You Can Write The Best Headlines

5 Ways to Make Them Click for More

You wrote your blog post. You’re ready to hit publish. Who will read it? Well, I have bad news and good news. The bad news is, fewer people will read it than you think. The good news is more people will read your headline than you think, so why not make it compelling?

Below are five ways to craft a compelling, SEO-friendly headline that may get you more clicks, more readers, and a wider audience overall. In fact: You can increase traffic by as much as 500% based solely on your headline.

1. “Best” Headlines

These are powerful SEO headlines that speak directly to your customers’ common web searches. Think about it . . . if you were looking for a way to save money, you’d want the best way, right? These headlines are typically exact-match searches and start off with “The best way to . . . “

Examples:

• The Best Way to Learn Spanish
• What’s the Best Way to Save for Retirement?

2. “Make My Life Easier” Headlines

These are the cousins to the “Best” headlines. When customers face problems, they don’t always know what to do, but they probably want an easy or fast answer, especially if making things easier trickles down to their customers.

Examples:

• What is the Easiest Way to Create a Form?
• The Easiest Way to Become a Writer Today

3) “Be Like Me” Headlines

Most of us want to be more productive and more successful. Who doesn’t want to accomplish more in less time? And, we want to be good at what we do. Those desires make “Be Like Me . . . ” headlines powerful.

We don’t like it when someone tells us what to do or how to do it. But, often it’s appealing when someone shows us why we should do something. This touches on reasons and motivations for why we should adopt a new idea.

Example:

• Stop drinking soda, for (your own) good

This title, in particular, was especially powerful for two reasons. The first was the context of the article; it appeared on CNN, a highly reputable source.

Second, it is controversial. While everyone knows soda is a sugary drink, one only need go to the grocery store and look in the next cart. People still buy it by the bucketful. This article outlines, with the reputation of CNN behind it, why soda is unhealthy and should be consumed in small quantities, if at all.

4) “What We Do When . . .” Headlines

Transparency is a new paradigm in marketing. Rather than continue with the “man behind the curtain” type magic, companies are beginning to reveal their cultures, revenue earnings, pay structures and other previously deeply held secrets.

This transparency builds trust. And, it is a wonderful way to attract the right kind of employee. The more you know about where you are applying to work, the better you can find a fit. Customers find this refreshing as well. They feel more connected to their sources of everything from computers to personal products.

Examples:

• What it’s REALLY Like to Work at Facebook
• 12 Secrets of Sephora Employees

5) “Let Me List Them For You” Headlines

We like list posts. They appeal to a wide audience and inspire more clicks compared to other types of articles.

Examples:

• 10 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur
• 5 Ways to Write Better Emails
• 7 Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night
• 10 Things You Need to Know About True Love

How To Craft the Perfect Headline

Which of these headlines works the best? That depends. What is the writer trying to accomplish? Some are better for SEO while others attract attention via social shares.

Think about this:

1. What is the most important point of this article?
2. How can I best communicate this single takeaway?
3. Try writing 10-15 headlines for each piece of content, then choose the best.
4. Get feedback. See what other people like and ask them why.
5. Keep track of the types of headlines that work for your target audience. Re-use them.

Now, go forth and write catchy headlines and get those clicks!