Writing attention-grabbing crossheads using five plug-and-play formulas

Executive overview

Most crossheads on SaaS and service pages are placeholders — "FAQs", "Pricing" — that do nothing to sell the section below them. Treat every section as a mini page, and its crosshead becomes a headline that needs to earn attention.

Five formulas make that easy to execute. Each takes an existing crosshead and transforms it into something that hooks the reader and advances the sale.

Placeholder crossheads waste the momentum your headline built.

The five crosshead formulas

1. Ixnay assumptions — "This isn't [low-value assumption]. It's [what they really want]." Reframes the product away from the boring category label. E.g. "This isn't a CRM. It's a revenue machine."

2. Bigger adjective — "[Adjective] [feature], [bigger adjective] [outcome]." The first pair sets the standard; the second escalates it. E.g. "Easy UI, easier revenue." "Clean energy, sparkling conscience."

3. End the problem — "Put an end to [their struggle]." Leads with the thing the prospect is tired of. E.g. "Put an end to clicks as your best email metric."

4. Desirable thing on demand — "[Desired outcome] on demand." Short, direct, and works even at four words. E.g. "Revenue on demand."

5. Every blank starts with blank — "Every [result] starts with [your product/action]." Positions your solution as the origin of the outcome. E.g. "Every customer starts with a click. Every click starts with Mailchimp."

How to apply them

• Pick a high-traffic landing page or product tour page — not your home page.
• Apply each formula to your existing crossheads to generate options.
• Choose the strongest version, publish, and monitor performance.
• Crossheads do not need to be longer than the control — variety and clarity matter more than length.