STOP... Thief!

[storymashup]

Hello, What a crazy title, right? Yeah, I know that was weird, maybe even silly, perhaps stupid...I'll explain in a second. I hope the mods will leave that alone.

Ok, about the title. It got your attention didn't it? I consider myself an internet marketer, and as such, we are known for our "shocking" headlines. I guess this is my small initial contribution to this forum. Internet Marketing Lesson #1: Write headlines and titles that stand out.

Now that is out of the way, I'm from San Diego, and I got bitten 1.5 years ago by the internet marketing bug. I actually started as an affiliate marketer through CJ.com selling MJ Halloween costumes. I look forward to fun times in this forum. By the way, if you like to talk about internet marketing and SEO stuff. I'd love to. I enjoy it.

[Spider]

Yes, but in every headline there is a promise of some sort. And if you are not clear what that promise is, readers will make up their own. Which means, with an unclear title, you stand a very good chance of diappointing nearly everyone who is attracted by your headline. Not a good idea!

Now, I don't claim to be an internet marketing expert, so I am interested to hear what you have to say about the above.

Welcome to the forum.

[storymashup]

@Spider, a while back when I started in Internet Marketing (IM), one of the Gurus was explaining that when he sent out an email campaign, he noticed that certain headlines garnered more attention and were more likely to be opened. In this environment of clutter, IMers have to stand out. So I used a headline that I knew would garner attention. While it might be over the top, it was just my way of doing something different and "outside" the box. I saw most headlines said "hello" and I though mmm let's make this fun. Hence the headline. I'm sure some people got a kick out of that. And, I garnered some attention..yeay.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum. I agree that headlines and titles need to attract attention. I also agree that they need to reflect what's on the page itself. Fortunately I think you can do both.

There are definitely ways to grab attention with your headlines that will lead to more people visiting your page. However I wouldn't go too far over the top just to grab attention. If people discover your headlines are simple sensationalist to get them to read your copy and then the copy doesn't live up to its billing, your next over the top headline will just as easily turn them off. There's a balance in there to maintain.

Welcome again to the forum and thanks for joining the community.

[KristineS]

Welcome to the forum. I have to say that attention grabbing headlines can be useful, but I agree that they also have to have some relevance to what's inside the tin, so to speak. As Vangogh says, you do have to find the balance.

[cbscreative]

Welcome aboard. With all the writers, marketers, and SEO people already here, you'll find good company rather than thieves.

[Dan Furman]

I almost never reply to these thread. But your headline made me click. Nice job.

[vangogh]

Shows the importance of a good headline doesn't it?

[storymashup]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

[RMMarketing]

The healine got me as well. Welcome aboard.