One of my best copywriting secrets is to build a “swipe file” of winning examples from other marketers. I collect their mailings, websites and emails. Taken from my swipe file – here is a sample of headlines taken from my Swipe File which is 127 Headlines that have already made a fortune.
1. They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano – But When I Started to Play!
2. The Secret to Becoming a Millionaire is Simply Using the Right Words
3. Can You Afford the UK’s Most Expensive Money-Making Book?
4. How You Can Make a Fortune From the Coming Stock-Market Crash
5. Do You Make These Mistakes in English?
6. How $7 Started me on the Road to $35,000 a Year
7. Announcing the New Ford Cars For 2007
8. Magic Words That Bring You Riches
9. Order Christmas Gifts Now – Pay After January 20th
10. Wage Your Own Personal Tax Revolt
11. I Was Tired of Living on Low Pay – So I Started Reading the Wall Street Journal
12. The Ultimate Tax Shelter
13. Get Rid of Money Worries for Good
14. Here’s How to Have a Long and Healthy Life
15. What’s Wrong in This Picture?
16. They Grinned When the Waiter Spoke to me in French – But Their Laughter Changed to Amazement at my Reply (note the influence of headline #1 on this! Also, at 19 words this feels overlong, doesn’t it?)
17. How An ‘S’ Corporation Can Save You Tax
18. What Makes a Woman Loveable?
19. Can You Talk About Books With the Rest of Them?
20. How I Became Popular Overnight
21. Wanted – Your Services as a High-Paid Real Estate Specialist
22. Do You Make These Travel Mistakes? (Note influence of headline #5)
23. How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling (A rare example of a successful ‘me’ headline)
24. What Makes a Consultant Successful?
25. Stop Writing Letters the Hard Way
26. How to Improve Your Memory in one Evening
27. How to do Business Tax Free
28. Now! Own Florida Land This Easy Way… $20 Down and $20 a Month
29. How a ‘Fool Stunt’ Made me a Star Salesman (Another ‘me’ message, but we’ve just got to know…)
30. Thousands Have This Priceless Gift – But Never Discover It
31. You, a Millionaire Writer?
32. Free to High School Teachers -$6 to Others
33. How the Next 90 Days Can Change Your Life
34. 7 Ways to Break the Overweight Habit
35. The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches
36. How to do Your Christmas Shopping in 5 Minutes
37. Car Insurance at Low Cost – if You Are a Careful Driver
38. Who Else Wants a Screen Star Figure?
39. Imagine… Holding an Audience Spellbound for 30 Minutes!
40. It Cleans Your Breath While It Cleans Your Teeth
41. How to Win Friends and Influence People
42. Lose Ugly Fat – an Average of 7 Pounds a Month
43. How a Strange Accident Saved me From Baldness (Implication: If it can save ME….)
44. The Most Comfortable Shoes You’ve Ever Worn or Your Money Back
45. When Doctors Feel Rotten This is What They Do
46. The Most Complete and Most Scholarly Dictionary in the English Language $17.50…Publisher’s List Price: $90
47. Find Your Own Tax Haven
48. How I Retired on a Guaranteed Income for Life
49. Slash Your Letter Writing Time By 80% and Write Better Letters
50. How You Can Get a Loan of $500
51. 161 New Ways to a Gourmet’s Heart – In This Fascinating Book For Cooks
52. How a Man of 40 Can Retire in 15 Years Time
53. New House Paint by Du Pont Keeps Your White House Whiter
54. 10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Living
55. How Investors Can Save 75% on Broker Commission This Year
56. Free Book Tells You 12 Secrets of Better Lawn Care
57. Can You See Where These Two Lines Cross? (Picture of a big hand-drawn ‘X’)
58. How to Feel Fit at Any Age
59. Sleeper Stock Bargains
60. How to Beat Tension Without Pills
61. New… a Cream Deodorant Which Safely Stops Perspiration
62. Here’s a Quick Way to Break up a Cold
63. The Eighth Wonder of the World
