conversational?

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(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)

This question came up during some back and forth over homework a student submitted as part of my course on Conversational Copywriting.

Here it is…

“Are there any quick and dirty tricks I can use to making corporate-sounding sales copy feel authentic and conversational?

There are two answers to this.

The NO answer and the YES answer.

Let’s start with NO.

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