By Jeff Neil

Is that my butt? Now that's an interesting question. But to be perfectly honest I'm not concerned with my butt. Not your butt. Not any one's butt.

But...

It sure got your attention. Just like it got mine. And that is purpose of a killer headline.

Let's start this story from beginning:

Here I am sitting at doctors office. I'm waiting for my wife to get done with her check up. And "no", we are not expecting a baby, thank you.

Anyway... Here I sit. Notebook in hand. I brought it to write some content for a new website. So I'm looking around just waiting (hoping?) for creative juices to start flowing.

You know how it is waiting at doctors office. I started staring at all those magazines. You know... All those women magazines. No Hot Rod or anything interesting like that.

And then I saw it. "Is That My Butt?". Right on front cover of Seventeen, April, 2002 Edition.

Normally that's not type of reading I'm into. But I couldn't resist. I just had to find out what heck that question was all about.

So yup, I walked clear across waiting room just to see that magazine. The story was about jeans. No, I did not read it. But headline worked. And it worked well!

And that's what you need to do with your headlines. Grab their attention. And to be really effective you should be a little creative. You've got a lot of competition out there so sometimes being completely of wall is required. As long as you can make it fit.

Some of best headlines I've ever seen are at supermarket check out. The tabloids. Headlines like Three Headed Martian Calls 97 Year old Grandmother from Outer Space.

Yeah, it's silly. But people look. And then they see other headlines like 33 Year old Kansas School Teacher Reveals Life after 17 Divorces.

That's a little more believable. And people want to know. So they buy.

So how do you create an ad that hooks readers and makes them visit your site ready to spend money?

You speak directly to your audience in your headline.

Creative “wordy” headlines don’t make cut. You need to shout out to group of people that need your product.

Targeting homeowners so you can save them on their mortgage? Say, “Attention Home Owners”!

Want to stop pet owners dead in their tracks? Say “Pet Owners”!

And after you grab their attention, hook them by telling them what you can do for them:

“Writers! Make A Six Figure Income From Home”!

“Pet Owners! Your Pet Will Love You When…”

“Attention Home Owners: Eliminate Your Mortgage Payment NOW--Guaranteed!”