speaking only to the 3% of your market who are looking to buy, with a call to
action (CTA) like ‘get a quote’. This type of CTA typically converts at
around 3%, resulting in the three leads. A typical conversion rate for this type
of offer generally converts at 30%, resulting in this exercise yielding one
sale.
Scenario 2: You send the same 100 people to a website or landing page that
speaks to the burning questions that market has with a HVCO. This type of
offer generally converts at 25% because it’s aimed at educating the market
rather than selling. Because the offer is more educational, naturally there is
less buyer intent behind it, so these leads close at a lower rate of typically
around 12% if nurtured correctly. Resulting in three sales. Net result? Same
cost to generate the 100 visitors, with triple the amount of sales.
So, now you know that HVCOs work, and can dramatically increase sales for
your business, you should think about the type of HVCO that would really
provide value for your prospects, whether that be a free report, video, cheat
sheet, webinar, seminar, or otherwise.
Remember, it must be geared towards mass market appeal, answering the
most prominent burning question, and offering the single most valuable and
immediate solution to that problem. All while drawing into the top of your
funnel as many targeted people as possible.
Now let’s get into the actual mechanics on how to create an HVCO for your
business.
There are three rules you must follow when putting together the kind of
HVCO that will explode your sales:
HVCO Rule #1: Create an Attention-Grabbing Headline
HVCO Rule #2: Make sure every point touches a burning issue.
HVCO Rule #3: Keep it simple.
Now, they’re all important, and we’ll come to rules #2 & #3 in a moment; but
first, the single most critical part of this process is having an attention-
grabbing headline that stops your prospects in their tracks, grabs them by the
throat, and creates so much intrigue that it practically forces them to give you
their contact details.
HVCO Rule #1: Create An Attention-
Grabbing Headline
To illustrate the importance and power of this, let me share a short story. In
1982, Naura Hayden released a book called Astro-Logical Love.
Looking at the title, what do you think this book is about? Does it grab you
and demand your attention? Is it clear and specific as to what you’ll learn?
Well, when they print a book, the first print run is typically 5,000 books, and
most books don’t sell out in their first run. This book also didn’t sell out in
the initial 5,000. In fact, it sold only 2,000 copies.
So Hayden sold the rest of her books to discount book stores and flea
marketers who sell books for 99 cents. It was there that a New York publisher
stumbled across the book, bought it, read it, and thought, ‘This is a great
book about how to seduce women’.
He called Naura Hayden and bought the rights to the book and republished it.
He didn’t change one word inside the book.
Exact same book… The product was the same.
But he changed the title to this: How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time… and
Have Her Beg for More!
Which book would you rather read if you were in the market for that type of
thing?
Well, the result was 2.3 million books sales in the first 18 months!
It became a massive cultural phenomenon and a New York Times #1 best
seller. Same book, same content, just a different title. It wasn’t the picture on
the cover that made the difference (actually there is no picture). It was the
title, and more specifically the offer in the title that changed.
And that was an offer that someone actually wanted. The take-away for you
is simple and clear:
Identify your Dream Buyer’s single most pervasive and persistent hair-on-fire
problem – and then offer them the single most valuable and immediate
solution.
Once you’re clear on this, really labour over figuring out the best possible
title for your free report. Because the truth is, the title of your free report is
the number one factor in the pulling power of your HVCO and will largely be
responsible for the amount of people that enter your funnel… and the amount
of sales you make.
Like the example earlier, you don’t want to call your free report How to
Make Men Want You. It’s a vanilla offer and it doesn’t intrigue the reader.
You want to name it, Make Him Beg to Be Your Boyfriend in Six Simple
Consider an HVCO that King Kong put together: 22 Money Murdering
Mistakes That No Web Designer Would Dare Tell You. It’s a lot more
compelling than Five Things You Should Know When Building Your
Website. We dialled up the volume, using strong imagery that provoked a
visceral response. You want to make your title burn with intrigue and be
absolutely irresistible
If the title of your HVCO isn’t enticing and doesn’t stop people in
their tracks, then nobody’s going to download it. And if nobody
downloads it, you’ll have nobody entering the top of your funnel and
you’ll have nobody to call. You’ll have no leads and you’ll make no
sales.
Having a really good title to your HVCO literally pulls everybody into
the top of the funnel.
So, how do you get people to actually read your stuff? Here are five headline
essentials:
HEADLINE ESSENTIAL #1 – YOU NEED A HEADLINE THAT
GRABS THEM AND PRACTICALLY FORCES THEM TO READ
YOUR MATERIAL
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body
copy. When you’ve written your headline, you’ve spent eighty cents out of
your dollar”.
