.jpg){kind=small}
That's why I would always advise you to start with a "like you" headline. A “like you” headline automatically forces you to make a promise. And as we just learned, a promise is the most important part of a headline! What is special about Markus' headline, however, is that it is somewhat controversial. The real promise is the guidance, i.e. how to build a lifestyle business. He seasoned the whole thing with a pinch of intrigue. With a little bit of drama. That always goes down well. Hence the dream vacation aspect.
Because when we hear (or read) "dream vacation" we immediately think of lying on the sandy beach, enjoying the view of the azure blue water and holding a Bahama Mama in Israel phone number list our right hand and a Steve Jobs biography in our left. And we automatically ask ourselves the question: "How the hell can we build a lifestyle business in this idyll?!" That's the crux! The promise that the reader craves (a lifestyle business) and the controversy (the dream vacation) just make this headline so palatable. Markus, hats off! But why are the others not so tempting? Why are the other headlines so bad.
The other headings are missing something. And I bet you can already guess: a crystal clear promise. Where's the promise in Law and Order? OK. Seth Godin can break almost any blogging rule ... and get away with it. He has an incredible reputation. And thus a rock solid brand. But what about the others? For example, in “Twitter Buy Button: promise either. This headline just describes something. Don't promise me anything. But it is also important (we saw that with Markus Cerenak's headline) that your headline must not be boring. This is a common rookie mistake. Your headline needs to jump in the reader's face. It must not only have been written for the search engine and it must not be boring.