Headline Hacks

32 Headline Tips Every Good Writer Needs to Know

Practice these and you’ll never get stuck writing headlines again

We wake up to the smell of fresh bread every three days. Even when I don’t plan to eat any, I can’t help myself. My mind says no but my eyes and my nose say hell yeah!

Make your headlines scrumptious. Any effort you put into your writing doesn’t mean a damn thing unless your headline convinces your reader to give you a go.

Here are 32 ways to write bloody good headlines your reader won’t be able to resist. Enjoy!

1. Notice Email Subject Headers That Grab Your Attention

Keep a swipe file of headers you like. You can create templates from them to use as headlines for articles, presentations, or books.

2. Test Alternatives on Twitter

Twitter can be a great way to test headlines. For instance, I’ve used it to help me decide on an e-book title. Be sure to use the right tags and tagging others into your tweets can help you get a response too.

3. Use Google Search “People Also Ask”

Throw some phrases into Google and see what people ask. Frame your headline using their words or answer the question.

For instance, say you want to know “How to be a great leader” or “How to inspire others to take action.” You’d look it up on Google and look at the “People also ask” section.

The screenshot below shows they ask:

“What are the qualities of a good leadership?” “How can I improve as a leader?” “Who is a great leader and why?” “What makes a strong leader?”

Then you could create a headline such as this popular one created by Simon Sinek for TED Talk: How great leaders inspire action.

4. Dissect Popular TED Talks Headlines

The most popular TED talks have been watched up to 63 million times online. Their headlines have to be good and they are, especially the top five. That’s why we’ve got to piggyback on them — deconstruct them to understand how they work — so we can create headlines that are as impactful as theirs.

5. Write Your First Thoughts

Think about how you’d look up information in response to a question, problem, or need. Ask questions that come immediately to mind and transform them into a headline that promises to answer those questions.

6. Use the Highest-Rated Sensorial Words

Sensory words can elevate your writing from bland text, causing your readers’ eyes to gloss over, into words that pop out, reaching deep into your readers’ hearts, arousing their minds, stirring their souls.

Even marketers are catching on to the importance of addressing our senses when it comes to presenting their products and services. Note that not all words evoke the same sensory experience. Choose the highest rated sensorial words to capture your reader’s attention.

Real headline examples

Here are popular headlines that include highly rated words:

• Money (4.80): There Are Some Things Money Can’t Buy. for Everything Else, There’s Mastercard — Mastercard, 1997
• Baby (5.4): Brazilian police officers save choking 21-day-old baby in dramatic video
• Breakfast (5.90): Breakfast of Champions — Wheaties, 1930s

7. Write Short Headlines

Buffer tells us that according to science, the ideal length of a headline is six words since we absorb only the first three words and the last three words of a headline.

8. Write Long Headlines

Backlinko analyzed 912 million blog posts and tells us that “very long” headlines outperform short headlines — 14 to 17 words are the way to go, generating 76.7% more social shares than short headlines.

Note: If you’re confused about whether to write long or short headlines, read Long or Short: Which Headlines Are Better?

9. Study the Approaches of Great Copywriters

Copywriters write to sell products, services, and ideas. There are several copywriters that have enjoyed incredible success.

I’ve learned valuable tips from studying the writing and approaches of copywriters such as Eugene Schwartz, Claude Hopkins, Gary Halbert, David Ogilvy, Ramit Sethi, Seth Godin, Joe Sugarman, and Henneke Duistermaat. Piggyback on the wisdom of great copywriters, they’ll help you improve your headlines and your writing.

10. Frontload and Backload Keywords

Word placement is important in headlines. Frontloading is where you place the most important words first. It’s also been found that the last three words catch readers’ attention too. It also won’t harm your SEO by making sure your reader can find the keywords they’re searching for.

11. Aim for Clarity

Tell your readers what to expect and make sure your content follows through. It seems confusing, but it’s possible to create clear headlines while grabbing attention — without clickbait.

12. Capture Readers With Positivity

In the book, “The Emotional Life of Your Brain,” neuroscientist Richard Davidson shares multiple research that found positive people have stronger immune systems, are nearly three times less likely to develop a cold, and live to a ripe old age. Let’s share these wonderful benefits with our readers. Here are 80 uplifting headlines that capture readers with positivity.

