Copywriting Challenge: I Dare You to Choose the Best Headline Out of 100+ Heads

What’s the most important piece of copy you write? It’s not your value proposition. It’s not your product benefits. It’s not even your call to action.

You know the answer. It’s your headline.

Customers read headlines five times as often as they read body copy.

An artfully crafted, keyword-rich headline delivers customers to your website. It pulls them into your content, draws them step-by-step into your lede, on to your body copy and finally to your call to action.

So if you want folks to read your post or buy your product, you’d better take pains to write a damn good headline.

Don’t worry. You’ll find plenty of help with the task. The web is jammed with how-tos, formulas and best practices that help you craft terrific, targeted headlines.

And there’s one more itty-bitty thing you can do.

Write 100 headlines. And choose just one.

Both ad and direct response copy managers agree on this piece of copywriting wisdom: you need to write a lot of heads before choosing one that’s perfect for your copy. How many? One prolific ad copywriter wrote 800 headlines; but typically we’re told to write 100 headlines for every one headline we need.

Do you really need to write that many—100 headlines?

I confess, I usually don’t. Generally I brainstorm between 5-15 headlines for a piece of copy. But for a three-post series I wrote last year, I actually did end up writing more than one hundred heads.

Lessons learned from writing 100 headlines

The exercise—the doing of it rather than thinking about doing it—taught me some important things.

Writing multiple heads unblocks your brain and gets your creative juices flowing. It gives you a chance to fail—an essential element of success. And after you pluck the single nugget of headline gold from dross, you wind up with a ton of additional headlines you can use as subheads. Or file away for other projects.

As important, you’ll also learn…

Formulas aren’t the solution. Even if you rely on swipe files and tried-and-true formulas (I know I do), headline drafting isn’t a mindless task. You can only fall back on formulas up to a point—rote methods best serve to jumpstart brainstorming.

Headlines need to do more than grab attention. We’re constantly told a headline serves one purpose: to suck readers into your lede sentence. But it needs to do more: Your headline must be congruent with your copy—with your brand story and your copy’s tone and voice. If you own a funeral parlor, for instance, you’re not going to want to use a head like, “Who else wants to save on mortuary services?”

Headlines need to deliver on promises. If your head makes a promise, you need to come through with the goods. E.g., unless you can follow through, you can’t tell readers they can….“Make $500 in five minutes—guaranteed!” Unfortunately, many headline templates include promises that are impossible for your product to fulfill.

100+ headlines. Which work best?

My 100+ headlines are listed below—and here are the three I chose for my post series. Take a look at my 100+ heads and tell me what you think. Did I select the best? Would you have chosen—or created—different and better headlines?

