Brand, web & content

How do I write a headline / value proposition that grabs attention?

The short answer

A great headline states the specific outcome for a specific person, clear beats catchy. Julian Shapiro's advice: make the header fully descriptive so a stranger instantly knows what you sell, then add a hook (a bold claim or an objection handled). Test it: would it make sense with no logo above it?

Go deeper, your way

1 hand-picked resource, 1 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Why we picked it Julian Shapiro's deeply practical framework for landing pages, including the desire-minus-friction conversion model, a canonical growth resource.

How to build a landing page (Startup Handbook)

From julian.com by Julian Shapiro 25 min read

  • Purchase rate = desire minus (labour plus confusion)
  • The hero header must be fully descriptive; visitors have short consideration spans
  • Show the product in action and test copy on both outsiders and insiders
Open julian.com

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People also ask

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Also in D2C

The same ground, over in Build your online store, our D2C track.

Also in How Founders Use AI

How founders actually use AI for this, over in Content Creation.

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