. . . if they see another "Who Else" headline?

They all laughed when I criticized headlines stolen directly from swipe files - and they may be laughing all the way to the bank. But I still think those headlines can be really dumb.

In my not-so-humble opinion, headlines can't be effective if we don't put a great deal of thought - and editing - into each and every headline

Headlines that were very successful the first time they were used were tailored to the product or service they were selling. . We can certainly learn from these classic headlines, but I don't believe it's effective to simply copy them and replace a few words.

I don't have any swipe files and I don't use them. But I suspect they are meant to be used more subtly than some copywriters use them.

It's on this board, in the Critique section, that I've noticed this tendency to literally swipe the swipe files.

Okay, I'm not the only board member with not-so-humble opinions. Hope I've stirred up a hornet's nest. Maybe those of you who have used swipe files successfully can educate the rest of us.

Janet

that's interesting. Just listened to a Michel Fortin-David Garfinkel teleseminar (from www.simpleology.com) and the first headline template they were giving was "Who else wants _________"

So the basic line is.. are they "ineffective" because you think so, or because the figures say so?

Interesting. I was just at a Jay Abraham site, and his headline was a "who else" headline. Harlan uses one for his copywriting site. And I doubt Harlan would keep it if it wasn't effective. I just used one for a squeeze page for a client, and her partner thought the same thing as Janet. And this was for a niche that probably never even saw a "who else" headline before!

My advice: before you discard it as overdone, test it. You should be testing different headlines anyway. Let the market decide with their wallets.

John

I also have a negative reaction whenever I see another "Who else..." head -- but we have to separate our personal reactions to the copy from what the customers' reactions will be. Like John and others said above, if it still works, use it.

Agreed, Ken.

As someone famous, but unknown said, "we are never our own prospects."

John

Good points, but my main point is that some people use these swipe files to be lazy.

If you're a good copywriter, you take a thoughtful approach.

Now Chris from Ongooza just asked for a critique on this board for his/her salesletter. The headline was a "who else" headline and it didn't bother me. The ones I really hate are the "They all laughed..." headlines; when I've seen them (except the original) they usually seem clunky and forced.

I have to admit, I write for websites, so it's unlikely I could ever use one of these swipe file headlines (which may be why they confused me at first). They seem to be more geared towards direct response writing.

But I hold to my view that you should take a great deal of time and effort in selecting the most appropriate headline based on the details of what's being offered. If that's a "who else" headline, fine. But consider whether there are better alternatives that cannot be swiped.

Janet

Just for the record, my who else headline doesn't work.

I advise you all not to use it.

One of these decades, I'll take it off my site because it's so ineffective.

Doc, you're being "Cocky and Funny" hahahaaa

Okay, okay, I'm going to go and change my own websites headline to a "who else" headline!

I think I'll switch to direct response copywriting, though. It's save me lots of work when it comes to writing headlines!

Janet

How about this one from John Carlton:

http://www.ohpdirect.com/pro.php?sku=PW-77

John