Comments on: Who Else Wants This Headline Template Put to Sleep? http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/ Info Marketing Blog | Direct Response Marketing | Copywriting Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:00:10 +0000 hourly 1 By: James Alenteal’s Conversion Rate Clinic › “Who else” is sick of this headline? http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-95 James Alenteal’s Conversion Rate Clinic › “Who else” is sick of this headline? Sat, 27 Oct 2007 13:18:31 +0000 http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-95 [...] may want to subscribe to my RSS feed over on the right-hand column. Thanks for visiting!Copywriter Lawrence Bernstein recently threatened to bury this headline, and I really have to agree. Joe Vitale actually [...] [...] may want to subscribe to my RSS feed over on the right-hand column. Thanks for visiting!Copywriter Lawrence Bernstein recently threatened to bury this headline, and I really have to agree. Joe Vitale actually [...]

]]> By: C.S.Radhakrishnan http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-63 C.S.Radhakrishnan Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:26:36 +0000 http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-63 What is new in this world? Every bit of the so called New thing is a rehash of something that fascinated many in the distant past.Asian traditional wisdom believes that the world as we know now is also in its umpteenth reinacarnation. Great civilisations arose, flourished and perished at the hands of some super smart alec who had his own interpretation of what was right for the world. What we as creative writers need to keep in mind is that familiarity breeds contempt and so keep rotating the tools at hand, and the novelty( apparent) will take care of the rest. What is new in this world? Every bit of the so called New thing is a rehash of something that fascinated many in the distant past.Asian traditional wisdom believes that the world as we know now is also in its umpteenth reinacarnation. Great civilisations arose, flourished and perished at the hands of some super smart alec who had his own interpretation of what was right for the world.

What we as creative writers need to keep in mind is that familiarity breeds contempt and so keep rotating the tools at hand, and the novelty( apparent) will take care of the rest.

]]> By: Greg Thompson http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-62 Greg Thompson Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:58:05 +0000 http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-62 Great post. I hate these things too. You should do a whole series on bad modern implementations of old popular headlines and how to fix them. Next up... "They Laughed..." Great post. I hate these things too. You should do a whole series on bad modern implementations of old popular headlines and how to fix them.

Next up… “They Laughed…”

]]> By: John Forde http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-61 John Forde Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:02:28 +0000 http://www.infomarketingblog.com/who-else-wants-this-headline-template-put-to-sleep/#comment-61 At last... I finally have an answer to a "Who else..." headline that I can live with. YES, I'd love to see it retired. But not just for overuse, though this has got to be one of the front-runners in that category. The thing that bothers me about it more is that it's used in that automatic sense, where the actual product is nearly irrelevant to the strategy. Most template approaches are. Don't get me wrong. I love what you're doing here with the swipe file. I recommended that readers of my ezine, the Copywriter's Roundtable, even come check it out. Because what you're offering here is something that enriches our understanding of how to originate a good pitch. But those whose entire approach to copywriting is to simply rip off what someone else accomplished before them, well... it's not only not an honest day's work, it shortchanges the client. And the writer himself. Gene Schwartz covered the concept of writing headlines with templates in his great "Breakthrough Advertising" book. He follows that up with a long section on headlines written according to tried and true formulas. And gives advice on how to do both. But in the end, he makes it clear that the only real way to write a breakthrough headline requires a very individual and original, new analysis of the product and the target market. It's really the only way. Thanks for all the great material in this blog! John Forde At last… I finally have an answer to a “Who else…” headline that I can live with. YES, I’d love to see it retired. But not just for overuse, though this has got to be one of the front-runners in that category.

The thing that bothers me about it more is that it’s used in that automatic sense, where the actual product is nearly irrelevant to the strategy. Most template approaches are.

Don’t get me wrong.

I love what you’re doing here with the swipe file. I recommended that readers of my ezine, the Copywriter’s Roundtable, even come check it out. Because what you’re offering here is something that enriches our understanding of how to originate a good pitch.

But those whose entire approach to copywriting is to simply rip off what someone else accomplished before them, well… it’s not only not an honest day’s work, it shortchanges the client. And the writer himself.

Gene Schwartz covered the concept of writing headlines with templates in his great “Breakthrough Advertising” book. He follows that up with a long section on headlines written according to tried and true formulas. And gives advice on how to do both.

But in the end, he makes it clear that the only real way to write a breakthrough headline requires a very individual and original, new analysis of the product and the target market.

It’s really the only way.

Thanks for all the great material in this blog!

John Forde

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