How frustrating!
You spend all that time researching, writing, and promoting your article just to end up confused as to why your page views are rock-bottom low.
Sound familiar?
Can you enter a house if you don’t open the door? Of course not!
According to CoSchedule,
[bctt tweet=”Your #blog traffic could vary 500% depending on the effectiveness of your headline.”]
Therefore, it is worth spending the time it takes to perfect it.
How to Write Irresistible Headlines That Draw Your Readers In
- Write headlines containing a number. List posts lend themselves to this type of headline. Use digits, not words. The OnceUponYourPrime blog actually recommends going back through all your old posts and converting them to list posts. According to research, readers engage 36% more often with headlines with numbers in them.
- Write headlines containing an odd number. My most successful post had the number 71 in it.
- Write headlines containing a high number. Ideally, that number should be 11 or greater to help you get found by search engines.
- Write headlines that beat your competition. Google your headline to find how many tips other blog posts in your niche have.
- Write headlines that contain a promise. Make sure your post keeps that promise.
- Write headlines that make readers’ wishes come true. What do readers wish for? Everyone wants things that are free, easy, quick, foolproof, and effective. Put those words and synonyms of those words in your headline.
- Write headlines that contain names of famous people. …How to Meet Oprah was about how to reach goals, but it became a more interesting headline with Oprah’s name in it.
- Write headlines that are short. A 65 character count is an average length.
- Write headlines that solve a problem. (Example: How to Be Memorable in a Sea of Bloggers)
- Write headlines containing the words “How To”.
- Write headlines containing the word “You”.
- Write headlines containing the word “Ultimate”. (Example: How to Write Powerful Headlines [Ultimate Guide])
- Write headlines containing adverbs. When do readers want things? Now? Today? Immediately? Put these words in your headlines.
- Write headlines that start strong and end strong. Research shows only the first and last three words will be read.
- Write headlines that match the content of your post. If you try to deceive people into reading your article with a misleading headline, you could lose credibility with your readers.
- Write headlines that contain negative words. Try using words like Never and Stop.
- Write headlines that arouse your readers’ interest. Words like Secret and Little-Known will do this. (Example: 3 Lies Your Children Tell You)
- Write headlines that contain power words.
- Write headlines that contain words found in viral headlines.
- Write headlines that contain uncommon words. My guest author sent me this headline: 5 SEO Tips to Double Your Blog Traffic. It had an odd number and a verb, but to my surprise, it scored low on the CoSchedule headline analyzer (listed below). One of the words found in viral headlines was “new,” so I changed the headline to 5 SEO Tips To Double Your Blog Traffic in the New Year, and this time, the headline got a higher score. Apparently, “new” is an uncommon word.
- Write headlines that ask questions. This technique is so underused, yours will stand out.
- Write headlines that follow this formula: The formula is number + adjective + keyword + promise. For example, 13 Foolproof Ways You Can Stop Writing Ineffective Blog Headlines dissected is #- 13, Adjective – Foolproof, Keyword – Ways, Promise – You Can Stop Writing Ineffective Blog Headlines.
- Write headlines that follow the SHINE Formula. Headlines should be Specific, Helpful, Immediate, Newsworthy, and Entertaining.
- Write headlines that use brackets. They draw people’s attention. (Example: This is the Way to Quickly Increase Your Blog Traffic [Blogger Collaboration])
- Write headlines that are entertaining. Linda Bethea, a client of mine, considered changing her Shoe Fly Pie post to Shoe Fly Pie that Even People on Facebook Would Like.
- Write headlines that are shocking. (Example: 8 Types of People Who Should Not Be Blogging)
- Write headlines that are inspirational. (Examples: Should You Have a Popular Blog? and 3 Reasons You Should Not Immediately Want Blog Followers)
- Write headlines that indicate you are writing about case studies. (Example: How to Make 1,406 People Look at Your Site in 1 Day indicated it was going to be a case study about someone who had experienced that success.)
- Write headlines that contain your keywords in them. Whatever keyword you tagged your post should be a word in your headline.
- Write headlines that have the same keywords as your subheadings. What if you don’t use subheadings? Start using them! It will help people looking for articles on your keyword find you in search engines.
- Write headlines that model previously successful headlines. Go to your stats page on your blog dashboard to see all-time high page views.
- Write headlines that address your readers’ concerns. You know their concerns because of the questions they asked in the comments section.
- Write multiple headlines for one article. Ask a blogger buddy which one to pick.
- Write headlines your ideal reader wants to read. My ideal reader is looking for blogging tips.
- Write headlines that you assess at Advanced Marketing Institute.
- Write headlines that you assess at CoSchedule. Write to Done‘s Mary Jaksch actually holds a content to see how high a score people in her Facebook group can get on CoSchedule.
- Write headlines that you assess at TweakYourBizTitle.
Do You Have More Ammunition To Write Headlines that Attract Readers?
Danielle of Three Peas Services compared your blog post to a dollar. If your post were a dollar, she explained, your headline would be .80 cents of it. That is how important your headline is. If Danielle is correct, 80% success of your post is riding on the success of your headline.
No pressure, though. And, there really is no pressure. Now that you have these tips, you are sure to rock your headline writing.
Before you go compose your headlines, please share, so other bloggers get this list to follow.
Did I miss any? Do you have any other tips for successful headline writing? Which are you already using that you find the most successful? I look forward to your views.
Note: If anyone feels they need additional information and further help implementing these tips, sign up for my Headline Writing Service to receive one-on-one coaching. If you are subscribed to this blog, you will get a limited-time VIP 25% off subscriber discount.
Related Posts:
13 Foolproof Ways You Can Stop Writing Ineffective Blog Headlines
3 Amazing Shortcuts for Writing Headlines in Record Time
How To Write Headlines Guaranteed to Bring a Wealth of Traffic
30 Tools You Need to Create a Successful Blog
6 Best Ways Bloggers Can Save Time with Templates (Discusses headline templates.)
How to Create Blog Content Your Readers Will Love
Sources:
http://coschedule.com/blog/headline-ideas/
http://neilpatel.com/2015/03/24/content-creation-how-to-create-better-content-for-your-customers/