- David Ogilvy
People who write copy and craft headlines and ads for a living are called
copywriters. And which publications have the highest-paid copywriters on
the planet? You might think it’s a huge advertising agency, or maybe Coca-
Cola, or Nike, but you’d be wrong.
The answer is gossip magazines and news publications. Like Women’s
Weekly, AARP and The National Enquirer.
For those wondering what The National Enquirer is, it’s one of those trashy
gossip magazines in the US that you see near the checkout in supermarkets
and convenience stores. But there’s a good reason why they pay their
copywriters so much. The writers for The National Enquirer are among the
best anywhere on earth. I’m not being sarcastic. They really are. If you doubt
that, here’s something for you to consider.
Approximately seven million people read The National Enquirer each and
every week! Enquirer articles are superbly written. They are clear, concise,
crisp, and, all in all, the most easily understood articles of any publication.
And what do Enquirer writers excel at above all else?
You guessed it – HEADLINES. Their headlines are so powerful and have so
much grabbing power that every week, people who’ve sworn they’ll never
again buy such a publication are almost forced to purchase it despite
them
selves.
Let’s take a quick look at the attention-grabbing pulling power of their
headlines now.
Look at the wording: ‘Exposed!’ ‘Revealed!’ ‘Confession!’ ‘Horror!’
‘Secret!’ ‘Torture!’
These are all emotional trigger words that strike up very visceral emotions.
Now at this stage you might be thinking, ‘I could never position my business
as these trashy mags do!’
Slow down. Be patient and stay with me.
It’s not just the National Enquirer that does this. Let’s look at something a
little closer to home and see what we can learn about how to create an
irresistible, attention-grabbing headline.
Take a moment to look at each one of these covers and see if you can see
some commonalities, other than of course all being fixated on ‘Better Sex!’
and ‘Getting Chiselled Six-Pack Abs!’ Something else should jump out at
you, something that adds to the grabbing power of their headline. Let’s take
the first one, Glamour Magazine with Jennifer Lopez on the cover. Notice the
use of numbers…
HEADLINE ESSENTIAL #2: NUMBERS
Numbers give your prospects a tangible object or logical idea to wrap their
head around. They also lay out a structure the reader instantly knows will be
easy to follow (not forgetting it makes it easier for you to write). Would you
rather read ‘5 things you must know before hiring a wedding planner’ or
‘Some helpful information about hiring a wedding planner’? The answer
should be obvious.
So, let’s try it for your business:
‘7 Things You Must Know Before Hiring a Financial Planner’
‘12 Things No Wedding Photographer Would Tell You’
‘22 Money Murdering Mistakes No Web Designer Would Dare Tell
You’
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, this is cut and paste: ‘Shocking
reporting reveals the 5 things you must know about X’.
I’ve used it in hundreds of industries and it’s never not worked.
Remember, your prospects are more distracted than ever before. People
browsing the web are basically sleepwalkers and you must jolt them awake
like an electric shock. Remember, they’re only one click away from seductive
porn or irresistibly cute cat videos.
In the first few seconds you must grab them by the throat and drag them into
your copy and your offer. Once you have their attention with an attention-
grabbing headline, this sets you up for the ‘meat and bones’ of your ad where
you need to create enough desire for them to give you their contact details
and download your HVCO – and therefore enter your funnel. And you do
that by creating irresistible intrigue.
HEADLINE ESSENTIAL #3: CREATE IRRESISTIBLE INTRIGUE
It’s not enough just to get their attention and sell the benefits of your offer.
You also need to pique your reader’s interest and have them burning with
curiosity. The best way to do that is to dial up the intrigue.
A great way to create irresistible intrigue is by using words such as ‘Must’,
‘Alarming’, ‘Shocking’, ‘Won’t Tell You’, ‘Exposed!’ ‘Revealed’
‘Confession!’ ‘Horror’ ‘Secret’. You can download an additional list of power
words to help you get started at https://resources.selllikecrazy.co/
Or try adding a twist or qualifier to the hook, i.e., ‘How to start and scale an
online business, even if you don’t know what to sell’. By adding the ‘even if
you don’t know what to sell’ it not only qualifies people who don’t know
what they want to sell, but also increases the intrigue for your prospect to find
out how that’s possible.
HEADLINE ESSENTIAL #4: SHOW THEM WHAT’S IN IT FOR
THEM
Your HVCO should ultimately be about them and their desired outcome.
Your prospect needs (and wants) an immediate benefit and the key is to write
about them – not you.
Show them how they’ll learn simple tips that will help solve their problem.
Show them what their desired outcome looks like, and then educate them on
how to get there. That’s the payoff the reader gets in exchange for their email
address.
