Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendsh

Make no mistake about it, as a copywriter or marketing professional your ability to write or identify compelling, attention-grabbing headlines that get prospects to read your ads…is one of the most valuable skills you can possess. Because the simple truth of the matter is this: You have absolutely zero chance of closing the sale unless you “get a hearing” with the prospect. So a good headline, an effective headline, should capture and hold the prospect’s attention and give you an opportunity to make your case.

How You Can Learn To Write More Effective Headlines Whatever profession you’re in, no matter how good you are, you can become better at it by studying the methods, techniques and mechanics of people who are the best at what they do in your line of work. And this is especially true if your line of work includes writing effective ad copy. There are books and magazine articles aplenty that have word-for-word, picture-for-picture reproductions of highly successful (i.e. profitable) ads and sales letters. In virtually every case there is also expert commentary about what it was that made the ad or sales letter so effective.

With this article I humbly offer my contribution to this body of work.

1. “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano…But When I Started to Play!” The granddaddy of great advertising headlines; often imitated but rarely equaled. Is there anyone among us who has never longed for or relished an opportunity –- when people doubt our ability –- to prove them wrong? As the author of this ad, the late John Caples, once said: “Learning the piano is tough. You can’t sell that. But you can sell the idea of social success and overcoming whatever deficiencies you have in order to become popular.” Plus, people love to root for the underdog as the main character of this ad so obviously is. An action-oriented headline that promises an uplifting story, we’re compelled to read further. Note also that the before-and-after angle can be effective in many headlines. 2. “A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year” A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines. An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of offsetting, reducing or eliminating the “risk of loss” is even more attractive to the reader than the “prospect of gain.”

Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendshi

The Myth of the General Resume
Many professionals believe that their resumes are ignored because they are “missing” critical skills that an employer is seeking, and therefore they should pack every detail into the document. This kind of thinking leads job seekers to use a "general resume" because they don't want to limit themselves to only one job type.While wanting an employer to see all your qualifications is completely understandable, this type of resume is often unsuccessful. Why? Hiring managers are inundated with resumes, calls from job seekers, and new hiring requirements. They simply do not have time to read between the lines and figure out which job you are qualified for.How can you avoid this pitfall? Change a few key items to alter the impact of your resume and increase your success in winning interviews:Summarize your qualifications. It is a well-known fact that a resume objective statement is seen as self-serving. This is because it typically describes what you are seeking, rather than what you are offering. Using a professional summary instead can help to out

olutely zero chance of closing the sale unless you “get a hearing” with the prospect. So a good headline, an effective headline, should capture and hold the prospect’s attention and give you an opportunity to make your case.

How You Can Learn To Write More Effective Headlines Whatever profession you’re in, no matter how good you are, you can become better at it by studying the methods, techniques and mechanics of people who are the best at what they do in your line of work. And this is especially true if your line of work includes writing effective ad copy. There are books and magazine articles aplenty that have word-for-word, picture-for-picture reproductions of highly successful (i.e. profitable) ads and sales letters. In virtually every case there is also expert commentary about what it was that made the ad or sales letter so effective.

With this article I humbly offer my contribution to this body of work.

1. “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano…But When I Started to Play!” The granddaddy of great advertising headlines; often imitated but rarely equaled. Is there anyone among us who has never longed for or relished an opportunity –- when people doubt our ability –- to prove them wrong? As the author of this ad, the late John Caples, once said: “Learning the piano is tough. You can’t sell that. But you can sell the idea of social success and overcoming whatever deficiencies you have in order to become popular.” Plus, people love to root for the underdog as the main character of this ad so obviously is. An action-oriented headline that promises an uplifting story, we’re compelled to read further. Note also that the before-and-after angle can be effective in many headlines. 2. “A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year” A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines. An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of offsetting, reducing or eliminating the “risk of loss” is even more attractive to the reader than the “prospect of gain.”

Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendsh

Store Fixture Hardware
Store fixture hardware is used for most fixing needs. These are specifically designed to coordinate with a lot of different store fixture accessories. These are available in different sizes for different displays and shelf support needs.The different types of store fixture hardware items are face outs, baskets, sign holders, slat wall hardware, hooks, wall standards and brackets, fittings, and garment rails, pegboard, and shelf brackets. A wide range of heavy duty hang rods, flanges and other hang rod accessories are also included in store fixture hardware. Slat walls and grid walls are available in different shapes and styles. These are categorized according to the number of hooks. Stainless steel legs in squire type are considered as major store fixture hardware. These are available in varying sizes with insert and leveler, and a number of color patterns, including black, chrome, brass, raw, satin zinc, and white. Slotted tubing provides best support in placing store products. One to four side slotted tubing materials are available. Shelf brackets with lip, adjustable downslant bracket with

ine articles aplenty that have word-for-word, picture-for-picture reproductions of highly successful (i.e. profitable) ads and sales letters. In virtually every case there is also expert commentary about what it was that made the ad or sales letter so effective.

With this article I humbly offer my contribution to this body of work.

