5 Tricks to Writing Headlines That Actually Work

When it comes to content marketing, creating a blog is one of the best tactics you can use. In fact, B2B marketers that use blogs have a 67% better chance at generating leads than those that do not. There are several things you can do to make a blog better (Check out these do’s and don’ts for business blogs) but what is the point of creating great content if no one ever clicks on it? That is why writing headlines correctly is so important.

Before anyone will read your great content piece, they have to read the article title. If the title does not resonate with them, they will not click on the piece. That means all of your hard work in writing that content will be wasted. If you want your article to be a success, use these 5 tricks to writing headlines that will get your piece noticed.

1. Title vs. Topic

When you first decide to write a piece, chances are that you brainstorm a list of topics that you want to cover. Remember topics are generic, vague and could yield several working titles. For example, a topic could be something like kitchen gadgets or desserts. Each of these could then be broken up into several working titles. Kitchen gadgets could turn into “5 Unexpected Kitchen Gadgets You Can’t Live Without” or “The Best Kitchen Gadget for Making Pizza.” For desserts, some working titles could be “Must Have Ingredients for Last Minute Desserts” or “The 5 Best Dessert Bakeries in Downtown Greenville.” Making sure you come up with working titles vs. topics will help you write a more specific article and is more likely to be clicked through.

2. Accuracy

A big mistake in writing headlines is creating one that does not accurately reflect what is in the article. Do not use the title “11 Essential Helps for Digital Marketing on Facebook” if some of those helps are for Twitter or Youtube.

Hubspot.com also gives the advice of using brackets to highlight what is included in the post. For example, this post uses brackets to highlight that the information in the article is an infographic. Using the brackets in your headlines can lead to 38% better performance than headlines that do not.

3. Make It Pop

While it is so important that your title is accurate, it does not mean you cannot have a little fun with it. Play with alliteration like “Essential Elements” or “Foolproof Formula.” Do not be afraid to use powerful language like “Things People Love,” “Fantastic,” or “Failure.”

Make sure when you are writing headlines that the value to your reader is absolutely clear. Because they will click on the headline for the apparent value, make sure it is easy to see. For example, “10 Videos Ads That Are Bound to Make You Laugh.” The entertainment value is obviously apparent. In addition,

2 other tips to make your headlines pop would be to add visual elements and to focus on the “who” not the “why.” Headlines that use the word “who” had a 22% higher click through rate than those without.

4. Length Matters

While there is not a specific character limit to your headlines, the length does matter. It depends on where you are sharing your article and how you want your headline to appear. If you want your post to rank well in search engines, keep it under 70 characters. Otherwise, the title will get cut off when it shows up in the results. As for social media, use this article to understand the limits of each individual platform.

While your working title might be longer, you will want to see if you can shorten it. It is always best to think of your audience first. If your title is 70 characters long but is clunky and hard to read, your readers will not appreciate that. Shorten it and rephrase your headlines so your readers will be more likely to click on it.

5. Brainstorm

Because headlines are a critical part of your blog, you want to write the best one possible. That means that you must brainstorm! Whether you brainstorm by yourself or with someone else (which is probably better), you must do it when you are writing headlines. It has been said that writers should spend at least 80% of their time writing headlines because the first headline will never be the best one. For some, 80% might be a little steep but make sure you spend at least a few minutes per headline to get the best headline possible.

The whole point of creating a blog is for your audience to read your content and interact with it. However, if your blog headlines are not captivating, then what is the point? Following these 5 tricks will help you start writing headlines that are more engaging and effective for your blog.

What other tips do you have for writing catchy headlines?