So you’ve just written a work of art—the best blog post you’ve ever laid eyes on. Congratulations!
Make sure you have a title that captures reader interest, or a great blog post will never be read!
Now, it’s up to you make sure others lay eyes on it. We’re going to talk about some of the characteristics that make a headline just plain irresistible for a reader, so that no one misses that work of art you have just perfected.
Make sure the headline is detailed. Let readers know enough detail about what the article will address so that they’ll want to click—including statistics or other numeric details can be extremely useful.
Which of these blog posts would you prefer to read: “How to Make More Money as a Freelancer” or “Improve Your Freelance Income by 50% in the next 30 days”?
Countdown lists. Hey, if it works for Letterman, it can work for you. Everyone loves a countdown and the big reveal of the number-one best way to do something.
“Top 5 Ways Hollywood Loses the Baby Weight” is an example of a countdown list.
Tip lists. Even if it’s not a countdown list or in order of priority, including a number in your headline is helpful for people who are looking for more than one example of what they want to learn about (ahem—read the title of this blog post—ahem).
Ask a question. Propose a question the reader really wants to see the answer to. “Why is America Getting Fatter?” or “Are You Eating the Wrong Proteins?” are good examples of this.
Promise the answer to a question. A slightly different approach from the last. Make it clear that you will answer a question by indicating expertise and confidence in the title.
For example, “Why America Can’t Sleep.” A reader knows she will find compelling information about why America can’t sleep when she clicks on that title.
People love how-to’s. There are so many things in this world some of us are good at, and others not. How-to posts are successful because of that—if there’s something we don’t know how to do, we are going to search the internet to figure it out!
The most successful headline includes your keywords. You’ve just written this great how-to post. Someone who is searching the internet for that how-to will be able to find your post a lot more easily if the title is search engine optimized.
If you are writing how-to’s on subject matter that is within your field of expertise, make sure your headline includes a keyword (the more specific the keyword, the better for SEO).
Keep it simple. Get the reader quickly focused with a short title—long, rambling titles imply a long, rambling blog post, and with so many distractions available just clicks away, a blog title and then your post both need to get to the point quickly.
The headline is written first. A good headline is often written first. When you do this, you can then refer back to the headline throughout the writing of your post, making sure you are staying on point.
Make sure the content matches the headline—you have a tacit agreement with your readers that this will be the case.
The content matches the headline. You always want to be sure that your blog post is consistent with your headline, and that readers are never misled by what they are clicking on in a title. This is a great way to capture a reader and never get them back again. Always let your headline lead and guide you.
In short, writing an eye-catching headline is of the essence when completing your masterpiece blog post.
According to CopyBlogger, “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.” This data is compelling enough that it could (and should) have all of us thinking and rethinking our headline before publishing our next post.
About the Author: Cara Aley is a freelance writer who writes about everything from matters of blogging strategy to those of online reputation protection. She is currently VP of Operations for Two Degrees, a one-for-one food bar company.
