Just two in ten people will read beyond the headline, according to research. If that’s the case then congratulations for being here at all! Now get ready to learn the secrets of how to write great headlines…
When we’re writing headlines – or any copy, for that matter – it’s key to remember our target audiences. When we’re writing online we have two audiences: humans and search engines.
Our content needs to entice readers in, giving some of the story but encouraging people to click rather than simply scan the headlines. Likewise, we need to ensure our headlines and the context of our content are optimised for search engines (SEO).
Here are some key tips on how to write a great headline for a blog or article:
1) Do your research
You need to make sure your content is relevant to your target audience. To make sure that my content is something that interests people and to know what questions they are asking on search engines, I use Google Keyword Planner and a great free tool called Answer the Public.
In tandem, these will give you the volume of searches and an idea of the types of questions people are asking so that you can create your killer headline.
2) Make your headline stand out
The next challenge is making your headline stand out, and it’s here that emotion comes into play. We need to make our audience feel something, and there’s no greater enemy of content than audience ambivalence.
I used the brilliant CoSchedule Headline Analyzer tool to experiment with headlines. It judges your headlines according to factors such as ‘Emotional’ words – such as “How to” in the case of this article. It also looks at ‘Power’ words, such as “Awesome” here, and common and uncommon word combinations. Experiment until you hit a high score that you’re happy with.
3) Cut to the chase
According to CoSchedule, headlines that are 55 characters long or approximately six words in length gain the highest number of clicks. It reminds me very much of that Seth Godin quote: “If you can’t state your position in eight words, you don’t have a position”.
Remember, your audience will likely to be reading from a mobile device, so get your point across quickly.
How publishers approach headlines is no means consistent, for example, the BBC and Guardian favour shorter headlines, while the Daily Mail is famous for its lengthy headers, probably to serve a scanning audience.
4) Use active speech
‘Active speech’ is critical – make sure you use present tense unless referring to an historical event. It just flows better.
5) Be careful with clickbait!
You’ll see a lot of clickbaity headlines on the Web: “You won’t BELIEVE what [celebrity] did after [event]” or “12 amazing ways to slim down for 2018. People are going CRAZY for number 8!”
If you’re going to deploy this type of headline you must deliver on the promise. Otherwise, you’ll get a reputation for being a timewaster.
If you’d like to learn more about great copywriting, check out our post on ‘Amazing free tools for copywriters and bloggers’, and if you need a freelance copywriter to help you connect with your audiences, please get in touch.
We also train PR agencies and brands on how to write for the Web, so contact us if you’d like to arrange a session.