“Can’t Cook But Doesn’t Bite”

It’s simple, almost a riddle. Would you as a reader look at this and want to read more? I would.

Ivan Doig’s book, The Whistling Season, is something I had heard once on a late night talk show. I am not familiar with the author and have not read the book. However, when I heard this phrase, I started listening to the interview. I heard that phrase and decided to keep listening.

In the book, a widow marketed herself in an ad for a housekeeping position titled “Can’t Cook But Doesn’t Bite.” A man was looking for a household cook, but when he saw that headline he contacted her. Although she couldn’t cook, he hired her anyway for other housekeeping duties. Now, that’s a powerful headline.

That headline did just what it was supposed to do. It got the reader’s attention. It didn’t try to sell the housekeeper’s skills at sewing or scrubbing or washing clothes. It got the potential housekeeper in the door and she did the rest of the selling herself. A headline’s sole job is to keep the reader (or listener) interested enough to go on to the next sentence.

Lots of people read headlines. Few of them go on to read what comes next. They don’t have time to read stuff they aren’t interested in. Your headline must make them interested in actually reading the copy that follows.

When I am preparing an ad, I often start with the headline. Writing a compelling headline can often take much, much longer than actually writing the copy. I have been known to write 25 headlines before I even start on the copy. It helps focus me on what I want to write.

Once I have a number of good headlines, I choose one as the main headline and use the others throughout the piece I am writing as subheadings. Some of those people who just read headlines will read the subheadings throughout the piece – which then may result in their going back into the piece and reading it.

What do your headlines look like? Whether you’re talking about an ad in the Yellow Pages or newspaper or other written media, or an ad on TV or radio, you have to first get your prospect’s attention.