The 4 Essentials of Magnetic Headlines That Attract Thousands of Views Like My Top Earning Story
By: David Ferrers
Tags: Content Creation, Views, Headlines, Stories, Writing Tips

The 4 Essentials of Magnetic Headlines That Attract Thousands of Views Like My Top Earning Story

Eyes on your articles are your aim. Photo by Roozbeh Badizadegan on Unsplash

My most successful story ever is proof that this method of writing headlines works.

Every viral story ever written has an attractive headline. No story ever went viral without an attractive headline that won the interest of a ton of readers. This is because the internet is essentially a search engine with a few added bells and whistles.

Readers discover your articles by doing online searches or because they have signed up to an email list. There is no other way that people will discover and start to read your stories.

Fact — if your headline doesn’t answer the question for which the reader is searching for an answer your story is dead.

The first essential of a magnetic headline — “What’s this about?”

Your headline has to scream, “This will help you”.

A reader is searching for specific information. She wants to know, “how to…?” or she wants to know “about malaria in Botswana?” Or she wants to discover “how to cook fettuccine carbonara?” She is online because she wants to find the answer to her specific question.

The job of your headline is to tell her you have the answer to her question.

The headline to this story tells you that the story is about how to write Magnetic Headlines. You are only reading this story because you want to know how to write Magnetic Headlines.

Now you know what the story is about you want to know…..

“Is this for me?”

The reader wants some reassurance that the story that follows the headline will be exactly what she wants.

You are reading this particular story because you were hooked by the idea that I will tell you how to write headlines that will attract readers. 95% of writers want readers. The headline tells you that this article should help you attract more eyes to your writing.

But, do you believe it will work for you?

Give the reader confidence that you will deliver on your promise

I re-wrote the headline for the story you are reading to include the words, “like my top earning story.”

I wanted to tell you that I have actually written a story that has had thousands of views. By the way, that story also has a very high “read ratio” which means that the story has been thoroughly read. It has attracted thousands of claps and tens of responses. The whole story is about one very specific subject.

I could also tell you that I worked in two of the world’s top advertising agencies for fifteen years so I know a thing or two about the importance of headlines and how to create headlines that work.

Length matters

The stats for the 121 articles I have published on this platform this year tell a convincing story.

Short headlines do NOT work as well as long headlines.

The reason is simple. You cannot tell a reader in just a few words what this is about, that it is for them and how they will benefit. You need more words to convince the reader that your story will answer their question.

Five words are likely to be too short. Twenty words will probably be too long. I aim for 12–14 words to give myself enough space to say everything I need to say to get a reader interested. You have read this far because you were enticed into this story by a 16-word headline.

The ultimate headline writing secret

Getting good at writing headlines is like getting good at anything else.

You have to know a lot about writing headlines. And then you have to practice, practice, practice. This means you have to write a lot of headlines.

There are no shortcuts — you have to hone your skills in the hot fires of practice.

Other important considerations

Know your reader. Before you start to write have a peep inside the mind of your reader. Ask, “What specifically do they want to know?”

Get clear in your mind about the PROMISE that you are making in your story. Then make your promise as clear and as loud as you can.

Write a first draft of your headline that includes all of the 4 essentials already mentioned. Then edit your headline by removing every word that is not earning its corn.

When reviewing your headline before publication ask: Is it newsworthy? Does it arouse curiosity? Does it appeal to the reader’s self-interest? Does it tell the reader a quick and easy way? These are the 4 categories of headlines defined by Hall of Fame copywriter John Caples. Your headline should answer one of these category questions.

A few words of thanks

I would like to thank my teachers:

Leo Burnett, David Ogilvie, and Bill Bernbach the advertising legends who inspired my never-ending quest for ways to impart valuable information in interesting and inspiring headlines.

The CDP Advertising Agency wrote truly creative headlines like, “Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach.” Striving to reach such heights inspires my writing journey.

My online writing mentor Nicolas Cole and his book the Art and Business of Online Writing. His teaching and writing have taught me 90% of what I know about online content creation.