It's a common saying in content circles that the only thing a user wants to be arrested by is a headline. However, so many content creators spend little to no time coming up with the perfect attention-grabbing headline. This shortcoming can severely impact the way readers perceive the story.
Headlines are the same as first impressions, and if you don't make one that sticks with the reader, chances are they'll never get to the brilliant story you've crafted. So how does a content creator develop an arresting headline? We asked 13 associates of Forbes Communications Council this question, and here's what they had to say about their own techniques.
1. Write Headlines That Align With Your Audience
Don't write headlines that are "clickbaity" and geared at capturing everyone's attention. Instead, understand the value of your content for your specific audience and express the value that the content provides to that specific segment of the population. - Charlie Terenzio, Newswire
2. Get Feedback And Test, Analyze, Adjust, Repeat
I often create a few headlines and then ask my target audience which one resonates most. Just as I obtain the voice of the customer (VOC) and voice of the employee (VOE) in my customer experience job, I practice what I preach for my own articles. I recommend others do the same, as well as test different content and use analytic tools to determine what's effective. Combining quantitative and qualitative data is powerful. - Stacy Sherman, DoingCXRight®
3. Test Headlines On Facebook
Write down five headlines for every article and then test them on your audience on Facebook. Measure what gets the most clicks and go with that headline. Not only does that allow you to quantify the quality of your headlines, but it also gives you a better feeling for what your audience wants. In the best case, use a tracking pixel to target visitors to your site. - Kevin Indig, G2
4. Don't Overthink It
I'm sure we've all had the feeling. You've created a great piece of content, but when it comes around to writing the headline, you're not quite sure what to do. One tip that I would suggest is to avoid overthinking it. You could spend lots of time on your headline and end up with the same results. Therefore, I'd suggest going with your gut instinct. - Liam Quinn, Reach Interactive
5. Meet A Need Or Solve A Problem
Consider your audience. What are their needs? Do they have a problem you or your products or services can solve? Craft headlines that state a problem or need that will resonate with your audience and tease the answer so as to encourage them to read on. - Jamaliya Cobine, Ursa Major Skincare
6. Center Your Reader
Your headline should capture the value of your content. If your audience consists of e-commerce vendors, make it clear in the headline that your content will help them, say, increase conversions by up to 20% or improve their organic CTR by 10% or more. By communicating value, the reader immediately understands why the content is worthy of their time and attention. - Amine Rahal, Regal Assets
7. Treat Your Readers With Respect
First, I would say the days of clickbait headlines are dead. Treat your readers with respect. Try and talk to the problem you are trying to solve. Write a bunch of headlines, kill the losers and test your winners. Use tools like BuzzSumo.com to do competitive analysis. Above all, keep your headlines simple. - Rick Ramos, HealthJoy
8. Adopt A Customer-Centric Strategy
A headline should never be about your company's products or services, but rather an understanding for your customers' concerns. Review your current headlines and messages -- do they focus on the customer's pain points and needs, or are they primarily about your products and services? If you said the latter, it's time to overhaul your content strategy and put your customer at the center. - Dana Córdova, Dana Córdova
9. Ask Questions, Provide Answers
Several independent tests have shown that articles beginning with a question, and promising an answer, have a higher click-through rate than those that don't. If a question about your content doesn't come to mind, perform a Google search and examine the "People Also Ask" drop-downs. AnswerThePublic.com is another great tool. Both provide a goldmine of questions you can use as a headline. - Andy Nauman, Ameri-Force, Inc.
10. Underscore Tension
A headline is a request for attention -- an "RFA" that creates tension with anything else vying for the attention of a target. Good headlines embrace the tension and make a case that the cost to ignore the content is too great, or the payoff will be worth the attention given. Great RFAs do both, removing tension. Ask "what are the consequences of ignoring?" and "what is the payoff for tuning in?" - Eric Fletcher, Eric Fletcher Consulting Group
11. Add Emotion
Emotion always wins. Use humor, admiration or fear to grab your audience's attention. This allows you to take people's pain points, fears and doubts, and illustrate how your product/service will help deal with these problems. It also establishes connection. Emotional benefits are critical to effective copy because people buy based on emotion and backfill with logic. - Crystal McFerran, The 20
12. Subvert Expectations
The key with gaining eyeballs on content is to use the technique of pattern interrupt. A reader skims through so much content because it all seems recognizable to them -- when you interrupt their eye-tracking movements with a headline that subverts expectations, they will stop, engage and hopefully read the entire piece. Bring a new perspective and don't fall into the same industry patterns. - Patrick Ward, Rootstrap
13. Leverage Negative News
People are typically drawn to negative news, disasters, gossip, break-ups, failures, etc. A negative news headline therefore will often capture the readers’ attention. For example: "ABC company fined $7 million dollars for failure to...", and then follow up with how your solution could have averted the disaster. When used sparingly, this type of headline can grab attention and tell your story. - Duane Sprague, Trust Brands