64. Why G.E Bulbs Give More Light This Year
65. Play Guitar in 7 Days or Money Back
66. How I Started a New Life With $7
67. Quick Relief For Tired Eyes
68. Thousands Now Play Who Never Thought They Could
69. How to Collect From Social Security at any Age
70. Are You Ashamed of Smells in Your Home?
71. Tonight Serve This Ready-Mixed Chocolate Pudding
72. How to Stop Worrying
73. What’s New in Summer Sandwiches?
74. How to Get Rid of Inferiority Complex
75. I Lost That Ugly Bulge in 2 Minutes
76. The Most Amazing Shakespeare Bargain Ever Offered
77. You Don’t Have to be Rich to Retire on a Guaranteed Income For Life
78. Who Else Wants a Lighter Cake – in Half The Mixing Time?
79. How to Get Your Cooking Bragged About
80. The Secret of Making People Like You
81. How to Make Money Writing Short Paragraphs
82. Double Your Money Back If This Isn’t The Best Onion Soup You Ever Tasted
83. Can You Spot These 7 Common Decorating Sins?
84. Girls… Want Quick Curls?
85. To a Mother Whose Child is Three Years Old
86. Car Owners… Save One Gallon of Gas in Every Ten
87. Linen Napkin Luxury at a Paper Napkin Price
88. How $20 Spent May Save You $2,000
89. Have You Any of These 5 Skin Troubles?
90. Will You Give Me 7 Days to Prove I Can Make you a New Man?
91. I Gambled a Postage Stamp and Won $35,840 in 2 Years
92. How I Made a Fortune With a ‘Fool’ Idea
93. To Men Who Want to Quit Work Some Day
94. How to Get Enthusiastic Applause – Even a Standing Ovation – Every Time You Speak
95. The Deaf Now Hear Whispers
96. Hand Woven by the Mountain People of New Mexico
97. To Men Who Want to be Independent in the Next 10 Years
98. Free to Brides – $2 To Others
99. Reader’s Digest Tells Why Filtered Cigarette Smoke is Better For Your Health
100. Which of These Five Skin Troubles Would You Like to End?
101. If You Are a Careful Driver You Can Save Money on Car Insurance
102. Buy no Desk Until You’ve Seen This Sensation of the Business Show
103. Protect Your Corporation’s Tax Shelter Status Without a Lawyer
104. They Thought I Was Crazy to Ship Live Maine Lobsters as Far as 1,800 Miles From the Ocean
105. How to Have a Cool, Quiet Bedroom – Even on Hot Nights
106. To a Man Who is 35 and Dissatisfied
107. Have You These Symptoms of Nerve Exhaustion?
108. No Time For Yale – Took College Home
109. Great New Discovery Kills Kitchen Odours Quick!
110. I Tried ‘Em All, But This Is The Polish I Use On My Own Car
111. To People Who Want to Write – But Can’t Get Started
112. Will Your Scalp Stand the Fingernail Test?
113. Owners Save 20% to 50% on Fuel With the G.E. Oil Furnace
114. The Tastiest Ocean Treat From Gloucester Plump, Tender, Juicy Salt Mackerel Fillet
115. Men Who ‘Know It All’ Are Not Invited to Read This Page
116. How Two Natural Foods Can Prevent and Even Cure Cancer
117. To a $40,000 Man Who Would Like to be Making $80,000
118. Money-Saving Bargains From America’s Oldest Diamond Discount House
119. You’re Never Too Old to Hear Better
120. How You Can Give up Your Job and Make a Million Pounds Instead
121. How To Stretch Your Inflated Money
122. One Place Setting Free For Every Three You Buy
123. Who Else Wants a Whiter Wash – With no Hard Work?
124. Wanted – Safe Men For Dangerous Times
125. Instant Corporation While U-Wait
126. How to Make Yourself Judgement Proof
127. At 60 Miles an Hour The Loudest Noise in This New Rolls-Royce Comes From the Electric Clock (Again, 18 words and it feels a little long. I’d change ‘Miles an Hour’ to ‘MPH’)
When writing your own headlines, spend as long as it takes until you create one that is really powerful. If you have to write a hundred headlines, so be it. The money you will make from a brilliant headline compared with a so-so headline will more than make up for the extra effort involved.
Golden Insider Tip to remember…
Don’t be lazy about writing headlines – your efforts will pay dividends.