a single source, nothing corroborates it

Lead on the complaint they already voice

Point the opening at a hurt the reader would mention unprompted, not at a benefit that is real but nobody wanders around wanting. Name the current situation and promise it ends, then make the description of that pain vivid, specific and recent enough that the right person feels caught. It will repel everyone who does not have the problem, which is the price of the ones who do.

The method

1. 01

   Point the headline at a pain the visitor already has, since its only job is to get them into the first sentence.

2. 02

   Do not lead on a benefit nobody is actually thinking about; lead on the thing they complain about out loud.

3. 03

   Make the pains as vivid, specific and recent as you can, and accept that this repels everyone who does not have them.

4. 04

   Teach on the page, but only about the pain the reader already cares about, and let the real lesson ride along inside it.

5. 05

   Name the pain of the current situation directly in your launch announcement and promise relief from it, rather than listing capabilities.

What it returned

• 2011

  Laravel's 2011 announcement promised PHP developers freedom from tangled code and an expressive syntax that made development enjoyable again, backed by clear documentation, a gentle learning curve and a welcoming community.

• Building trust is a real benefit but no one walks around wanting it, whereas everyone hates configuring autoresponders

Sources

• Why many products struggle, and only a few succeedJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Taylor Otwell, PHP, and Laravel · undated
• Why you're not making salesJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Tell me about what you're selling · undated
• Step-By-Step Landing Page CopywritingNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · The short version · 2013-02-19