Okay, guys, its hard-core traffic time.
We’re going to peel back all the layers, and get down to the naked truth about how to get more of it.
And not just any old traffic – I’m talking about traffic that converts.
Because let’s face it – if you just want to get traffic, it’s not that hard.
But relevant, targeted traffic – also known as “real live people who are interested in what you have to offer” – is a little harder to come by.
So let’s talk about how to get that traffic.
It starts by getting naked… 😉
Nothing Gets Attention Like SEXY
If you want traffic, the first thing you’ve got to do is get attention.
If no one sees you, or knows about you, then they’re not going to be able to get to your website and start consuming your content, right?
Of course – you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t know that.
You also already know that the first steps to getting attention online are your headlines.
Whether for an email, a blog post, a tweet or an ad – your headline is your first impression, and it’s got to be good.
More than that – it’s got to be sexy.
I don’t necessarily mean “about sex”, but definitely sexy.
Sexy, in this context, means something that resonates strongly with your ideal reader.
Something that affects them powerfully enough and in such a way that they just HAVE to click on your link and read your content.
Making Headlines Sexy
So how do you make headlines sexy?
Sean D’Souza has a great checklist that you can use as a starting point for tweaking your headlines:
- make sure it’s question-based (rather than answer-based),
- make sure it’s problem-focused (rather than solution-focused),
- and make sure that it evokes curiosity.
But that’s not enough, is it?
I mean, sure, you want to ask questions about problems that evoke curiosity, but what should you focus on?
The answer is in Mark Hughes’ Six Buttons of Buzz (which I’ve mentioned on this blog in a previous post).
Let’s explore what each of these buttons are and how to use them:
- The Taboo (sex, lies, bathroom humor) – This is anything that goes a little beyond what people are generally comfortable with, and almost always generates interest and conversation. “Santorum Surges From Behind.” Google “Santorum” and read the first result, if you dare.
- The Unusual – “Six Headed Snake Found in Montreal!” You’d click it. You know you would.
- The Outrageous – Anything shocking that doesn’t fit into the taboo category. Think of the last news story that really surprised, but didn’t offend you. “Youth Today Expect a Lower Quality of Life than Their Parents.”
- The Hilarious – Humor is different for everyone, but when you read something funny you know it.
- The Remarkable – If it makes you say: Wow! Amazing! Fascinating! It’s remarkable. “Scientists Discover Signs of Life on Mars.”
- Secrets (both kept and revealed) – “12 Real Estate Secrets your Agent DOESN’T want you to know!” There’s an irresistible desire to know what someone doesn’t want you to know, isn’t there?
If you hit these buttons, your headline will be truly sexy in the most important sense of the word.
But being sexy, unfortunately, isn’t enough.
If a headline is just sexy, like: “12 Real Estate Secrets your Agent DOESN’T want you to know!”, but doesn’t deliver on what it promises – only ten secrets, the secrets are basic, general knowledge, then your reader is going to be pissed off at you.
They’ll leave and never come back.
No, your work has to be more than just sexy…
Naked Is More Than Just Sexy
Naked is sexy, of course, but it’s also desirable.
It’s something that you want to keep looking at and thinking about for an extended period of time.
Think of the headline as the first impression, or the opening line of a conversation.
No matter how good that line might be, there’s still the rest of the conversation that has to be good, too!
That’s where writing truly awesome content comes into the picture.
If you’ve promised a spectacular post through your headline, people will take a look.
But if the content is amazing, they’ll do more than just look.
They’ll read, stay, and immerse themselves in your work.
And hopefully, they’ll do even more than that.
They’ll also click, consume content and hopefully, begin a real conversation that can lead to so much more…
Then You Make Your Move
No matter how good your headlines and content are, you won’t get a conversion without making your move, which means asking them to take the action that you want them to take!
Yup, that’s right.
Without an explicit call to action and offer, nothing is going to happen, no matter how much desire you created!
Exactly what action you request is important too.
It has to be on par, value wise, with what you’re offering in exchange for that action.
But that’s fine, because once you deliver on your promise, you can ask them for another commitment, and this time you can ask for a little bit more.
You’ve already started this process of commitment and reward.
- By writing a great headline, you’re implicitly asking for the action of clicking on it.
- Then you reward that action by providing an amazing piece of content.
- Then you continue the cycle and ramp it up.
If you want someone to subscribe to your mailing list, that’s a pretty big commitment, so you’ve got to promise something hugely valuable in exchange, and you’ve got to be able to deliver on that promise.
This cycle never ends, and the more you work through it, the bigger and better your conversions will be.
Want an example?
Here’s a real live one for you:
- I wrote a headline that grabbed your curiosity and interest – a headline that you found sexy.
- You clicked on the link, and read my post, which I hope you’ve enjoyed and found valuable.
