How To: Write Attention Grabbing Headlines or Titles
Your headline is the first, and possibly only, impression you make on your reader. Without a strong headline or title you’ll have trouble changing someone who is “just looking” into a reader. The headline deems the rest of your words...worthy of a look.
Did you know that 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read past that. Enter... the power of the headline! It totally determines the success of the content. The better the headline, the better the chance you have of engaging your potential readers.
A headline or title is used in:
- Social Media posts and updates
- Articles or blog posts
- Email subject lines (to name a few)
The first priority of a headline is to grab your reader’s attention. If you can’t grab their attention, you fail.
Let’s start with the look of the headline; you want it to call attention to the eye like a shiny object. A proven way to do this is to use capitalization on the large words in the headline.
Below are 2 examples of the same headline with different capitalization:
“How to collect from social security at any age”
“How to Collect From Social Security at Any Age”
Did your eye jump immediately to the second headline even though they say the exact same thing?
The copy, or words chosen, in the headline is the biggest factor on whether it will get read or not. Perfectly chosen words will grab their eye and keep their attention.
Below are 10 diehard headline templates that have been proven successful in grabbing the reader’s attention. The old faithfuls!
Hint: I recommend not reinventing the wheel with a headline when tested and proven headlines are available
1. “How To:___________________”
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
2. “WARNING: ________________”
- WARNING: 97% of Business Owners Will be Affected by this New Tax Law
3. “Who Else Wants____________”
- Who Else Wants Jennifer Aniston’s Body in Less than 90 Days?
4. “Are You___________________”
- Are You Embarrassed by Your Dirty Car?
5. “See How Easily You Can________
- See How Easily You Can Get Your Husband to do Everything on His “Honey-Do” List
6. “How I_____________________”
- How I Retired at 34 With a Residual Income for Life
7. “Secrets of ____________Revealed”
- Secrets of a Work From Home Billionaire Blogger Revealed
8. “Give me ____and I’ll __________
- Give Me One Hour a Day and I’ll Have You Speaking Spanish Like Pablo in 30 Days
9. “ _________Ways To_________” (number headlines are the most popular)
- 13 Ways to Whiten Your Teeth at Home
10. “How ______Made Me_________”
- How a Matchbook Made Me $342,653 in 24 Hours
If you have a headline formula that gets clicks...please share it in the comment section below.
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