15 Ways To Crack Captivating Headlines

"The purpose of a title is to get potential readers to read the first line of your content.” David Ogilvy 

Your headline is the first impression you make on a prospective reader. An eye-catching headline is a key factor in getting readers to click through to your article.

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. 

I've examined research from several leading sources to determine headline characteristics which increase the click-through rate. Here's what I discovered.

1. Length Matters

According to research conducted by Content Marketing Institute, the length of your headline matters. A title with eight words received a 21% higher click-through rate than average. It's worth remembering when the length of your headline exceeds 62 characters, search engines ignore the remainder of the headline, which may decrease the click-through rate.

2. Odd Numbers Count

People love list-style articles. Interestingly, the research showed that headlines that contained odd numbers had a 20% higher click-through rate than headlines with even numbers. When adding numbers to your title, use the numeral, not the word. 

3. Add Punctuation

Adding a colon or hyphen in the title — indicating a subtitle — performed 9% better than headlines without either. 

4. Ask A Question

Titles that ended with a question mark had a higher click-through rate according to the research.

5. Make It Personal

Personalize your headline by adding a "You" or "Yours" to the title. For example: Increase Your Blog Readership With These Tips.

6. Add Keywords 

It's important to include keywords in your titles if you want to rank higher for particular search terms. Adding them at the start of your title can have more impact with SEO than if you include them at the end of a title. However, avoid key-word stuffing. 

7. Broadcast A Benefit 

Does your article solve a problem for your reader? Will they be wiser for having read your tips? Then clearly communicate the benefit to your reader up-front in the title. Include words like tips, ways, strategies, in your headline. The key here is to really know your audience and their pain-points, and write content that specifically answers their particular needs.

8. Create Controversy

Do you have a strong opinion on a current issue? A controversial title can attract a lot of interest from readers. However be prepared to back up your claims and know that when you create controversy you’ll attract strong reactions in people.

9. Make It Actionable 

Avoid the passive voice in your titles. Use strong action-oriented words and verbs, like create, make, build, instead. 

10. Use Trigger Words

Trigger words, like free, secret, easy, can entice readers to your content, but use with caution. These words can also trigger scepticism and distrust; don’t write headlines that sound cheap, spammy, or too good to be true. Always make sure the article carries through on the promise in the headline and always avoid click-baiting (see #12).

11. Add Adjectives

Add words like smart, critical, surprising, best, outstanding, perfect to your title. For example, How To Write The Perfect Headline For Your Article. 

12. Leverage Curiosity

How many times have you clicked on a headline only to find that the content doesn't live up to its promise? By nature we are curious beings; leverage that curiosity in your titles, but never resort to click-baiting. Clickbait headlines typically aim to exploit the "curiosity gap", providing just enough information to make the reader curious, but not enough to satisfy their curiosity without clicking through to the linked content. Always craft a headline that links to authentic and relevant content. 

13. Be Unique

Make it your goal to write a headline that hasn't been written before. Test for uniqueness with a simple Google search as I did in this example below.

14. Try a Headline Analyzer Tool

There are several free tools available to help you analyse your headlines. Try this one from CoSchedule which analyses your title and produces a score based on character length, emotional resonance, and keyword strength. 

15. Test Your Headlines

Finally, write multiple versions of your headline. Then A/B test them by changing some keywords, playing with the structure, etc. to determine which works best for your specific audience. 

Do you have any more tips to share from your own experience of writing headlines? 

Related Reading: 

• 6 Lessons for Writing Irresistibly Magnetic Blog Post Headlines
• There's No Perfect Headline: Why We Need to Write Multiple Headlines for Every Article