- Now, I want to kick our relationship up a notch, so I’m inviting you to download my brand new Naked Marketing Manifesto, which teaches all of these steps in detail – all for free, without even having to opt-in to get it.
- Once you download the manifesto, you’ll see that it’s awesome, and that I’ve got all kinds of bonuses in store for you.
- And the cycle continues… 😉
The key, of course, is to deliver spectacular value at every turn.
If you do that and make it sexy, then the rest will take care of itself.
What do you think? Does this make sense to you?
Leave a comment and let me know!
Danny Iny
Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the “Freddy Krueger of Blogging”, and the co-author (with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others) of Engagement from Scratch! (available on Amazon, or as a free download). The latest and greatest thing you can get from him (for free, of course) is his Naked Marketing Manifesto, about marketing that really works!
First of all your idea is amazing, your post title got all of my attention. One of Your head line is just awesome ” Nothing Gets Attention Like SEXY”. Its true of course.
Yes, you have to deliver value that is commensurate with the sexiness of your headline — Any serious writer should be able to do that. It’s getting them in that matters most. If the majority of people are going to read just your headline then it makes sense that it takes the larger part of your writing time
I’m new to your content and have been enjoying browsing and reading your blog posts. I was so looking forward to downloading the Naked Marketing Manifesto but, after sharing 2 Tweets, I see no link for the download (except to download the PDF software, which I don’t want). How do I actually get the manifesto that I “paid for” with 2 tweets?
Hi Susan, the manifesto *is* the PDF – you just need to download the PDF file and read it. If you have any trouble, just email me directly, and we’ll sort it out. 🙂
Great post Ana. But um… I’ll have to keep my clothes on if I want to keep my visitors!
Seriously though I had a recent discussion with some other bloggers how well the word “poop” converted into traffic sites. Amazing how base we as a human race can get sometimes. :-/
For some reason, my husband and my 5 year-old daughter find any poop-related anything utterly amusing.
My daughter – I understand, but my husband? 😉
Maybe I should think about incorporating that into something… Run an experiment of sorts.
“What converts better: sex or poop?”
Now you’ve got my mind working…
Is it wrong that I want to cross “the unusual” with “the hilarious” and toss in a splash of darkness? : )
Great post (although I’ve also read Naked Marketing already) and I love the picture. Want it.
If you haven’t looked into Danny’s blog and books, do it. Like, now.
Another classic post, Dany.
For anyone wanting to work more on their headlines, I’m part way through a fantastic free e-book by Jon Morrow of Copyblogger called Headline Hacks. You can grab it from headlinehacks.com.
It’s a workbook to help you write irresistible headlines, it’s a highly recommended read.
I love how this post itself is using the NAKED strategy in it’s Post Title itself. Remember the old school pranks “Sex, Now that we caught your attention, blabla”, Looks like Taboo and the Remarkable strategies work the similar way
Thanks, Brian, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Yeah, the headline is what really determines whether people will actually read your post – but then of course you have to deliver on any promises that you make! 🙂
Way too much valuable info here Danny.I am definitely going to use Sean D’Souza’s headline checklist. There is no doubt that a well thought out headline will make all the difference of whether a person will read the post or not.
Last October (for Halloween) I wrote only about paranormal and basically weird topics all month. I believe at least 75% of the posts that I wrote in October are in my top ten all time post views.
Take Care. 🙂
Hey Justin, thank you! 🙂
Yeah, Sean’s headline checklist is great – definitely a must-read for anyone putting headlines together.
And that’s so cool about your October experience – so what are you learning from that for next time? 😉
Yup, exactly – it’s all about creating a constant cycle of commitment and reward, starting with the very first commitment that they make to read the post, based on the intrigue and promise of the headline. 🙂
Hey Sunny, you’re very welcome!
And yeah, you’re right – this isn’t new at all in the world of mainstream marketing – the trouble is that in our little neck of the woods, a lot of people are re-learning it all for the first time. 🙂
Hi Danny,
Great post. I wrote a post a couple of years ago called ‘Does Sex Equal More Hits?’ and tlaked about the words used in headlines and wehter it encouraged more traffic. It did. I got more traffic and more comments. It seemed like everyone had to come and read it. You are right, you need a compelling headline and the content in the body of the post to encourage comments. After that should follow more visits from the readers because they liked what you read and commented on it. Those readers will return.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hey Mandy, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Your own post sounds interest – maybe you should post a link here! 🙂
I love the url of this post. It says get naked, get more traffic. I wonder why the post wasn’t called that?
These are all valid points about traffic. I don’t concentrate on selling from my websites too much. I don’t carry that many ads and don’t really do much affiliate wise. I will put ads on my site if the price is right and people contact me directly. I’m a writer and editor and make my money online in those ways.
