Just a few extra minutes of time and attention to your headline can make a world of difference in the results you get.
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Mark Twain
Here are five quick strategies to help you take your headline from “blah blah blah bland” to “gotta read this one!”
1. Speak Directly to Your Audience
Who is your headline (blog post title) designed to grab the attention of?
Stop and think about your exact perfect reader, and what they get out of reading your blog post. Call them out.
“3 Easy Tricks for Busy Moms to…”
“How Ordinary People Can Pay Off Credit Card Debit 3x Faster”
And, speak their language. Use the same words and phrases that your audience does.
They’ll better identify and connect with you.
“Use your headline as a hook to catch the special group
of people you are trying to interest.” John Caples
2. Promise a Result
Speaking of what the reader gets… how can you include that as a promise in your headline?
This section has an implied promise that if you read it you’ll be able to quickly create headlines that get more attention.
Read your working headline and then ask yourself the following questions:
- …so you can?
- …which means?
- …and if you do that what happens?
- …because you want?
If you are writing about tips to plan a weekly menu, then ask yourself why do your readers want to plan a menu… what do they gain from it?
When I plan a menu, it’s because I want to save time (no “what should we have for dinner tonight?”, quicker grocery shopping and fewer trips to the store for forgotten items), gain sanity and organization, and have more time to spend on things I enjoy – game night with my kids or watching the sunset from my balcony.
So if you’ve got “5 Tips for Planning Meals in Advance” that might become something like “5 Super Time-Saving Meal Planning Hacks”.
“The best headlines are those that appeal to the reader’s self-interest…” John Caples
Tip: Focus your headlines on SUGGESTING and HELPING. It’s an easy shift. Just add the words “How to…” or “The Best Ways to..” to the very beginning of your headline.
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3. Evoke Curiosity (and Emotion)
Adding curiosity to your headlines is one of the best ways to get clicks. Which one makes you more curious, and more likely to click?
A. 5 Super Time-Saving Meal Planning Hacks
B. 5 Super Time-Saving Meal Planning Hacks Even Betty Crocker Didn’t Know
C. Want to Save Hours in the Kitchen? (5 Time-Saving Tricks)
You can add curiosity to your headline in two simple ways:
- Turn it into a question
- Use the “even” method:
“even celebrity X does/doesn’t…”
“even if you’ve never…”
“even if you always…”
“even if you can’t…”
“even if you aren’t…”
“Decide the effect you want to produce in your reader” — Robert Collier
4. Get Super Specific
When we include specifics, readers tend to feel the headline is more trustable. Think about these two examples:
A. Get More Clicks on Your Headlines
B. Two Surprising Ways to Get 138% More Clicks on Your Headlines
Which one sounds like someone tested their suggestions, and is more likely to be helpful to you if you try it?
So what numbers, names, and other specifics can you use in your headline?
- How many?
- Who?
- When?
- Why?
- How Long?
- How Often?
5. Add Power Words
If your brain, like mine, seems to be missing the built in thesaurus that the best copywriters seem to have… don’t panic. Use a power words list!
Simply review your headline to see which words you can swap out for a more powerful choice, and where you can add in additional power words.
