Did you know that Ogilvy was not the first to use the “electric clock” comparison in a headline?

I came across this bit o’ trivia while writing my post on Ogilvy’s preferred ad layout.  I found it written up by Robert Rosenthal at Freaking Marketing, who had done the detective work to find and scan in this Pierce-Arrow ad that ran about 25 years before Ogilvy’s Rolls Royce campaign.

If you consider yourself a student of advertising, you’ll want to read…

...continue to read "Ogilvy’s Famous Rolls Royce Ad – Another Look"

According to copywriting legend Eugene Schwartz, a headline’s main job isn’t to sell; it’s to gain the readers attention and compel them to read the ad.  And this is sound advice, but the Internet also requires one other thing in today’s web 2.0 copy world… Step 1. Scent: Web copy adds the requirement of scent.  Your headlines and sub headlines have to assure visitors that they’re in the right place.  A compelling headline that doesn’t orient readers…

...continue to read "3-Steps for Writing (and testing) Great Headlines"

Who: Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder & EVP at FutureNow, and Tom Leung, Business Product Manager at Google.

What: “Always Be Testing” Webinar: Landing Pages: Headlines and Calls to Action

When: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 | 12:00pm EST

Where: Online, register here to receive your invitation

How much: It’s free, but space is limited so sign-up today!

About this session:

Last month kicked off the series with a webinar on testing trust and confidence building elements on landing pages (view archive ). Our August session will continue to explore…

...continue to read "Free Webinar: August Session of “Always Be Testing” Webinar Series"

Online or offline, on the magazine rack or the clearance rack, headlines are your one sure chance to make an impression.

Jeff Sexton, our resident copywriting pro, makes his Copyblogger debut today, revealing secret techniques for alluring headlines. Here’s a peek…

I bet you didn’t know that the main characters of HBO’s Sex and the City represent one of the better examples of the four personality temperaments, did you?

Just about every personality typing system—from Hippocrates’ humors to Myers-Briggs/Keirsey or DISK—groups personalities into…

...continue to read "Would the Sex and the City Girls Click on This?"

...continue to read "Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet"

Everyone wants to test nowadays, but few know what to do. People are out there testing thousands of headlines at a time, trying to figure out what is the best combination. While testing, there are sure to be combinations which will negatively affect conversion and the overall branding of the site.

So, why not put your best foot forward? Look at your site’s conversion stumbling blocks and find ways to break through them. Test a couple of examples, find the best…

...continue to read "Google Website Optimizer Testing: Bold Text"

You want to know what to test to improve your conversion rates, right? Sure you do. Everyone does. You want to know the fastest way to online riches. And maybe you want to insert “easiest” into that last sentence. I hear ya.

Brian Clark told an interesting story in his delightful Copyblogger. Two guys put up essentially the same post about Paris Hilton. Guy One got a handful of “diggs,” while Guy Two was at 1072 “diggs” as of Clark’s post time.…

...continue to read "Headlines + Hyperlinks = Conversion + Cash"

Websites have tons of elements you can test. Some elements will have very little impact on your ability to persuade and convert your site visitors. Others will have a dramatic impact. Of course you’d like to know which elements rank among the most influential when it comes to your bottom line.

We’ve spent the month of January working on Quick Start Guides that can help you understand which elements have the biggest effect on your conversion rates and how to test…

...continue to read "Top 10 Ideas for Testing Your Headlines"