13. Show Credibility

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.

Real headline examples

• 7 experts on why building your email list is so important
• Duke University scientists find women need more sleep than men
• 23 proven ways to drive traffic to your website

14. Use Numbers

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?

Numbers are easy to digest. On social media, list posts (along with infographics) receive more shares on average than other content types. Use the Arabic number rather than spell out the word. It will be recognized faster. Don’t make busy people use their brains more than they need to.

Real headline examples

• 11 ways to get more (real!) Instagram followers
• 5 Beginner tips for making a professional-quality online video
• How to increase website traffic by 250k+ monthly visits

15. Highlight the Extraordinary

…but it has to be true.

Real headline examples

• How To Gain 1,000,000 Instagram Followers in 4 Days
• I Earned 50K With a 6-Week-Old Email List
• How We Got 11.3 Million Pageviews without the Growth Hacking Bullshit

16. Use Proven Templates

There are several headline formats that have been proven to work well. You can also create your own templates by looking at top results from Google searches.

Headline template example

Lessons I Learned in the Past

Why it works:

• A how-to without saying “How to.”
• Builds curiosity if you choose a topic many people are interested in.
• Credibility from mentioning a specific timeframe and amount.

Real headline: 9 Business Lessons I Learned Making $100,000 Online in the Past 3 Years

Here are 24 headline templates derived from Medium popular articles and 16 templates I created from the top-ranking search result headlines.

17. Brainstorm at Least 5 Headlines

It can be tempting to come up with one you think is incredible. But please, please never stop there. For any post, it’s ideal to write more than one headline. I like to write at least five — you’ll be surprised at how many creative, powerful headlines you’ll come up with when you get into the groove.

Say you were writing about why social media is ruining your life, and that getting off it has been a great decision. Let’s use headline templates to brainstorm:

Headline template: How To <Do Something> In <Short Time> Headline idea: How To Become Awfully Productive In 20 Minutes (Get Off Social)

Headline template: It’s Time To <Do something people are usually reluctant to do> Headline idea: It’s Time To Delete My Facebook Account

Headline template: <Number> Steps to Changing <Something significant> (It All Boils Down To This) Headline idea: 7 Steps To Changing Your Addiction To Facebook Notifications (It All Boils Down To This)

Treat headlines like your first draft. Write uninhibited, never judging anything that flows from your fingers. Then, when you get stuck, write a few more. Use proven formulas. Play with power words. Think about what your reader wants, needs, feels, and believes.

18. Tweak Your Old Headlines

What sort of reaction are you getting? Check stats. Based on your review and analysis, you may like to improve the headline especially when you know the content is great but underrated. If you tweak old headlines, be sure to renew the content, and publish a new article with the same main message.

19. Ask a Question

When you repeat the reader’s question, it shows you understand them. And being understood may even be more important than feeling loved.

Real headline examples

Why build an email list? 11 Reasons why your list is #1.

Are you making these 11 beginner workout mistakes to avoid?

Do men and women need the same amount of sleep?

20. Make a Statement

A firm statement may arouse curiosity. Assert authority. It may answer a question. You need to fully understand what your reader’s desires, fears, and challenges are when writing headlines statements.

Real headline examples

• You Don’t Suck, You Just Haven’t Put in the Time
• I Wish I’d Known My Mother Couldn’t be Trusted When I Was Young
• Eating Roadkill Is Our Future, and That’s Okay

21. Challenge

Challenges give us something to focus on, make us curious about whether we can take them on, and drive us to give them a go.

Real headline examples

• Five Signs of Growth-Oriented Individuals — Here Is What You Need to Change
• Why You Need to Stop Hiding Behind Your “Busyness”’
• To Deepen Your Thinking, You Need More Constraints

22. Use the WIIFM Approach

WIIFM stands for “What’s In It For Me.” It’s what every reader thinks. They’re busy, don’t waste their precious time.

Ask yourself if your title tells your reader how this content will help them get better at something, solve a problem, deal with fear, make them more money, give them more time with family, help them get switch careers, write faster, sleep better. Aim to be relevant and useful.

23. Play With Power Words

Words are powerful. They give your headlines feeling. Flavor. Negative or positive sentiment. Instant click.

