I know I know, too aggressive, and I may have offended some flowerish folks.
I’m cool with that.
Cuz this is not cookie-cutter stuff to make you feel all good and positive while your ad sucks shit.
This is designed to give you actionable steps to make your advertising better, achieve higher returns, and eradicate guesswork.
But first off, have you ever heard this before:
“Beauty doesn’t matter, I care about personality”
B.S.
Now obviously, personality is important but let’s be honest…
… unless you’ve got something in common or were attracted physically to that person, the chances of discovering that phenomenal personality is pretty slim.
Seriously…
How many folks do you know that hit on Frankenstein-kinda-chick in a bar “just in case” her personality was cool?
I personally know ZERO person who does that lol.
And you know wh
It’s the same thing in business
You can have an unparalleled offer that can make ppl line up to hand you money, but if you can’t get their attention in the first place, then the offer is pretty much worthless.
Although there is a lot that goes into getting attention, first and foremost, headlines are the make-or-break of your promo.
If the headline doesn’t get your prospect’s blood flowing, heart beating, and an eager desire to read further, then “how great your offer is” is just irrelevant.
In this article, I’ll share with you the 4 U’s formula coined by Michael Masterson.
It’ll help you identify the weaknesses in your headline, and take it up a notch.
Let’s dive in:
First off, what do the 4 U’s stand for?
Unique
Useful
Ultra specific
Urgent
Hold on, I’ll explain what each one of these means, and I’ll give you some examples.
1. Unique:
Nowadays, no matter what market you’re in, your prospect has probably heard all of the claims. He’s skeptical, and unless you come up with something truly unique, you’re unlikely to get his attention.
Here is a great example of this from one of my favorite copywriters. The most ripped-off copywriter alive, John Carlton:
Honestly, how likely it is that a golf enthusiast has read a headline like this?
Probably never.
“Unheard of” and “never seen before” is what should be shooting for when writing headlines.
Next “U”…
2. Useful
Your headline should be useful for your prospect.
In other words, there should be an implied benefit in reading your ad.
Look at this headline from the legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz
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Who wouldn’t want to “burn disease out of his/her body” ?!
Because of this benefit, you’ll naturally be intrigued and want to know more.
Onward
3. Ultra Specific
In his famous book “Scientific Advertising”, Claude Hopkins said the following:
”The weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific”
Here is an example of that from John Carlton
See how specific the headline is?
“12-year-old kids” instead of “kids”
“250 yards”
“55-year-old” instead of “old man”
“71 Lbs overweight” instead of “out of shape”
See how that works?
And last but not least…
4. Urgent?
Simply put, does your headline give a prospect a reason to read your ad right now.
And this can be as direct as saying “offer ends today”
or it can be an implied urgency “7 blunders humiliating men in bed. And how to avoid them starting tonight”
Here is an example from Gary Halbert of this.
How to use the 4 U’s formula
It’s pretty straightforward:
1- Rate every “U” on a scale of 0-1
2- Add all the ratings (for the 4 U’s)
3- If the total is 3 or 4, your headline is good to go.
4- If the total is less than 3, identify which U score is 0 or 0.5 and strengthen it
Conclusion
If you have a product/service that your prospect would benefit from, it’s your duty to craft catchy headlines that’ll stop your prospect and make him read.
Anytime you write a headline, use the 4 U’s formula to assess whether it’s even worth testing or not.