Multiple studies on copywriting and marketing engagement show us that the average reader gives a sales page only five seconds to catch and keep their attention. Five seconds! That’s all the time you have before the average reader clicks away or closes your website. That’s shorter than the attention span of a goldfish, which is closer to eight seconds.

It’s no secret nor a surprise that the headline for your sales page is your best chance at catching and keeping your audience’s attention.

The legendary copywriter David Ogilvy said, “On average, five times as many people read the headline as they read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” 

As a rule of thumb, whether it’s writing the headline for your new online course, your mastermind program, coaching program, digital product, even the subject line for your next email campaign, write at least 10 different headlines and then, see which ones jumps out to you.

Invest as much effort into writing the headline as you do in writing the rest of your sales page. The payoff is worth it if you can catch and keep your audience’s attention in the first five seconds.

The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”