Think back to the last time you went fishing for leads. Was your hook sharp enough? If you didn't catch as many as you'd like, your headline (AKA hook) was probably dull.

Do you know that headlines are 75 percent responsible for response rates? Yes, the promise, the offer and the call to action are important but the sad truth is that none of these will ever be noticed without a sharp hook. In fact, a simple headline change can increase response by 200 percent or more! While there's no magic formula for writing winning headlines, there are a few guidelines. Advertising legend John Caples said that effective headlines fall into the following categories:

1. Self-interest: Directly or indirectly communicates a benefit to the reader. Example: "How One Manufacturer Cut His Workers' Compensation Costs by 50 Percent in Just Six Months."
2. News: Evokes urgency with words such as, "Announcing," "Introducing," and "All New."
3. Curiosity: Compels the reader into the body copy. Example: "What's Wrong in This Picture?"

Effective headlines tap into core emotions - fear, greed, guilt, frustration, pride, desire, etc. And, they're believable. They can even combine the elements of self-interest, news and curiosity. Here are some common headline mistakes:

• Featuring your company as the subject of your headlines - Notice that the headline examples above do not include company names. They also shouldn't include the word, "we." Make it about the reader.
• Focusing on a cute theme instead of benefits - Themes should only be used if they clearly illustrate the benefit you're selling.
• Using an "overview" style headline - Companies spend months writing a brochure and then spend five minutes creating a generic title, such as "About Us." They should spend 75 percent of their time on the headline!

Sean D'Souza, an expert in marketing psychology adds a few more items to the sharp headline checklist. He says that high performance headlines often have at least one of these three psychological triggers:

• They ask a question instead of making a statement. For example, "Do you make these mistakes in English?" D'Souza says, "The very sight of a question mark forces your brain to want to know more."
• They highlight a problem instead of a solution. This belief is a bit controversial because many pundits promote benefit-oriented headlines. D'Souza explains that the brain is fixated with solving problems ... it actively goes in search of potential problems that you may be facing. When it sees one in a headline, it zeroes in.
• They use specificity to elicit curiosity. The previous headline, "Do you make THESE mistakes in English?" would be much less effective if it was written as, "Do you make frequent mistakes in English?" That's because even if the reader doesn't really make mistakes, he starts to wonder if he makes THOSE specific mistakes named. It's a subtle but important difference.