You must add as many specific and vivid details as possible. Let’s look at
one of the titles for a free report we looked at earlier:
‘7 Things You Must Know Before Hiring a Financial Planner’
That’s already better than most. Most people would generally go with
something very vague like:
‘7 Things to Know About Financial Planning’
How can we juice this up and make it more irresistible?
Lets add in some power words.
‘7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Financial Planner’
‘7 Shocking Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Financial Planner’
‘7 Horrors You Must Know Before Hiring A Financial Planner’
That’s a bit better, but what else can we do to really get these singing?
Well, one more thing we can do to take these titles to the next level is to
make them as specific and bursting with intrigue as possible.
‘7 Horrors You Must Know Before Hiring a Financial Planner (Not knowing
these could cost you $10,000s!)’
‘7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Financial Planner (#3
Will Blow Your Mind!)’
That last one is strong. The intrigue has been dialled up. Let’s go with that.
FINALLY REVEALED…
7 Alarming Things You Must Know
Before Hiring A Financial Planner
(#3 Will Blow Your Mind!)
Top financial planner reveals his secret checklist and the dirty little lies that
could cost you $10,000s and stop you from retiring 7 years early. Shocking
free report reveals all!
Now let’s take a step back and compare the original title with the one we’ve
just created:
‘7 Things to Know About Financial Planning’
vs.
‘7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring a Financial Planner (#3
Will Blow Your Mind!)’
Which sounds more compelling? More intriguing? Which would more likely
to convince you to hand over your contact details in exchange for that info?
BORING
‘7 Things To Know About Financial Planning’
‘How to Meet Men’
‘5 Facts About Web Design’
‘Information About Getting a Divorce’
IRRESISTIBLE
‘7 Alarming Things You Must Know Before Hiring A Financial Planner (#3
Will Blow Your Mind)’
‘Make Him Beg to Be Your Boyfriend in 6 Simple Steps’
‘22 Money Murdering Mistakes That No Web Designer Would Dare Tell
You’
‘A Top Divorce Lawyer’s Secret Checklist: 22 Tipoffs Your Husband May Be
Cheating on You’
Timeless Formulas For Your HVCO
Titles
Timeless Formula #1
X ways to achieve [Desirable Thing] without doing [Undesirable Thing]
Example:
6 Ways to Get Washboard Abs Without Doing a Single Sit -Up
Timeless Formula #2
[Do Difficult Thing] in [Specific Period of Time] Even if [Shortcomings]
Example:
Pay Off Your Mortgage in 7 Years Even if You Have a Modest Income
Timeless Formula #3
Achieve [Desirable Thing] like [An Expert] Even Without [Something
Expected]
Example:
Paint Masterpieces Like Picasso Without Ever Having a Single Lesson!
Timeless Formula #4
How to Eliminate [Biggest Problem] without doing [The Thing They Hate]
Within [Specific Timeframe]
Example:
How to Eliminate Your Muffin Top Without Giving Up the Foods You Love
– Within 21 Days or Less!
These are all pretty good starting points for your HVCO title. They speak to
your prospect’s needs in a clear and concise way.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you write a new report.
However, if you can come up with a unique and memorable title, it will suck
in leads like a vacuum cleaner on steroids.
HCVO Tip #2: Make Sure Every
Point Touches A Burning Issue
Make sure every point in your HVCO touches on a burning question your
audience has. If you’re writing a report or an ebook, do this in the sub-heads
to ensure anyone just skimming it will get pulled in.
For example, if your headline is this:
‘5 Shocking Ways Internet Thieves Are Stealing Your Private Data – And the
Secrets to Protecting Your Family!’
Every point or subhead in the text needs to support this assertion. For
example, a subhead could be:
‘#1 – Think Your Password Keeps You Safe? Think Again!’
And,
‘#2 –Destructive Malware Will Fry Your Computer!’
The point is that if you make an assertion in your title or headline, you must
back it up in the text. Keep up the pressure!
HCVO Tip #3: Keep It Simple
Start by writing a free report or ebook. There are lots of different types of
HVCOs (see below for a list), but reports and ebooks are easy to create, and
you can have one up and sucking in leads in no time. All you have to do is
write a short report (5-6 pages is plenty) and convert it into a PDF. (Don’t let
the simplicity fool you into thinking they’re not effective. Some of the most
popular HVCOs I’ve ever deployed were only eight pages.)
You don’t even have to write your report from scratch. You could compile
your most popular blog posts into one easy-to-digest guide, jazz it up with
basic styling, and convert it into a PDF.
Or you could interview experts on a subject, compile the answers into a
report, write an irresistible title, and away you go. (Many experts are happy