There’s a rule in copywriting and design:
- If your headline is straightforward, your image should be something weird enough to grab attention.
- And, if your image is straightforward, your copy should be attention-grabbing enough to hook people.
In simple terms: Straight copy, crooked image—and vice versa.
Straight copy, crooked image explained
For example…
We recently sent out a newsletter with the subject line “🤕 Bracketing.”
Let’s break this down real quick:
The word Bracketing is “straight.”
It’s a term most people are familiar with. It makes you think of sports brackets, and how people bracket their predictions for football, the World Cup, and so on.
The bandage emoji is “crooked.”
It’s an image of hurt. And when you pair the bandaged face with a “straight” term like bracketing, you get an intriguing subject line that arouses curiosity: what’s so hurtful about bracketing?
And if you read our subject lines often enough, you’ll notice we use this tactic almost daily.
Why this rule works
Copy and design work best when they’re complimentary. They don’t work as well when they’re competing for attention.
How to use this
Take a look at websites, product pages, ads, etc., where you’re using copy and images.
Ask which piece is “crooked” and which piece is “straight.” If both are, straighten one of them out. If neither of them are, make one of them crooked.
You might just get more traction on some of your copy as a result!
