Good morning, and welcome back to Marketing Qualified. We hope your Fourth of July was full of hot dogs, fireworks, and good times! But today, it’s back to the marketing grind!

• A step-by-step guide to writing better headlines. Write headlines so good nobody will scroll past them.

• Are B2B brand trips the next big thing? A new trend is emerging right before our eyes.

✍️ A step-by-step guide to writing better headlines.

If you can’t catch someone’s attention, they’ll scroll right past your content.

If you do catch their attention but cannot clearly communicate your product’s value, you’ll never get someone to take action.

So, how do you capture attention and encourage action?

By creating a headline that’s so valuable, they have to click on it.

The value equation.

If you want to create a valuable headline, you have to start by understanding The Equation of Value.

It goes like this:

Dream outcome = what they will get.

Perceived likelihood of achievement = how likely they are to receive their dream outcome.

Time delay = how long it will take.

Effort & sacrifice = what they’ll need to give up to get the dream outcome.

It’s important to understand these elements because you’ll use them as your foundation when writing a top-notch headline.

Crafting a headline.

Now, let’s put the value equation to the test with a real example:

Headline v1: How to improve your SEO

This is an article that’s going to guide you on how to improve SEO.

Headline v2: How to improve your SEO to 5x your site traffic

Now, the outcome is more tangible because the reader imagines a significant increase in their website’s traffic.

Headline v3: How to improve your SEO to 5x your site traffic, even if you’re starting from scratch.

This manages the objection that a website might not currently have an SEO strategy.

Headline v4: How to improve your SEO to 5x your site traffic in the next six months, even if you’re starting from scratch.

Now, a reader imagines the timeline they’ll be able to achieve this outcome.

Headline v5: How to improve your SEO to 5x your site traffic in the next six months, even if you’re starting from scratch, without increasing your marketing budget.

Now, that’s an article we’d want to read! It makes it feel like the article has some secret value you can discover and use.

What we did.

So, what changes did we make in each version that we wrote?

1. We began with a simple “how to.”

2. Then, added a dream outcome.

3. Then, added an objection handler.

4. Then, framed the time delay.

5. Finally, decreased the amount of effort and sacrifice being asked of the reader.

Each headline version gradually increased its value based on the factors in The Equation of Value.

Next time you're crafting a headline or offer, give this framework a try!

📰  In the news this week.

👀 Relevance is the new personalization for marketers.

👂  The most effective logos sync audio and visuals.

📰  How Americans get news on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram.

🏚️ Social media influencers aren’t getting rich—they’re barely getting by.

📈  7 LinkedIn Ad settings and tactics you didn’t know you needed.

🛩 Are B2B brand trips the next big thing?

According to our LinkedIn feeds, B2B companies are doing brand trips now. 👀

What’s a brand trip, you ask…

‘Brand Trips’ are when a company organizes and funds exclusive (and usually fancy) trips for a group of influencers where they create content that promotes the product.

You probably see the content that results from these brand trips all the time on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. But until recently, we’ve only ever seen them for B2C brands.

But now, B2B brands are getting in on the action.

For example, Semrush just held a weekend event in London for B2B influencers.

Their Influencer Marketing Team Lead, Nicole, broke down the strategy and itinerary in a LinkedIn post:

Photoshoots, Instagram-worthy picnics, and filming man-on-the-street videos?? It doesn’t sound like B2B marketing, does it?

But we’ve said it many times in this newsletter and will say it again… B2B marketing trends follow B2C trends but tend to lag 5-10 years behind.

(We’ve been preaching this concept since the second issue of Marketing Qualified!)

Investing in influencer marketing has been an important tactic for B2C brands for a long time. We predict that more and more B2B brands will start jumping on the bandwagon now.

We’re watching the trend play out right before our eyes. Now is your chance to get in early before it becomes saturated.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

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