If I were looking for conversion etc, I’d definitely seek you out.
Thanks Ana and Danny.
Hmmm, that’s a great question – would have been a great edit on Ana’s part! 🙂
I think sexy headlines directly catches the attention of an user. Thanks for the rest tips. Danny, you rock. 🙂
You’re very welcome, Avi, I’m glad it caught your attention, and you enjoyed it! 🙂
If you watch advertisement closely, many of these are sexually orientated. In addition, there are some hidden sublime messages in it with sexual overtones. So indeed if you want more traffic perhaps it might be a good idea and test it out.
Hey Shalu, I think that might be a bit of an exaggeration – it’s true that sex shows up in advertising a fair amount, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to sell. That’s actually the point of the article…
Hi Danny,
This post is really awesome and an example of what you’re talking about. When i first saw the headline with Naked in it, it really aroused my curiosity and i rushed to read it but to my utmost suprise, it wasn’t what i expected but even more. But the truth is that its very interesting, i can’t agree more.
@Ana, Thanks for sharing.
You are very welcome, Theodore.
And thanks for the mention in your post; left you a comment and tweeted.
Hey Theodore, that’s great, I’m really glad to hear it – because that was the point! 🙂
Hi Danny,
I thought this post was about something else too:) You are quite right in what you are saying, the content must be interesting and appealing to your readers and the rest will follow. Sometimes we like to read a certain blog just because we find the person behind it very appealing and engaging.
Yup, that’s right… surprise! 😉
It’s not just a matter of getting attention, you’ve got to carry them all the way through, which is of course about a lot more than just being “sexy”. 🙂
It works for a lot of companies. At one of the local “breastaurants” you can order “naked” wings. Another similar restaurant uses a slogan “delightfully tacky.” I still am not positive what GoDaddy does. I’ll be honest though, if I am researching marketing information and I land on the “naked marketing tips”, I am probably not clicking. I understand I am one guy and that my response may not be typical. It is because of what other people have with this type of marketing that would cause my perception to be that 1. they really don’t know what they’re doing. 2. focus is in the wrong place 3. unprofessional. However, being that I have read your information and there is credibility, I would click. I think the audience should be carefully considered and let’s be honest…not everyone can get away with this. You have an advantage being an attractive female, I don’t want a 300 pound blogger mentioning sexy, naked other anything of the sort.
My apologies Danny, you are an attractive young man! I thought I was reading Ana
lol, Andrew – thanks for the compliment!
And I do see your point; there’s a fine line between “sexy” as in “generating interest” vs “turning readers off”.
Hey Andrew, what it all comes down to is fit with the audience. Different language is effective with different people that you might be trying to reach, and the key to getting it right is knowing who that person is *for you*, and then crafting your strategy and messaging accordingly. 🙂
Hi Ana, hello Danny,
When I first stated reading this post I thought, jee where is this going?
So I read on and you know what? I love the analogy to sex with out the harm but a lot of interest and that’s what it all about.
Once you achieved this interest it is time to ask for a call of action in which you did.
This post is a perfect example of the air in which all marketing should be done.
Thanks for sharing and giving us good insight,
Terry Conti
Hey Terry, I’m really glad that the post carried you through, and that you learned something valuable – that’s great, thank you very much! 🙂
Hey Danny,
You had me at “Better Conversions” lol
This is just awesome proof that you need attractive headlines backed with great content!
The only thing I don’t agree with is the fact you mention “no opt in required” which gives subscribing a bad name in my eyes.
If you’re giving away true value, subscribing should naturally be the next step. I see WHY there is no opt in required though 😉
Thanks a bunch!
-Gabe
Haha, thanks, Gabe!
And no, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with subscribing (I offer a lot of things in exchange for an opt-in), but it is a friction point, and some people are hesitant about giving away their name and email address – so this feels even *more* free, somehow. 🙂
Hook… Line… Sinker…
Great headlines are the key but everything comes back to valuable content…
Thanks for an excellent post Danny!
Thanks, Ryan, I appreciate it, and I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
Danny,
Great content here. I agree, it’s all about getting people’s attention then giving them value. (I like your naked analogy, good stuff :-D)
I always make a point to give value first. I truly believe that value is invaluable, you can’t put a price on real value.
The key is getting in front of people who can (decision makers) and will (your target audience) say yes to you.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Hey Dewane, I’m glad you liked the post!
I think you’re totally on track – you give value first, and it’s hard to put a price on real value. 🙂
Thanks again for the kind words!
Hi Danny
No doubt that sex sells and that headlines can really make a big difference, but of cause you will also have to deliver great content when you have got people’s attention. Creating great headlines is something I really need to improve on in the future.
Hey Thomas, right on – grabbing attention is important, but then you’ve got to hold their attention with real value that they’re going to love! 🙂