Headline Hacks
16 Proven Headline Formulas to Entice Your Readers
Never worry about how to come up with a good title again
Have you ever written an article you were really proud of? Possibly your best piece with plenty of life-changing insights, fascinating research, and entertaining stories?
Writing that is jam-packed full of practical tips your audience will love. Writing that is entertaining, inspiring, and filled with personality.
You know the one I’m talking about. You quickly write a headline and gleefully hit ‘publish’, brimming with sweet anticipation.
Two days later, your heart sinks like a sad, inflated balloon. You got a piss poor response. Perhaps you should have gone out with your mates on Saturday night after all.
Where did you go wrong?
A quick check into your stats and you see you got decent views, but hardly any clicks.
Your headline isn’t doing its job. Like a scrumptious pie burnt at the last crucial minute, if your headline doesn’t attract, no one will dare take a bite of the first line in your article.
What went wrong?
Well, say you were slow cooking the ingredients of a beef and mushroom pie (if you’re vegan, pretend you’re not for this example). The beef becomes tender and juicy after eight hours. Red wine adds a rich depth and oozes flavor into the sauce. The mushroom soaks up all that tasty goodness.
Then you leave the oven on too high and walk away… only to find an unsightly burnt pie top. Who would dare attempt to taste the scrumptiousness beneath?
Like the pie, if your headline doesn’t attract, no-one will dare take a bite of the first line in your article.
Headline Formulas and Why They Work
There are a few reasons why and how a page ranks well on Google. I’ll use Google search as an example since Google is “the oracle” for most of us. Very simply, it comes down to this: When you do a Google search, you expect useful content ASAP, right?
A page that shows up on the first page of Google tells us something is working. The content has been helpful for other people who have searched for similar keywords or phrases. The headline has grabbed attention enough for people to click on the article… again and again.
So, as one way to see what headline formulas work, I thought of a few burning problems and typed in the keywords into Google. When you’re writing an article, you’d think of the main question posed by your article.
For example
I searched: ‘why does my business need a mailing list’
This came up: ‘Why Build an Email List: 7 Expert Explanations and Ways to…”
So our headline formula: Why
Below are formulas I’ve created based on the headlines I found on the first page of Google search results. You can use this same simple method to create your own headlines.
Common Headline Themes
Browsing through the headlines of highly ranked pages, I found there are common ways to angle a headline to grab attention. The headline formulas have been grouped by these five themes with a brief explanation of why they work.
- Questions or problems
- Numbers
- Curiosity
- Credibility
- How-to
Questions or Problems
Formula 1: Why
Example: Why build an email list? 11 Reasons why your list is #1
Formula 2: Are you making these
Example: Are you making these 11 beginner workout mistakes to avoid?
Formula 3:
Example: Do men and women need the same amount of sleep?
Why question or problem headlines work
When you repeat the reader’s question, it shows you understand them. And being understood may even be more important than feeling loved.
Numbers
Formula 4:
Example: 5 Beginner tips for making a professional-quality online video
Formula 5:
Example: 11 ways to get more (real!) Instagram followers
Formula 6: How to increase
Example: How to increase website traffic by 250k+ monthly visits
TIP: It’s better to use numbers as numerals than words on the web.
Why number headlines work
It’s been done to death, but we still seem to love numbers in headlines. Eyetracking studies have found numbers typed out as numerals literally stop the wandering eye.
It represents hard facts and is a more compact (and attractive) way to take in information. It boosts credibility too, which can only be good for your page, right?
Note about numbers in headlines (listicles)
It’s easy to get listicle happy when it comes to writing headlines. Like anything in life, too much of a good thing can get old pretty quickly. If you must, mix listicle headlines with other types of headlines — or include numbers in your sub-headings instead.
Curiosity
Formula 7: Revealed: Why
Example: Revealed: Why building your email list is so important today!
Formula 8: Biggest
Example: Biggest weight loss mistakes beginners make
Formula 9: How to
Example: How to increase your website traffic without SEO
Why curiosity headlines work
We’re informavores (yeah, that’s really a thing). Our brains lap up information the same way it laps up food and sex. We’re hard-wired for curiosity.
Credibility
Formula 10:
Example: 7 experts on why building your email list is so important
Formula 11:
Example: Duke University scientists find women need more sleep than men
Formula 12:
Example: 23 proven ways to drive traffic to your website
Why credibility headlines work
Opinion on its own is weak. Reliable sources give objectivity to an opinion. Experts are widely perceived as credible and our brains use statistics to make objective decisions.
How-Tos
Formula 13: Why every
Example: Why every new business needs an email list (and how to build one)
Formula 14:
Example: 10 weight loss mistakes beginners make and how to correct them
Formula 15: Want to
Example: Want to increase website traffic? Follow these 4 steps
Why how-to headlines work
Learning how to do something (or what not to do) is a natural human need. Lifelong learning helps us adapt to change, get bigger paychecks, and ultimately live richer and more fulfilling lives.
Headlines can include a mix of these approaches.
For example:
Formula 16:
Example: 10 weight loss mistakes beginners make and how to correct them
This formula uses numbers, curiosity, and a how-to.
A Few Notes About Headlines
Choose your words carefully
Every word counts in a headline. So choose each one carefully. Here are five persuasive copywriting words backed by research: You, Free, Because, Instantly, New.
Don’t expect an avalanche of clicks all the time
Use these formulas as a guide to writing your headlines. Test to see what works for you.
The clicks you get will depend on many other factors, such as:
- where you’re publishing
- how many characters of your headline will appear to readers
- your topic
- your audience
- when your article is published
- who else has published at the same time
- how much promotion you do after publishing
Despite this, a strong headline will help more than harm your efforts of getting your writing out there. Always take the time to write a good headline.
Summary
Legendary copywriter Gene Schwartz sums up the purpose of a headline in his book “Breakthrough Advertising:”
“To stop your prospect and compel him to read the second sentence…” “The more of your story you can force your prospect to read, the more thoroughly you can sell him.”
It doesn’t matter how tasty your content is. If you haven’t created a mouthwatering golden crust, no-one will want a bite out of it.
The common headline themes I discovered from browsing top Google results include:
- Questions or problems
- Numbers
- Curiosity
- Credibility
- How-to
When you’re having trouble with your headline, refer back to the 16 formulas based on these themes. It’ll give you a good starting point to entice your reader.
Test, tweak, and write on.