Here goes…

1. 7 ways to use storytelling in your marketing copywriting?
2. What Every Copywriter Should Know About Storytelling
3. Tell Me a Story—and Improve Your Copywriting
4. Here’s A Storytelling Method That’s Helping Copywriters Create More Compelling Copy.
5. You Don’t Have to be Homer to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
6. You Don’t Have to be Virgil to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
7. You Don’t Have to be Steven King to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
8. You Don’t Have to be Zadie Smith to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
9. You Don’t Have to be David Foster Wallace to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
10. You Don’t Have to be Hemingway to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
11. You Don’t Have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
12. You Don’t Have to be Shakespeare to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
13. You Don’t Have to be Chaucer to Add Great Storytelling Elements to Your Copy.
14. Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling to Power Your Copywriting.
15. Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling to Write Irresistibly Persuasive Copy.
16. Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling to Write More Gripping, Persuasive Copy.
17. Copywriters: Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling to Write More Gripping, Persuasive Copy.
18. Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling For More Gripping, Persuasive Copywriting.
19. Unlock the Secrets of Storytelling to Write More Captivating Copy.
20. Discover How Storytelling Can Power Your Copywriting.
21. Storytelling’s Power to Transform Your Copywriting Explained.
22. The Compelling Power of Storytelling to Improve Your Copywriting
23. Discover How Storytelling Helps You Write More Persuasive, Captivating Copy.
24. Discover the Power of Storytelling to Strengthen Your Copywriting.
25. Discover Storytelling’s Power to Wake Up Your Copywriting—and Your Customers.
26. Discover Storytelling’s Power to Galvanize Your Copywriting.
27. Discover How Storytelling Can Wake Up Your Copywriting.
28. Discover How Storytelling Helps You Write More Compelling Copy.
29. Finally: Storytelling’s Power to Transform Your Copywriting Revealed.
30. Storytelling’s Power to Transform Your Copywriting Revealed.
31. Finally: The Storytelling-Copywriting Connection Explained.
32. The Truth About Storytelling’s Power to Improve Your Copywriting.
33. The Truth About Storytelling’s Ability to Power Your Copywriting.
34. The Truth About Storytelling’s Potential to Power Your Copywriting.
35. Storytelling’s Proven Power to Enhance Your Copywriting.
36. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Irresistible Copy.
37. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Conversion-Driving Copy.
38. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Compelling Copy.
39. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Captivating Copy.
40. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Captivating, Compelling Copy.
41. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Engaging Copy.
42. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Fascinating Copy.
43. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Action-Driving Copy.
44. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Irresistible Copy.
45. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Conversion-Driving Copy.
46. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Compelling Copy.
47. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Captivating Copy.
48. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Captivating, Compelling Copy.
49. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Engaging Copy.
50. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Fascinating Copy.
51. Once Upon a Time Top Copywriters Relied on Storytelling to Write Action-Driving Copy.
52. Fact: Storytelling Can Dramatically Improve Your Copywriting.
53. Fact: Storytelling Elements Can Dramatically Improve Your Copywriting.
54. Fact: Storytelling Helps You Write Compelling, Conversion-Driving Copy.
55. What if You Could Improve Your Copywriting Using Storytelling?
56. What if You Could Improve Your Marketing Copywriting with Storytelling?
57. How to Instantly Improve Your Copywriting with Storytelling
58. The Beowulf Guide to Using Storytelling in Copywriting
59. Homer’s Guide to Using Storytelling in Your Copywriting
60. Homer’s Guide to Storytelling and Copywriting
61. The Homeric Guide to Storytelling and Copywriting
62. Virgil’s Guide to Storytelling and Copywriting
63. What King Arthur Can Teach You About Storytelling and Copywriting
64. What Virgil Can Teach You About Storytelling and Copywriting
65. What Homer Can Teach You About Storytelling and Copywriting
66. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Helps You Write Irresistible Copy.
67. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Helps You Write More Compelling Copy.
68. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Helps You Write Fascinating, Compelling Copy.
69. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Galvanizes Your Copywriting.
70. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Wakes Up Your Copywriting.
71. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Enhances Your Copywriting.
72. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Magically Transforms Your Copywriting.
73. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Enlivens Your Copywriting.
74. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Powers More Compelling Copywriting.
75. Discover How 7 Storytelling Elements Can Dramatically Improve Your Copywriting.
76. Discover 7 Storytelling Secrets That Help You Write Irresistible Copy.
77. Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Helps You Write More Compelling Copy.
78. Discover 7 Storytelling Secrets That Wake Up Your Copywriting—and Your Customers.
79. Rediscover the Joy of Copywriting with These 7 Storytelling Elements.
80. 7 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Copywriting Using Storytelling
81. 7 Ways Storytelling Instantly Improves Your Copywriting
82. 7 Storytelling Elements That Instantly Improve Your Copywriting
83. 7 Ways to Use Storytelling to Instantly Improve Your Copywriting
84. 7 Time-Tested Storytelling Elements That Instantly Improve Your Copywriting
85. 7 Time-Tested Storytelling Elements That Improve Your Copywriting
86. 7 Time-Tested Storytelling Elements That Instantly Galvanize Your Copywriting
87. 7 Time-Tested Storytelling Elements That Instantly Strengthen Your Copywriting
88. 7 Time-Tested Storytelling Elements That Instantly Enliven Your Copywriting
89. 7 Simple Storytelling Elements That Wake Up Your Copywriting—and Your Customers
90. 7 Proven Storytelling Secrets That Galvanize Your Copywriting
91. 7 Storytelling Secrets Proven to Power Your Copywriting
92. 7 Proven Storytelling Secrets That Wake Up Your Copywriting
93. 7 Storytelling Secrets That Wake Up Your Copywriting
94. 7 Storytelling Secrets Proven to Galvanize Your Copywriting
95. 7 Proven Storytelling Elements That Galvanize Your Copywriting
96. 7 Storytelling Elements Proven to Power Your Copywriting
97. 7 Proven Storytelling Elements Wake Up Your Copywriting
98. 7 Storytelling Elements That Wake Up Your Copywriting
99. 7 Storytelling Elements Proven to Galvanize Your Copywriting
100. 7 Storytelling Elements That Make Compelling Copywriting Fast and Easy
101. 7 Story Telling Elements that Help you Write Better, More Compelling Copy
102. See How Easily You Can Add Compelling Storytelling Elements to Your Copy
103. See How Easy It Is To Add Compelling Storytelling Elements to Your Copy

And the winners are…

Here are the heads I chose for my three-post series on storytelling in copywriting:
Once Upon a Time Copywriters Used Storytelling to Write Irresistible Copy
7 Storytelling Secrets of Top Salespeople
Discover 7 Ways Storytelling Helps You Write Irresistible Copy

Now YOU choose.

Did I select the best headlines for the job? Please share your comments.