It has probably come to your attention that headlines really matter. We rely on them in most phases of our business these days, whether they are in the form of an ad, a blog post, a video, or even an infographic. Your headline could well be the most important part of your content, as it frequently determines whether anyone proceeds any further. This is definitely true when it comes to email, and advertising. Learning to craft a winning headline is a task that you simply must excel at for your business.
7 Ways you can write more effective headlines today
- Use numbers and lists – People love getting useful posts and emails listing worthwhile and useful information they need. Moreover if this list is a numbered list, you’ll be stunned at how much better attention you’ll receive.
- Feel their pain – Being able to empathize you’re your reader puts you in a position of authority, your reader will be more inclined to trust you, and therefore be receptive to any remedies for their problems you may have.
- Be a bit controversial – Be bold. State your opinions, push the edge of the envelope. Once you got their attention, you can show how brilliant you are, until then, be daring.
- Ask questions – Using questions is an excellent way to pique interest. More often then not they are the exact same questions they would ask, and would also like an answer to.
- Mind the 55 character limit – Two practical reasons for this and these are that this length will safely show in the Google search results as well as your email subject line. Wouldn’t it be sad if your headline got cut off?
- Test your copy – As with most anything you write for the masses, for the best response you‘ll need to test your headlines for effect. In some cases one word can make a huge difference in an email open rate, which can in turn directly affect your income.
- Be sure to give value – Don’t write mundane or fluff headlines. Promise and deliver a value packed piece of content. Don’t promise something you aren’t going to deliver, but also don’t be afraid to tout it.
Keep in mind that the purpose of any headline is to get the reader to the next step, whether that means opening an email, clicking a link or reading your content.