Gift a Martian pet this Valentine : Guaranteed delivery on today's order

Goal : Practice writing good headlines. 

Notes taken while listening to the Copyblogger podcast.

4 Ps of writing great Copy

• Promise : You deliver the promise by a great headline

      The 4 U's of writing a great promise

1. Ultra specific
2. Unique
3. Urgent
4. Useful

• Paint the picture
• Proof
• Push

How to test it

• Write a persuasive headline about something completely fictional so everybody understands it's not true, yet they are compelled to read the blog
• Write down the various blog headlines as I work through them
• Write down how & why each was rejected or improved upon

O.K. Lets get down to work now

What is the promise ? Let's write the 4 U's :

1. Ultraspecific : 4 facts or something like that
2. Unique : Alien bugs - like from Mars ?
3. Useful : hmm... buying ? How to buy martian pets ? That's useful, not often on the shopping list ?
4. Urgent : Not all martian pets are safe to buy over the internet, some have Vulcan friends..need to warn fellow earthlings before they get one home !

All right, lets write some headlines. Here we go..

• 4 facts about Alien pets you should know before Christmas 2014 (Buying is implied. Not bad for a first try ?)
• 4 facts about Alien pets you should know before 2014 Christmas (2014 should come as early in the conversation as possible.. I guess..)
• 4 facts about Alien pets you should hide before 2014 Christmas (Is knowing more urgent or hiding it ?)
• 4 facts about Alien pets you should know before 2014 Christmas  (naah.. knowing is better)
• 4 facts about Martian pets you should know before 2014 Christmas  (I think "Martian" is more specific. You don't want a pet from Jupiter. Jupiter has 2.53 times the gravity on earth. That means the muscles on that pet are wayy.. powerful. Plus the pet would feel it is high all the time, bouncing on the earth with lower gravity that is.. STOP. Getting back to the blog.)
• Martian pets : A buying guide of 2014 Christmas - 4 facts to know (Is a guide better)
• 4 facts to check before buying a Martian pets this Christmas
• Do Martian pets beat your fluffy cats in cuteness ? (interesting.. you lost "useful" & "urgent" though.. dag gone..)
• Is gifting a Martian pet better than a cute cat ? (o.k... "urgent" ?)
• Is gifting a Martian pet this Valentine's day better than a cute cat ? (order of words ? & feels too long. Like the Valentine day idea, much closer.)
• Pet from Mars or a cute cat : what to get her this Valentine ? (Mars vs. "Martian" seems lot cleaner.. anything to take out of this sentence ?)
• Gift her a cute pet from Mars this Valentine : next day delivery ( :) getting somewhere )
• Gift her a cute pet from Mars this Valentine : Guaranteed delivery if order placed in the next 2 hours ( nice.. but too long )
• Gift a cute pet from Mars this Valentine : Guaranteed delivery on today's order ( this looks good. No word left to remove. Hits all the points. )
• Gift a Martian pet this Valentine : Guaranteed delivery on today's order ( this looks good too.. torn.. flip a coin.. )

Whatcha think ? Let me know :

• Which of the above would you choose if not the last one ?
• Do you have your own twist on this ! a better one !
• What could I have done better ?

P.S : Now now.. don't you get all teary eyed on me for the cute fluffy martian buggers. They are out of stock for the rest of century.

P.P.S : Do you want cat or a puppy instead ?

:)

Link to original image from NASA