This is post by Frank McKinley. He is a writer, published author and writing coach. Today Frank shares with us helpful strategies for writing better headlines.
Your headline is the most important sentence of every blog post you write.
So when should you write it?
Write it beforehand and you can use it as a writing prompt.
Write it afterward and it will point to your best idea.
Whenever you write it, remember this:
You can only have one main idea.
Formulas are great, but…
Headline templates are a Google search away.
Grab a good list and you can fill in the blank with whatever you’re writing about.
Here’s a few of mine:
J.K. Rowling’s Advice for Writers With Big Dreams
How to Find and Develop Your Unfair Advantage as a Writer
Stop Feeling Guilty That Your Writing Isn’t Perfect
Formulas are great tools. Your headlines will be better when you use them. But it’s even more important to know why they work.
Here are three reasons.
Make a promise.
What promise do those three headlines make?
If J.K. Rowling is giving you advice, you better listen.
An unfair advantage? Sounds a bit sketchy, but who wouldn’t want an advantage?
I don’t have to feel guilty? I’m so ready for that.
The first promise is about status. You can raise yours if you do what J.K. suggests.
The second is about maximizing something you already have (but don’t know about). Success means attention for writers – and possibly money.
The third promises relief. Guilt can be heavy – so heavy it makes you want to run and hide, give up, and do anything to make it go away. Get rid of it and you free yourself to write your best.
What promise can you make?
Use appealing words.
The best way to get people to click your headlines is to evoke their emotions.
Trigger words like guilt, success, happiness, and money appeal to most of us. We all want to be happy, healthy, and wealthy.
Write 10, 20, or even 30 headlines for your post. Then take a break. When you return, forget that you wrote them. Ask yourself, which of these moves me to do something?
If you’re really ambitious, see which headline gives you goosebumps.
That’s the one.
I know it sounds manipulative. But let’s face it. There are countless choices out there. You’ve got to be audacious to get noticed.
Use words that move people.
Have a specific reader in mind.
You’d love everyone to read your posts, wouldn’t you?
Don’t worry. Everyone won’t.
That’s okay. You want to be specific. When your writing sounds like a friend’s voice, people will listen.
My three headlines are for writers. I want to build a library they can read and benefit from.
I can’t do that if I water down my words to reach the masses.
Consider this. When the President speaks, he speaks to the masses. But he’s speaking to specific issues. He’s appealing to a specific point of view. Some will love it; others won’t.
Make your headlines meaningful to particular people and you’ll get clicks.
Do This Now
Before you write your next blog post, set aside 15 or 20 minutes to craft your headline.
First, choose your main idea. Limit it to one thing. Take a deep dive into why it matters. Make a list of the idea’s benefits.
Next, pick a standout benefit and write headlines from it.
Write as many different headlines as you can. Play with the words. Inject some emotion into them. The most powerful ones are pleasure and pain.
And be sure to throw in some urgency for good measure.
The more you do this, the better you’ll get.
With these strategies, you’ll attract all the readers you could ever want. Good luck!
Let’s hear from you!
What strategy do you use for creating attention grabbing headlines?
Frank writes just as he speaks. Simple and to the point. So easy to believe what he says, and to learn from such a no-frills lesson. Thanks for it!
Thanks, Katharine! I hope you’ll use these strategies to draw all the readers you could ever want.
Thank you Frank for providing us with these effective strategies for writing attention grabbing headlines!
My pleasure, Cori! Thanks for the opportunity!