Unsuccessful headlines were not written without a strong appeal, but it was the wrong appeal for that product and that audience.

Now I spend hours on headlines - days if necessary. And when I get a good headline, I know that my task is nearly finished.

What good is all the painstaking work on copy if the headline isn't right? If the headline doesn't stop people, the copy might as well be written in Greek.

The business of judging a headline AFTER you read the copy is wrong. It takes for granted that everybody reads the copy.

Make an offer they can't refuse.

Every copywriter knows what it is to struggle with a copy for hours, for days - fixing it, polishing it, rearranging it. We have all been quilty of leaving the headline until the last and the spending half and hour on it - or perhaps only ten minutes.

The most frequent reason for unsuccessful advertising is advertisers who are so full of their own accomplishments (the world's best seed!) that they forget to tell us why we should buy (the world's best lawn!).