Here’s a summary of really useful article about five tips to writing great headlines from Ariel Rule that I found from Elegant Themes.
1) The Tried and True How-To Headline
People love How-To posts, and it’s not something that works with a single topic. You can write How-To posts about anything and your title doesn’t have to be complicated or take too long to create.
Your headline for this is simple:
- How To [Fill in the Blank]
2) Lists
Another semi-easy way to create headlines that rock is to create a numbered list post with a corresponding title. People love lists because they make the brain think that they don’t have to do as much work to understand the topic at hand.
List Posts have the potential of going viral. These also take some time to master, but creating them and measuring the response from your audience will help you hone your skill in creating them.
Here are a few examples of about to write up a list headline:
- 7 Ways [To Accomplish a Certain Task]
- 10 Steps to [Fill In The Blank]
- 101 Reasons Why [Fill In The Blank]
- The Top X Ways to[Fill In The Blank]
3) Reveal a Secret
Even for those of us who aren’t the gossip mongers that some of our friends may be, I’m sure we all still love to get the jump on some juicy secret. Headlines that promise to reveal secrets quickly pique curiosity and prompt clicks.
I mean, if you’re a blogger wanting to learn more about online marketing, wouldn’t you click on a headline like this?
- The Number One Secret All Online Marketing Gurus Don’t Want Your To Learn
What’s the secret? Why don’t they want me to know it? What’s the big deal? (*Click*)
4) Resolve an Issue
Everyone runs into a situation in life that is like an itch they just can’t scratch — and it’s annoying as heck! Play Doctor Blogger and help them resolve their issue with a headline that starts like this:
- Get Rid of [Insert Issue Here]
The Issue can be anything, but the words, “Get Rid of” prompt a mental sigh of relief. Now you just have to deliver with something useful and epic.
5) Make Is Fast and Easy
We live in a whirlwind world. People are busy with life and work and they just need a bit of simplicity to make things a little less complicated in are the crazy.
Here are some headline idea to deliver the goods:
- Quick and Easy [Fill in the Blank]
- The Quick and Simple Way to [Fill in the Blank]