Top headlines arrest the attention of casual readers and make them jump to click the story. They’re the gateway to your content, and the promise of value. The headline is also the key factor in getting your content noticed by search engines and social media. Without a powerful headline, readers will just skip over your article.
The key to writing a good headline is knowing your audience inside and out. Find out where they hang out online, and what they like to share. This may help you come up with some unique headline ideas. Also, find out what words or phrases they tend to use in their posts or comments. These are their infectious agents. Once you know them, you can add them to your list of headline-building tools.
Some classic headlines will never go out of style. A well-crafted “how to” headline, for example, will almost always get the reader’s attention. This is especially true if you include power words like ultimate, secret, or only.
Other classic headlines will generate interest by using emotional triggers. Controversy sells, as any National Enquirer editor will tell you. Likewise, headlines that use the word wow can be effective.
Try to be clear and concise in your headlines. Keep in mind that a headline appears on the story page and anywhere your site serves up content (including Facebook, Apple News and Google Search). Headlines should be human-readable, with minimal jargon and punctuation (except articles (a, an, the)). The first few words in a headline will also become part of the post’s URL, so it’s important to consider SEO when crafting them.
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