Quote:
Originally Posted by -TW
Good News for Bad Backs
Good News for Bad [whatever]
Ten Ways to Win at Work
Ten Ways to Win at [whatever]
Getting the Best Deal on Car Insurance
Getting the Best Deal on [whatever]
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Hi TW,
Thanks for posting those headline formulas from Reader's Digest.
I remember reading somewhere that Reader's Digest heavily tested their headlines - I wonder, do they still do that? (Hopefully so!)
Anyway, your post reminded me of something... I once attended a talk by copywriter John Carlton -
http://www.john-carlton.com
One of the things he said was he liked headlines from the "Weekly World News." I think he meant back when the Weekly World News was still published in print - they needed "catchy" headlines to get people to buy them as "impulse purchases" on their way out of the store!
I remember John Carlton saying that one of his favorite headlines from the "Weekly World News" was...
Boy Eats Own Head
(That brought chuckles from the audience - and I'm chuckling now, too, as I think about it!)
Of course, John Carlton is famous for his headline, "Amazing Secret Discovered By One-Legged Golfer..." (you can Google it for the rest!)
With that headline, the "mental picture" of a "one-legged golfer" hooks you, and makes you want to read more!
(I think you can see the influence of the "Weekly World News" on that headline, too...)
Anyway, I found this resource...
A truck-load of issues of the Weekly World News (back when it was printed) - courtesy of Google Books!
http://books.google.com.au/books/ser...sa=N&start=960
You can easily see all the headlines on the covers. (These seem to be complete issues - so if you want to read articles such as "Two-Headed Boy Found In Jungle" - you can do that, too! To read the issue, click on the cover, then click on "Preview this magazine.")
Best wishes,
Dien
P.S. Here's a great John Carlton blog entry on the topic...
http://www.john-carlton.com/2007/07/...ing-preachers/
P.P.S. Good, short, analysis of the "one-legged golfer" headline by copywriter Peter Stone...
http://peterstonecopy.typepad.com/pe...s_a_hook_.html