Never underestimate the power of a well-written headline. A great headline can be the difference between an advertisement being an ineffectual work of advertising clutter or a marketing masterpiece. If crafted well, a headline not only catches your eye, but it intrigues, inspires and motivates you. More than a catchy slogan or cliché, the best headlines meld together with a visual to touch their audience in some way. Whether it tickles them or tears at their heartstrings, a great headline works with a visual to elicit an emotion.

Writing an artful headline that is captivating, relatable and inspiring is more about knowing your respective audience than merely being clever. Creating a headline for an audience of music-loving millennials and one for an audience of orthopedic surgeons requires putting on different thinking caps. The things that interest and motivate the two audiences are light years apart. Each headline should take into consideration the needs, motivators, and attitudes of their intended audience. What benefits and features are important to them? Why do they need YOUR product or service? What makes your product unique? Virtually every memorable, effective headline touches its audience in a unique, personal way that lets the audience know the advertiser “gets” them.

In most cases, headlines work together with a visual to make a connection with a particular audience. It’s been said that “a picture is worth a 1,000 words,” so a photo can say a lot. A common error is to create a headline that repeats what is already being conveyed visually. For example, say there is an ad for a beach resort showing a photo of a person relaxing on the beach and the headline reads, “Relax on the beach.” The visual of the person relaxing on the beach already says “relax on the beach.” As such, the headline has become superfluous text and a missed opportunity to create a personal connection with the reader. Conversely, a headline that touches on why someone would want to visit the beach would be a more effective and relatable approach. To many people, the beach is an escape of sorts from work, a busy lifestyle or other situation. A headline that focuses on the desire to escape will create a more powerful headline that relates to the reader.

One big question people have when writing a headline is “How long should a headline be?” Generally, the shorter the better. Seven words or less is preferable, but not a mandate. Trying to say everything about a product or service in one rambling headline runs the risk of losing the reader. People are usually pushed for time and are disinterested in reading long text. Rather than squeeze multiple messages into one headline, shortening the headline and using a sub-headline to complete the thought can be a helpful tool. A primary message headline along with a supporting message sub-headline can work nicely together to convey a complex thought.

The length of a headline is often constrained by the sheer size of the ad. Today, large space ads are becoming the exception. In today’s smaller digital space, headlines have to work particularly hard. Often times, the visual element is very small or there is none at all leaving the headline and logo to convey the message. Telling an audience who you are, why they need your product or service and how to contact you in a 250 x 300-pixel space is a tall order. Doing it cleverly is a super-sized order. Using rotating GIFs with a teaser and payoff format can be an effective option for complex messages in a small digital space.

The art of writing a great headline centers on the ability to see the ad space as your canvas using visuals and type to create a work that literally speaks to your audience. When creating headlines, remember to choose your words wisely. Often times the core message of a headline gets lost in an attempt to be clever. While being creative is great, sometimes saying things straight and letting your visual do the work is the smart approach. Above all, know your audience! The more you know about your audience the more effectively you can write a headline that will captivate and motivate them. Make sure your headline speaks in a vernacular that relates to your audience. It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.