Some ads are long. They have lots of words and paragraphs. All of those words and paragraphs are meant to grab the reader’s attention, hold their attention, build up their emotional response, justify that response with facts, and motivate them into specific action at your request. But long can be daunting.
Should your reader glance at the entirety of the ad, with all of its meaty paragraphs, they could find it too daunting to press on and spend their time elsewhere.
This would be a shame, of course, because they might actually be missing out on a genuine opportunity to make their lives better with your product or service.
The solution is to include subheadings.
HOW SUBHEADINGS MAKE YOUR ADS MORE INTERESTING
Subheadings benefit your advertisement in several ways. They make it appear more friendly to the eye and less daunting to your reader because they break up your paragraphs into shorter segments. It is easier to read short segments than long ones. We grow less tired so quickly. This encourages your reader to continue reading, to keep pressing on. It encourages them to discover the benefits that’ll accrue to them if they buy your product.
If you publish an advertisement that contains several long paragraphs, you should consider adding a main subheading at the top, just under your headline. It should be a smaller size than your headline, but larger than your body copy. This subheading can be three or four lines. It will help bridge your headline with your body copy. It helps to direct your reader’s momentum by funneling them forward instead of allowing it to dissipate against your first paragraph of body text — like a powerful wave that breaks against the sharp rocks of a jagged seashore.
You want your reader’s interest to flow more like a river and less like waves upon the shore.
THIS RULE OF THUMB WILL MAKE YOUR SUBHEADINGS MORE EFFECTIVE
To make your subheadings more effective, introduce them at the beginning of your advertisement. Don’t wait until you are four paragraphs down. Although not an explicit rule, automatically inserting your first subheading after your first two paragraphs will almost force you to consistently enhance your advertisement with reader-friendly techniques.
Good subheadings tell a story. If you just skim the headlines and the subheadings of your ad, you should be able to develop the main outline of your sales story. Pose some of your subheadings in the form of questions to keep the reader interested. Good subheadings tie sections of content together and energize your copy.
Don’t sprinkle them in later as an afterthought. Design them into your ad as you are writing it. They will be more organic, less mechanical, and more effective.
You can find many ads that forego subheadings altogether. Don’t follow their lead. Use good practice. Include subheads.
To see an example of effectively-used subheadings and subheadlines, check out one of Bob Bly’s sales letters by clicking here. He promotes his products weekly. I always enjoy reading his pitch, even if I don’t buy it.