R — Original Text (Reading)
"Direct headlines, indirect headlines, news headlines, 'how-to' headlines, question headlines, command headlines, goal-oriented headlines, testimonial headlines"
— Robert Bly, Chapter 2, 2.3
I — Methodological Skeleton (Interpretation)
Eight headline creation patterns validated by extensive advertising, each with a different psychological trigger mechanism:
- Direct: Directly states product facts and benefits, without embellishment. Suitable for informational ads.
- Indirect: Does not directly say how good the product is, but uses suggestion to arouse curiosity. Suitable for lifestyle products.
- News: Uses words such as "new", "discovered", "now available", "introducing" to provide a sense of freshness. Suitable for new product launches.
- How-to: Begins with "how to", promising to teach the reader to achieve something. The most versatile headline type.
- Question: Raises a question that the target reader cares about. Naturally filters readers.
- Command: Directly tells the reader what to do. Forceful but effective, suitable for action-oriented ads.
- Goal-oriented: Lists reasons or steps ("3 reasons you should buy X"). Suitable for complex products.
- Testimonial: Uses the words of a satisfied customer as the headline. Third-party endorsement is more persuasive than self-praise.
Selection principle: Choose the most suitable type based on product type, target reader, and advertising purpose; they can be used in combination.
A1 — Application in the Book (Past Application)
Case 1: Carnegie headline — How-to
- Problem: How to write a headline for an interpersonal relationships course/book
- Use of the methodology: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" — a how-to headline, promising to teach the reader a skill
- Conclusion: Almost everyone has this need; "how to" implies there is a methodology to learn
- Result: Became a classic headline
Case 2: Hellmann's mayonnaise headline — Question
- Problem: How to attract baking enthusiasts for a mayonnaise product
- Use of the methodology: "Do you know the secret to making moist, fluffy cakes?" — a question headline filters baking enthusiasts
- Conclusion: Question + promised reward (you will learn the secret after reading), perfectly drives reading
- Result: Demonstrates the dual function of question headlines: filtering + guiding
A2 — Trigger Scenarios (Future Trigger) ★
In what situations will users need this skill?
- Getting stuck when writing a product ad headline and needing inspiration for a breakthrough
- Having already written one version of a headline but it is not effective, and wanting to try a different style
- Analyzing competitor ad headlines to understand their strategy
- Designing multiple headline versions for the same product for A/B testing
Language Signals
- "How should I write a good headline"
- "Help me change the headline style"
- "What other types of headlines can I try"
- "What type does this headline belong to"
Distinction from adjacent skills
- Distinction from
headline-four-functions: This skill is creation classification (how to write), the latter is an evaluation framework (whether it's written correctly) - Distinction from
headline-four-formulas: This skill is type classification (8 styles), the latter is construction formulas (4 structures)
E — Executable Steps (Execution)
-
Analyze the product type and advertising purpose
- Completion criteria: Determine whether the product is "informational" (suitable for direct/target-oriented) or "lifestyle" (suitable for suggestive/how-to)
-
Choose the 2-3 most suitable types from the eight types
- Information-intensive products → Direct / Target-oriented / How-to
- Emotion-driven products → Suggestive / Question-based / Testimonial
- New products/new features → News-based
- Need strong push → Command-based
- Completion criteria: Each choice has a clear reason
-
Write 1-3 headline variants for each selected type
- Completion criteria: Each variant conforms to that type's characteristics (e.g., a "How-to" must begin with "How" or be presented in a how-to sentence pattern)
B — Boundary (Boundary) ★
Do not use this skill in the following situations
- Non-advertising headlines (article titles, book titles) — the applicable scenarios are different
- Choosing a type only for the sake of choosing a type — the type serves the sales goal, not to "be creative"
Failure modes the author warns about in the book
- Rejecting these types in order to avoid formulaicness — "What our industry needs is not originality, but the recombination and use of effective elements"
- Using an unsuitable type in the wrong scenario (e.g., using the suggestive type for a complex product — readers will be confused)
The author's blind spots / era limitations
- The eight types come from the traditional advertising era and do not cover digital-native headline forms (such as emoji headlines, numbered list headlines like "5 X Tips", etc.)
- The particularities of social media headlines (such as needing to consider platform character limits and hashtag strategies) are not addressed
Related skills (to be filled in stage 3)
- depends-on: [headline-four-functions]
- contrasts-with: {{}}
- composes-with: [headline-four-formulas]
Audit information
- Validation passed: V1 ✓ / V2 ✓ / V3 ✓
- Test pass rate: {{%}} (see test-prompts.json for details)
- Distillation time: 2026-05-03