1. “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano…But When I Started to Play!” The granddaddy of great advertising headlines; often imitated but rarely equaled. Is there anyone among us who has never longed for or relished an opportunity –- when people doubt our ability –- to prove them wrong? As the author of this ad, the late John Caples, once said: “Learning the piano is tough. You can’t sell that. But you can sell the idea of social success and overcoming whatever deficiencies you have in order to become popular.” Plus, people love to root for the underdog as the main character of this ad so obviously is. An action-oriented headline that promises an uplifting story, we’re compelled to read further. Note also that the before-and-after angle can be effective in many headlines. 2. “A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year” A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines. An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of offsetting, reducing or eliminating the “risk of loss” is even more attractive to the reader than the “prospect of gain.”

Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendsh

Guide to the Hospitality Industry and Hotel Jobs
Before you make a life changing job decision such as throwing in your old job, and possibly relocating for hotel jobs, it is important that you know what the work entails, and what you can expect when applying for hotel jobs in the hospitality industry. There are many reasons why you may want to work in the hospitality industry in a hotel job.Hospitality is a global industry and there are millions of Hotels, bars, restaurants, resorts, cafes, cruise ships, pubs, fast food outlets and coffee shops making the hospitality industry one the biggest employers on the earth. By gaining hospitality experience you can work anywhere in the world and transfer your skills gained to any industry especially with a hotel job. There are millions of hospitality workers in the world, making it one of the biggest global employers. It has a reputation for low pay and long hours however there is a growing trend of companies becoming more flexible and offering higher rewards to encourage people into the industry and in a hotel job.Some of the benefits of working in the hospitality industry in a hotel job inc

hen people doubt our ability –- to prove them wrong? As the author of this ad, the late John Caples, once said: “Learning the piano is tough. You can’t sell that. But you can sell the idea of social success and overcoming whatever deficiencies you have in order to become popular.” Plus, people love to root for the underdog as the main character of this ad so obviously is. An action-oriented headline that promises an uplifting story, we’re compelled to read further. Note also that the before-and-after angle can be effective in many headlines. 2. “A Little Mistake That Cost A Farmer $3,000 A Year” A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines. An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of offsetting, reducing or eliminating the “risk of loss” is even more attractive to the reader than the “prospect of gain.”

Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendsh

Live Operator vs Voicemail
Specialty Answering Service, the leading internet based live operator answering service, released today an independent study showing the ineffectiveness of voicemail versus call center applications. This brief synopsis article and the results herein are the culmination of a 6 month study on the subject of live small to medium sized businesses using voicemail or live operators to manage their inbound calls during normal business hours & after business hours.To remain unbiased in our results, we acquired a random sample of 100 business via yellow page resources. The group was divided into thirds (Group A calls answered by voicemail, Group B calls answered by Answering Service, Group C Calls answered by business owner 24/7). The summation of the results is as follows: 1) Highest customer satisfaction and new customer acquisition reports & records came as a result of Group C's actions. 2) Group B's numbers fell slightly short of Group C (accounting for +- error curve shows no marked difference) 3) Group C's results following with the conjecture that voicemail will actually disrupt business, sho

strong> A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines. An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of offsetting, reducing or eliminating the “risk of loss” is even more attractive to the reader than the “prospect of gain.”

Barry Freed, a fellow copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the following analogy: Imagine it’s 3 o’clock in the morning and your best friend comes banging on your front door.

“Bill, Bill, wake up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today –- guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your friendship. On the other hand, let’s say that same friend came banging on your door at 3 o’clock in the morning except this time he’s saying, “Bill, Bill, wake up! Somebody’s in your driveway stealing the hubcaps off your car!”

You wouldn’t mind that at all would you? In fact, you’d probably rush straight for the baseball bat you keep hidden behind the refrigerator…and in a matter of seconds you’d be charging out the front door, risking life and limb. All for the sake of $300 worth of hubcaps. Because that’s basic human nature. The fact is, people will fight much harder to avoid losing something they already own than to gain something of greater value they don't presently have.

Another key factor that makes this headline successful is the attraction of the specific. Note that it wasn’t just a mistake; it was a “little” mistake. What farmer could pass up reading the copy under such a headline? What farmer wouldn’t be compelled to find out: “What was that little mistake? Am I making it too? If I am making it how much could it be costing me?”

3. “How To Win Friends and Influence People” Yes, the title of the book was also the headline for the ad that sold a million books via mail order in less than 3 years during the latter part of the Great Depression. The key to this ad’s success is its strong basic appeal. Who doesn’t want to know how to win friends and influence people? The key words are “how to.” Without these two words the ad lacks power, punch and most importantly the promise of a benefit.

Certain words and phrases are inherently involving and attention grabbing and can be used effectively in just about any headline. Such words and phrases include:

• How To, How, Here’s

• Why, Which, Who Else, Where, When, What

• These, This, Which of These.

For better advertising results look for ways to use these and other effective words in your headlines.

4. “I’m impressed –- Shell’s Caprinus R Oil 40 keeps my EMD’s in better condition than any other oil I’ve used in 20 years.” “They say” advertising copy has substantially greater impact than “we say” advertising copy. That’s why the above testimonial quote makes a highly effective headline for this business-to-business advertising effort. Above the headline is a 4-color photo of the man who provided the quote.

He’s standing in the engine room an