If you are a content creator or a blogger you would know the struggle of consistently writing convincing content. With a crowded cyber space, it can be challenging to get your audience to not only be fascinated by the headline but also click on it to read the full blog.
Research says out of the total users that read the headline, only 20% click onit to land on the full article page. As a content creator, this can be a disappointing revelation. However, there are certain tactics that you can use to make you headlines click worthy.
1 – Emotional Marketing Value
People are driven by emotions. Making a purchase decision can be considered an action evoked by emotions. Therefore, while writing headlines you have to consider a blog post / article as a product that you are trying to sell to your audience. People will only read it if the slogan (headline) of your product (blog) triggers a certain feeling in your potential customers (users) . Tools like Emotional Marketing Value – Headline Analyzer, can help you test the EMV score of a headline before you decide to publish it. EMV scores are directly proportional to the click worthiness of a headline.
2 – Write Multiple Headlines
Practice makes the man perfect. A great way of writing catchy headlines is to write multiple headlines for each blog and then pick and choose the best headline. When you write multiple headlines you basically challenge your mind to creatively come up with multiple reasons as to why a user would be interested in reading the complete article. You can start this practice by writing 5 headlines for each blog.
3 – Numbers does wonders
Research studies carried out by Conductor reveals that headlines with numbers in them usually have a better chance of performing i.e. generating clicks. The reason behind the popularity of headlines with numbers is that it gives people a clear idea of what to expect from an article. Moreover, a research study conducted by Hubspot found that headlines with odd numbers perform 20% better than headlines with even numbers.
4 – Special Characters
There are multiple special characters that can add value to your headline. Research studies by Hubspot and Outbrain showed that headlines with brackets generated 38% more clicks than websites without them. So, instead of writing “7 steps for cooking restaurant style pasta” you can write “7 steps for cooking restaurant style pasta (gluten free sauce recipe) “
Similarly, research tells us that headlines with hyphens generate 9% more clicks.
For example;
Breaking News – Monkey escapes from zoo
5 – Ask a Question
When you ask a question in your headline, it encourages the user to click on the article to find the answer. Question headlines on twitter got 50% -53% more clicks than ordinary headlines – research published by Social Influence Journal. You can change almost any headline into a question.
For example;
Original Headline – 3 common video editing mistakes
Question Headline – Are you making these 3 mistakes while editing your videos?
6 – Write Negative Headlines
Just like question headlines you can convert almost any headline into a negative headline. But why do that? A research study conducted by Outbrain revealed that negative headlines get 30% more clicks compared to ordinary headlines. Moreover, positive headlines get 29% less clicks.
See the examples below to differentiate between negative, positive and ordinary headlines.
Ordinary Headline – 5 tricks Instagram users use to add glow to photos
Positive Headline – 5 amazing tricks Instagram users use to add a majestic glow to photos
Negative Headline – 5 common mistakes Instagram users make that make the photos look dull
7 – Be Clear
With a busy cyber space over loaded with articles and blogs, a lot of people tend to click headlines that give a clear message. So when you are not sure about the type of headline, just write a very clear straightforward headline.
I hope that you’ve found this useful and it will help you to achieve better results with your content.
Of course, if you need some help, just drop us a line and we can work with you to get better results. We use Tony Robbin’s 6 Human Needs model to really connect with a reader. Definitely worth a try.