Here’s the ultimate list of 320 power words learned from 32 real-world headlines in 16 categories. These will infuse flavor and feeling into your headlines (including more examples of real headlines).

24. Create Templates From News Headlines

Look at the headlines of large news sites or popular bloggers. These sources are exceptionally good at writing headlines. Analyze them and create your own templates.

25. Focus on Your Main Message

Why did you write this piece? What will your reader gain from reading it? You don’t have to put everything into the headline. Our headline’s first job is to get our readers to read another line.

Here’s where it’s crucial to understand your reader and make sure your headline is clear so they know it will be relevant and useful. Only then will they click. Be careful not to deceive — instead, learn how to write genuine, enticing headlines without clickbaiting.

26. Run Your Headline Through a Headline Analyzer

This is a handy tool that scores your headlines based on how emotionally appealing they may be to your reader. I use CoSchedule’s headline analyzer.

It considers emotional response, and other aspects such as traffic, shares, word balance, keywords, how it looks in search results and email subject lines, and character length.

27. Understand Your Reader’s Desires

As writers, we don’t create people’s desires to lose weight, make more money, be attractive, or own a house by the sea. But we can channel those desires onto a particular product (or an article), and we can be rewarded for it (get plenty of profit, claps, comments, reputation, admiration, respect).

Readers want to know: Why, What, Where, When, Should, How. Framing your headlines in this way will make your content relevant to them.

Read headline examples

• Why promoted women are more likely to divorce
• What is the amygdala?
• Where Confidence Comes From
• When Are Potatoes Ready to Be Pulled?
• Should I get LASIK?
• How a TV Sitcom Triggered the Downfall of Western Civilization

28. Write a Subtitle That Works With Your Headline

The mistake many writers make (myself included) is to write a headline, then hastily write a subtitle — or leave it out entirely, not realizing its real purpose. We think our headlines should be so good they convince our reader to plow straight in and read every precious word we’ve conjured up.

Sometimes they might. Most of the time they don’t. You’ve got a measly ten seconds to captivate. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your heading can do it on its own.

Your subtitle has a job that’s just as important. It has to be accurate, fulfill expectations, and offer useful information. Write a subtitle that makes your headline shine.

29. Tease

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.

Real headline examples

• Revealed: Why building your email list is so important today!
• Biggest weight loss mistakes beginners make
• How to Instantly Create Intimacy With Any Person You Meet

30. Tell Them How

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.

Real headline examples

• How To Become Awfully Productive In 20 Minutes (Get Off Social)
• How to increase your website traffic without SEO
• How to Figure Out What The Hell You Want To Do With Your Life

31. Get a Second Opinion

An editor, friend, colleague, or your mum may give you quick yet valuable feedback about how a headline sounds. You may not do this for every headline but it’s worth considering when you’ve spent heaps of time on a piece.

32. Use Your Own Judgment

Whether you use formulas, a headline analyzer, or ask for a second opinion to help you write headlines, don’t shy away from making the final decision using your own judgment and intuition. You may be unsure at the start, but with practice, you’ll get better at writing headlines your readers will love.

Summary

Your headline is the sparkly display stand that helps your reader decide if your content is good enough to read. If it doesn’t look appealing, if the smells don’t waft scrumptiously into your reader’s nose, they’ll turn away.

Good thing is, with practice you too can write enticing headlines that your readers want to gobble up. Use any combination of these proven tips to help you:

1. Notice email subject headers that grab your attention
2. Test alternatives on Twitter
3. Use Google search “People also ask”
4. Dissect popular TED Talks headlines
5. Write your first thoughts
6. Use the highest-rated sensorial words
7. Write short headlines
8. Write long headlines
9. Study the approaches of great copywriters
10. Frontload and backload keywords
11. Aim for clarity
12. Capture readers with positivity
13. Show credibility
14. Use numbers
15. Highlight the extraordinary
16. Use proven templates
17. Brainstorm at least 5 headlines
18. Tweak your old headlines
19. Ask a question
20. Make a statement
21. Challenge
22. Use the WIIFM approach
23. Play with power words
24. Create templates from news headlines
25. Focus on your main message
26. Run your headline through a headline analyzer
27. Understand your reader’s desires
28. Write a subtitle that works with your headline
29. Tease
30. Tell them how
31. Get a second opinion
32. Use your own judgment