A Great Headline is a Clicked one
As a blog writer you may spend a great amount of time creating your blog content. It is important to do all the right things for quality content: keyword research and use, separating your content into smaller slices, picking wonderful eye-catching images to include, creating internal links, and writing in a natural way that is easy to read. Then, spending time checking your grammar and spelling is necessary of course.
However, research shows that 5 times as many people read your headline as read the content you slaved over. 80% of potential visitors will look at a headline, but only 20% of them will actually click through to read the article. So it is imperative to create great headlines in order to draw your visitors into your content or you have basically wasted all that content writing time.
A great headline will ATTRACK and ENGAGE both in a single sentence that can be read in a few seconds as the visitor scans your website. The web is so big and so full of content that you should do everything you can to capture the attention of a visitor because it may be the only chance you get.
Does this describe the headlines you are creating?
Like myself, you might be worrying excessively about your content and not spending enough time on your headlines. In this post, I’m going to suggest some ways to create and improve your headlines to catch more “clickers” – which is what we all want to happen with our content.
- Create several potential headlines and then pick out the best. By several, I mean more than 5, in fact many more than 5. You might even think about creating your headlines before writing your content – some people do that, but it’s not always the best method. It depends.
Know that a great headline is a:
“A clicked headline”
11 Things that make a visitor CLICK
- Your visitor must find your headline of interest – whether it’s about a product, idea, topic, or event. It must be relevant to them.
- Your words must be clear and compelling – so that their interest is peaked in what you have to say or they can learn.
- Visitors want to be both educated and entertained. Creating words that will shock, or surprise them or even worry them can intrigue them enough to CLICK – the action you want them to take.
- Great headlines should show there is a true benefit to your visitor to CLICK through and read your content. (if the content addresses their fears, needs, hopes, or wants, then you can capture them).
- Using words that make your visitors curious to find out what your post says will encourage them to CLICK, such as:
“Write Great Headlines Every Time” “How to Make Your Visitors CLICK Every Time”
“The Single Biggest Secret in Creating a Great Headline Every Time”
“The Simplest Way to Make Your Website Visitors CLICK Every Time”
“Create Great Headlines Every Time – One Way to Increase Your Sales”
Notice the benefit of “every time” is used, which is used to create curiosity in your visitors.
Other words to convey curiosity are: riddle, secret, new, best, remedy, beware, must, how, “I’m here to”, “I can. Curiosity headlines can be extremely successful and can be used in lists, tutorials, case studies and more.
6. You can use headlines that promise speed and time-savings. This is something all of us are interested in and our “I WANT IT NOW” culture will be interested in these promises. Quick win words can persuade visitors to Click:
“How to attract customers FAST”
“Creating headlines that encourage FASTER clicks”
“FAST content writing”
“Driving more Traffic TODAY”
“What You can DoTODAY to Draw More Traffic”
“How to Spend LESS TIME Writing Quality Content”
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Create intrigue and curiosity by using “EXCLUSIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE” words>
“The ONLY MANUAL You Will Ever Need
“The COMPLETE GUIDE To Writing Quality Content”
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Create a list of “swiped” or “stolen” headlines to use for inspiration.
As you read ads, magazines, books and surf the web, notice headlines that “make you click and copy and save them in a “Swipe file” that you can use for inspiration when creating your own headlines. Just modify them to fit into your topic or subject. Begin this personal “Swipe” file now and fill it full of great examples of headlines that make You click on them or want to CLICK on them.
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Use money to attract a CLICK. Everyone is interested in having more success, making more money, so use it in your headlines to attract a CLICK.
“Create content that will TRIPLE YOUR earnings:
“How I DOUBLED Monthly sales”
Or
“How to Save Money on Web Hosting”:
10. Use hints at danger or potential threats to draw a CLICK.
Everyone has a fear of failure, making mistakes and falling to a danger or threat. You can use this in your headlines to draw a CLICK.
“Five Mistakes Affiliate Marketers make that loses them sales”
“WARNING” Traps that Affiliate Marketers can Fall Into”
“The DANGERS of Outsourcing Your Content”
“The WRONG Way to Create Content”
11. Use Words that sell. Such as these Power Words:
- Immediate
- Improve
- increase
- insider
- instant
- Know
- latest
- Learn
- little-known
- money
- more
- never
- new
- now
- only for
- outstanding
- plus
- Powerful
- premiere
- Profit
- protect
- proven
- results
- revealed
- safety
- Sale
- save
- secret
- Sell
- special
- stunning
- supper
- threat
- today
- top 10
- Trust
- truth
- ultimate
- Understand
- warning
- weird
- Win
- worst
- worst
- You
Conclusion
Needless to say, creating a great headline is something of an learned art and you will get better at it using some of these tips and especially by creating your own “swipe” file and using it when you begin to create your new headlines.
Reference Thanks
Thanks to my web research and reading “Write Great Headlines Every Time” by Dean Evans. Dean also provides a link at the end of his eBook to download his personal “swipe file.” However I’m not going to provide that to you – instead, read his book with all the great information he provides and download it yourself – its a great resource.
I found this ebook in my Oyster subscription along with hundreds of other ebooks on blogging and affilite marketing that I read and research from. An Oyster subscription costs only $9.95/month. If you are interested in joining Oyster, you may do so by clicking here.
Comments
Thanks for looking at my site and coming to this page. I would love for you to leave any questions or comments below.
– Shirley
Shirley, the list of words that sell that you provide here is extremely useful! I also like the headlines to attract a click that you suggest. This article is full packed with useful tips! Thanks for sharing! Blessings,
Hilda
Thanks Hilda for your comment. Shirley
Great ideas Shirley, and I will be implementing some of them, Thanks!
Thank you so much for the look and your comment. Shirley
Thanks a lot for this very informative article which I will read from time to time as a guide for me whenever I write an article. This is great!
Thanks for the look and your comment. Shirley
Thanks Bernie, until I read up on this, I didn’t pay enough attention to my titles and headlines, now I am. Thanks for your comment. Shirley
Hey Shirley,
You created such a wonderful, intriguing, informative post here I simply had to share this with my Google Plus Circles and followers. I truly hope this post gets the properly deserved leverage it needs.
I learned so much awesome value from this information and will gladly be bookmarking this for further use. Thank you for this information Shirley! Truly wonderful.
Peter
Peter, thanks so much for your kind words. Have a blessed day. Shirley