5 headlines to avoid

like the plague

Plus, 5 easy ways to make your  headline work harder 

    

By Emma O’Brien Messaging Strategist 

Punchy.co   

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Hey there, I’m Emma O’Brien

When I work with founders on their messaging, they often ask me these 2 questions:

● How do we make our messaging compelling to prospects?

● How do we differentiate ourselves from other solutions? These are big challenges for any startup because you’re selling a complex product into a noisy market with lots of competitors.

A strong homepage headline is essential to differentiate your product and attract prospects. Based on your overall value proposition, your homepage headline should quickly tell site visitors what you can offer them, so they know to stick around. And yet, many headlines follow common formulas that confuse or bore prospects. In this guide, I’ll share these common formulas to avoid in your quest to clarify and differentiate your messaging. Plus, I’ll offer alternative approaches to take with your own headline, illustrated by real-life examples. Because every message is an opportunity to clarify your startup’s value and uniqueness. Let’s get started! Cheers,

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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5 headlines to avoid like the plague

Plus, 5 easy ways to make your headline work harder 

1. “X made simple” It’s an undeniable truth: as our lives get busier, we seek simplicity. Making things simple is what technology is all about...and that’s why this ubiquitous headline formula won’t do anything for you. Simple is table stakes.   “So-and-so made simple” has become a throwaway statement. Every product is out to simplify something, whether it’s buying a toothbrush or managing HR benefits. The real question your prospect is asking is how will you make it simple for me? The answer needs to become obvious.  Instead, try... Highlighting your customer’s aspirations, like Evernote 

Evernote does an awesome job of tapping into the emotional benefit to using their product: feeling organized. The calm, confidence that comes from being on top of everything. We all 

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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aspire to be in this state but it seems like a lot of work. That’s why people often talk about getting organized tomorrow, next week or “someday”.  Evernote puts that state of being within reach. The subhead clarifies how its features will help you get there to reinforce the value. 

2. “Making X easy” This is a close relative of “X made simple” and equally vague to your audience. Like “simple”, easy has become table stakes. A total “duh” benefit. But the concept of ease is more subjective than simple. It’s the user who decides whether the experience is easy or not.   It’s on the same lines as the classic consumer marketing phrase “you’ll love _______.” It doesn’t work anymore. Customers will decide for themselves whether they love it or find it easy. You telling them won’t change that.  Instead, try... Clarifying exactly how you make things easy, like Airstory. 

Airstory isn’t trying to impress people with “marketing” language -- they’re trying to get people to use their product. So they tell you exactly who it’s for and what you can do with it.  I know that Airstory writes their copy based on deep customer feedback, so you can be sure the headline captures what their users value most. Airstory also make it clear who it’s for -- researchers, students, journalists and copywriters -- increasing their chance of downloads.  

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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 Specificity beats generalities and vagueness. It brings clarity into your value and gives you room to differentiate from your competitor’s messaging.  3. “Reimagining X” (also Redefining X , Rethinking X or Transforming X)

In our age of rapid innovation, these words have become drained of life and meaning. And yet, these words appear like the undead across countless websites.   It’s a missed opportunity, because these headlines are an attempt to share a company’s unique vision for the future. But they don’t work in this form. They force the reader to do all the work. It’s on them to picture what your reimagined future for ride-sharing or cyber security looks like. And no one has the time or interest to do that.  Instead, try… Clarifying your point of view, like Acorn   

Acorn says a lot in very few words.   It tells you what it lets you do: invest your spare change. And it gives you it’s guiding point of view: a belief that anyone can grow wealth...not just the wealthy with tons of money to sink into investments.  

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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Yes, you could say that Acorn is helping to redefine how investment happens. But they have made the wise choice of explaining how and why they’re changing the future of investing. It’s simple and effective. 

4. “The leading X” or “The #1 X” I find these common headlines pretty pointless. It’s all about you and nothing to do with your prospect. Also, if you’re the clear market leader, why waste your homepage headline reiterating the obvious?  I worked with a client who was neck and neck with another solution for market leadership. Both claimed to be “the leader” on their homepage subheads. Unsurprisingly, people are numb to these claims.   Instead, try… Highlighting how you’re different in plain English, like Kabbage 

Instead of touting any leadership status, Kabbage chooses to make their message accessible to people. They sound straightforward and real, which works with a customer base of small business owners.   Highlighting that they offer credit “for the real world” makes prospects interested in what kind of loans or credit they could get with Kabbage. 

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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5. “All in one powerful platform” Many software companies offer a platform and most platforms consolidate different features. Telling someone that you bring all these features into one powerful platform is how you deliver value to a customer -- but it’s not the value itself.   Don’t waste your product’s first impression on the technical stuff. First, tell people what you can do for them. If the value is compelling, they’ll stick around to learn more about your platform and everything in it.  Instead, try… State the value your platform delivers, like Bonusly. 

Bonusly is an employee rewards and recognition platform. But their headline speaks to the effect of using their platform: fun and good feelings in the workplace. Which is what HR leaders are REALLY looking for when comparing different platforms.  Just because your customer is B2B doesn’t mean they’re an automaton rationally comparing features. Bonusly recognizes that HR Managers are people with their own aspirations -- running successful recognition programs that employees love -- and speaks to them. That’s what matters, not how powerful or consolidated the platform is.    

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co

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Want to level up your startup’s messaging? If you’re struggling to find the right language for your startup, I can help. The first step is to sign up for a complimentary strategy call with me. You’ll get a free review of your messaging to help you pinpoint issues, plus recommendations on how to strengthen it. Click here to schedule your strategy call

About Emma O’Brien

Emma O’Brien helps startups drive growth with clear messaging. As founder of Punchy, a messaging consultancy, Emma helps founders, CEOs and product marketing teams trade complicated jargon for clarity in their unique value, point of view & place in their customers’ world. Find her at punchy.co   “I signed up with Emma to clarify my brand messaging but what I came out with was conviction of our place in the world--as a company and for me as a founder. That is everything.”  

–Ben Zoldan, CEO, Storyleaders  

Punchy Helping startups clarify their message

emma@punchy.co