Some copywriters are geniuses when it comes to headlines (btw, some art directors are too). But, sheer talent aside, headlines are so important that they often need extra attention.

When you're short on time, or simply stuck in a creative rut, here are 35 formulas from legendary adman John Caples.

1. Begin your headline with the words “How To”
2. Begin your headline with the word “How”
3. Begin your headline with the word “Why”
4. Begin your headline with the word “Which”
5. Begin your headline with the words “Who Else”
6. Begin your headline with the word “Wanted”
7. Begin your headline with the word “This”
8. Begin your headline with the word “Because”
9. Begin your headline with the word “If”
10. Begin your headline with the word “Advice”
11. Use a testimonial headline
12. Offer the reader a test
13. Offer valuable information
    
14. Tell a story
15. Warn the reader against delaying buying
16. Speak directly to the reader
17. Address your headline to specific person or group
18. Have your headline ask a question
19. Offer benefits through facts and figures
20. Begin your headline with the word “Introducing”
21. Begin your headline with the word “Announcing”
22. Use words that have an announcement quality
23. Begin your headline with the word “New”
24. Begin your headline with the word “Now”
25. Begin your headlines with the words “At Last”
26. Put a date into your headline
27. Write your headline in news style
28. Feature the price in your headline
29. Feature reduced price
30. Feature a special merchandising offer
31. Feature an easy payment plan
32. Feature a free offer
33. Use a one-word headline
34. Use a two-word headline
35. Use a three-word headline

Granted, some of these may seem dated, and you may be working in a medium that hadn't even been imagined yet in Caples's time. But, these prompts combine tried-and-true-and-tested direct marketing with what's foremost in the potential customer's mind.

And, that's a powerful formula — in 1931 (when he published this list in his Tested Advertising Methods) or today.