7 tips to create headlines that pull the reader into your content
By: Jonathan Young
Tags: ContentMarketing, Blogpostheadlines, Headlines

First published on the FloweMedia Blog

Is it the call to action, the keywords, the graphics or the beautiful layout of your content that keeps eyeballs on your content?

No!

It’s the headline.

80% of people read the headline, and only 20% go on to read the rest of your article. That’s a bummer. You’ve spent hours creating the perfect blog post, and only 20% of people are going to read — That isn’t polite.

But if you think about it, we’ve been taught from a very young age to scan information. That’s because we only have so much space to store all this ‘stuff’, so we’re built to review and make quick decisions.

Think of it this way: every one of your readers has to get past the headline to read your content. Look at it as the gateway to your content, and you begin to understand how important it is. If your gate isn’t appealing, no one will bother to pass through, and your content can’t do its job.

So here are some tips you can apply to your headlines right now for a bigger audience and more engagement on your blog posts, articles, and videos you’ve spent so long perfecting.

#1 Focus on the benefits

Copywriters know that it’s not features that sell a product. It’s benefits. In other words, don’t tell people what you’re going to share with them. Tell them how it will make their lives better or solve a problem.

For example, one blog on Copyblogger that’s had thousands of shares and comments is called 37 Tips for Writing Emails that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked. This post highlights an immediate benefit to the reader: getting better results out of their email marketing. Always highlight the problem you are solving for your audience in the headline.

#2 Make a promise and then deliver

If you want to make a bold promise, you have to deliver. An article called How to Make £100,000 in One Day is never going to be able to deliver on that promise, it’s just too unbelievable. But an article called How to Grow Your Business By 20% Over the Next Year, Guaranteed! May.

Making a promise in your headline and not delivering is clickbait. We’ve all made the mistake of clicking on something that sounds intriguing like, 4 Revealing Things You Never New About [Celebrity]. We’re then disappointed to find out that each item on the list is either common knowledge or on Wikipedia. It’s a surefire way to lose the trust of your audience.

Also, keep an eye out for terms like “ultimate” or “definitive.” If your Ultimate Guide to Cup Cakes is more of an introduction to cake making, readers will feel cheated by your misleading headline. So make sure your headline accurately describes the content of the piece.

#3 Use the “curiosity gap”

The “curiosity gap” is just a fancy term for the space between what people know and what they want to know. We all remember pushy headlines from sites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed that used to shout “You’ll never guess what happened next!” They abused the curiosity gap. But you can still use it more subtly.

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life from the New York Times is a great example. It piques your curiosity — how can one dumb tweet ruin someone’s life?

To use it effectively, make sure you’re still clear about the topic of the content. Check out this old Upworthy headline, for example, His first 4 sentences are interesting. The 5th blew my mind. And made me a little sick. It misses the mark because you have no idea what the article is going to tell you. And that leads to my next tip.

#4 Don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness

Writers love to show people how clever they are. It’s one of our all-time favourite things. And if you’re not careful, it can seriously backfire.

Good headlines are easy to understand and tell us exactly what’s coming next. So if you’re trying to shoehorn a pun or clever reference into your headline, it may turn your audience off.

Here’s an example from Bloomberg: Shark Oil for HIV Shot Takes Cue From Hemingway’s Old Man.

What?

It turns out that the article is referring to Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. In the book, the fisherman took shark liver oil to stay healthy. The writer is using the reference as a lead about a drugmaker testing the efficacy of shark oil in an AIDS vaccine. After reading the article, the headline makes sense. But the purpose of your headline is to get the reader to keep reading or watching. It’s not supposed to be a puzzle to solve.

#5 Use numbers

There’s a reason why the “listicle” is so popular. The format of a numbered list is predictable and easy to follow. If you promise your readers 107 Tips for Increasing Online Sales, they know to settle in for a nice long list. On the other hand, 5 Tips for Increasing Online Sales will be shorter and may provide more detail in each tip.

Headlines with numbers are preferred by 36% of readers. You can use them to list secrets, types, problems, or tips. You can also make a list in reverse. Instead of listing ways to create a better outcome, try a list of ways people might be making a mistake, like The 5 Most Dangerous Website Mistakes.

Using numbers doesn’t only work in list-type content. If your blog is a story or a how-to, is there an impressive percentage or number (currency) that you can fit into your headline? A title like The Small Mistake That Cost My Business £161,000 Last Year can pique curiosity (tip #3!) and attract a lot of readers.

#6 Learn from others

If you’re creating reams of content, you’re going to need headlines on a weekly or daily basis. So keep an eye out for headlines that have worked on you, both online and in the real world.

Keep a swipe file of articles that pique your curiosity. Evernote is the most popular tool to do this. I prefer NimbusNote. You can save items you find online, add photos that you take while you’re out and about. Flip through a magazine and see if there’s anything that catches your attention the next time you are waiting in your supermarket checkout.

Next time you’re stuck, browse your swipe file and see if there are some ideas you can repurpose (never steal!) to fit your content.

#7 Write a bunch and pick the best

All the headline-writing experts agree — the way to hit the headline jackpot is to play the headline lottery. It would help if you were writing 20 to 25 headlines for every piece of content you create.

Most will be fine. Some will be terrible. But somewhere in that massive list of headlines will be one or two gems that grab attention. Writing headlines, like anything else, gets better with practice. So don’t take any shortcuts.

Too Important to Ignore

Many bloggers spend all their time creating content and treat the headline as an afterthought. It should be the other way around. Dedicate plenty of time to coming up with headline options. If you have the chance, do some A/B testing of different headlines to see what performs best before you hit Publish.

Remember, giving the headline most attention you dramatically increase the chance of people reading your content. And after all, isn’t this the whole point!