One copywriting formula for drafting a magnetic headline for an article employs the Four U approach. The headline should be:
- Useful
- Ultra-specific
- Unique
- Urgent
We like Demian Farnworth’s explanation of this system, building an example headline with all 4 elements.
“How to wash dishes”.
Technically, that’s a “useful” headline but it’s too generic to move readers enough to read the article that follows.
So, you make the headline not just useful but also “unique”:
“How to wash dishes with vinegar”.
(We wondered if this was a joke – just to make the headline unique – but, apparently, vinegar in the rinse water will get your dishes to sparkle).
Using vinegar is unusual compared to the usual washing-up liquid method, but you can pep up this headline further by getting ultra-specific. For example:
“9 ways to wash dishes with vinegar”.
Assuming you can actually give 9 different methods (you need to be able to deliver on your headline’s promise), you’ve improved the headline with the third U.
Urgency is the fourth factor – the one which will get your reader’s undivided attention. Urgency means there’s something at stake. In this example, the urgency is a matter of life and death:
“9 ways to wash dishes with vinegar before you die of cholera.”
While that headline may not be genuine, if it came through on a Twitter stream or Facebook newsfeed, we would probably click on it. We’d want to know the 9 ways to avoid death.
The Four U formula is effective.
Four U? For You? We love a bad pun around here and something else developed “for you” is the new Moray Claims Podcast.
The podcast is now available for direct listening (and/or download) from the Moray Claims website.
Click here to visit the home page of the podcast.
A podcast is an audio file that can be streamed directly from the internet or downloaded (MP3 format) and listened to “later” on a personal MP3 player or iPod.
Audio in general and podcasts in particular are great for filling in time that might otherwise be “dead” time – whether that’s driving in your car, waiting in the queue at the post office or walking your dog.
The Moray Claims podcasts are each around 8 – 12 minutes in length and, up to this point, there are 8 episodes available.
The podcasts to date cover a variety of topics.
- What is the Moray Claims podcast about?
- Reasons why people in Moray decide to claim personal injury compensation.
- How long until your claim settles once liability is admitted?
- Should you settle your personal injury claim directly with the insurance company?
- What do we mean by someone getting “Fair and Full Compensation” for Personal Injury?
- How much freedom do you have to choose your own solicitor for a personal injury claim?
- Ladder Safety Hazards.
- Why a Local Specialist Solicitor can help you best with your Personal Injury Claim.
“I’ve become a big fan of podcasts over the last 3 years or so.”
As Peter Brash of Grigor & Young / Moray Claims goes on to explain: “I used to listen only to music if I was in the car or using my iPod but I listen to much more speech via podcasts now.”
“There’s such a wide variety of podcasts available, it’s mind-boggling. Whatever your niche interest, there’s a podcast for you.”
“I regularly listen to podcasts about marketing (e.g. The Three-Month Vacation), entrepreneurship (e.g. Unemployable), Employment Law (e.g. Mayer Brown podcast) and Christian songwriting (e.g. Resound Worship podcast).”
“At Moray Claims / Grigor & Young we are keen to ensure access to justice for as many people as possible who have potential personal injury compensation claims. There’s a large power imbalance between the insurance companies who pay the compensation and injury victims.”
“Insurers have all the experience and financial resources. Injured people, on the other hand, are usually first-timers in the claims process. Knowledge is power and, with the podcast – as with the articles on the blog – we’re trying to provide education for the public. It’s so you can make better choices, in your own best interests, if you’re ever faced with the need to make a claim for compensation following injury.”
How we can help
If you have any questions arising from this article or regarding any aspect of the personal injury claims services offered by Grigor & Young / Moray Claims, feel free to get in touch with us.
All initial discussions are free of charge and without obligation. You can call Peter Brash or Marie Morrison on 01343 544077 or you can send us a Free Online Enquiry.
What is Personal Injury Compensation? (An explanation by APIL)