This is a guest post by Michael Chibuzor from CouponTriumph.com.
What qualities makes a good headline? This post will show you.
Headline is very important and can’t be neglected if you must succeed online. In the internet marketing world, your target prospects are not were you are, they can’t see you except you have your photo. But that does not make any difference because you can clone one (please don’t do that). Lol!
Headlines have soul, spirit and body and you should endeavor to master the lyrics behind a great one. If you do it well, you may as well write your own paycheck. The qualities you have is what makes up your intrinsic nature. It’s not how much deposited in the bank, your assets. No, it’s your worth in terms of good conduct, values and relationship with others.
In this interesting post, I want to share with you the 4 important qualities for writing a good headline. The idea here can be applied to your blog posts, email copies, sales copy, advertising campaigns, AdWords and banner advertising. If you want to make money with niche blogs, you need to write good titles.
Learn. Meditate. Implement.
1. Pique Their Self Interest
Everyone out there who is expected to read your headline and so, your content has a pressing question that needs answer. What’s in it for me is that emotional question and if you can answer it straight away, in an interesting manner, you have won their precious heart.
Don’t go about ranting about your favorite meal or how lovely your wedding was, or would be. Your prospect is a human being. They have blood running down their veins and knows how hard it is to get money – give them a reason to spend it.
2. Deliverability
No one is going to believe you until you deliver on what you’ve promised. But how do you deliver when someone has not even read and taken action? Simple, you can deliver by being “transparent.” Tell your reader or prospect what they will and will not derive by reading your copy.
There is no greater shame than promising something and when someone eventually takes action, disappointment sets in. Don’t let that happen you. It’s not a crime to have one solution, but it becomes a heavy crime when the single solution you have is worthless.
Promise on what you can do and do what you promise. That sounds like New York Times Quote. Isn’t it?
3. Attach Creative Curiosity
It’s not all curiosity that is going to work. The power of curiosity can only be made manifest when you understand the concept behind it. When you use curiosity, make sure they reader can weigh it.
When it sounds too good to be true, it means you’re giving the prospect a reason to doubt. On the long run, curiosity helps and you should incorporate it into your headlines. It’s going to get you more clicks, page views and reduce your bounce rate but make sure you deliver on what you promised.
4. Quick And Easy Concept
In whatever you’re doing, make sure you abide by these rules: Deliver your products in a quick and easy way.
We are living in a tech-age where everything is automated. You don’t have to struggle like your granny to raise a million dollar, unless you’re not skilled and knowledgeable. You can just press the button and Phew, you have the answers.
Make your headline quick and easy to understand. Showcase only a single solution about the topic in question on the headline and nothing more.
Don’t complicate the whole issue. For instance, if you’re writing a step by step tips to doing something, limit the number of tips to 7 or less. Anything greater than this sends a signal to the reader’s subconscious mind that it’s difficult to comprehend. Be quick, be simple and you’ll drive free traffic, sale more of your products and increase your email subscribers.
Marketing Takeaway:
The only word left now is ACTION. All these qualities would make no impact in your business and income until you step out of your shell. Let me know what you think as you share your comment. See you at the top!
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Numbers in the title seem to be good, like your title. No idea exactly why but people seem to like it. I do recall reading one article that said odd numbers are preferred. I mean “Top 3” is somehow better than “Top 4.”
Great contribution Ria. I’m glad you liked my title, I took time out to write it. And believe me, I didn’t get that great title at first, I failed twice before I nailed it. Yes, I heard that odd numbers like 3, 5, 7 etc are good for titles, but even numbers also work perfectly.
I appreciate your precious time. God bless you.
Having a number in headline is perusive. It gives an idea to people that the content is valid and has been listed out as 1,2 and 3. That’s the key.
Making headlines takes responsibility. If there is an error on the headline, this makes issues. Especially if it leads to some person. So basic sense is also applied if one is thinking of making a headline. Spelling is one, a misspelled words or phrases takes a lot of feedbacks.
I agree with you Genie. A quality headline merely consists of sincerity, understanding, consideration, and empathy. It’s not just about making viewers have an insight rather having an impact in one’s emotion and desire. Be clever only when being clever is called for. Puns are good, but only on “punny” stories. Effective headlines usually involve logical sentence structure, active voice and strong present-tense verbs. They do not include “headlinese.” As with any good writing, good headlines are driven by good verbs.
Sometimes, it takes me longer to think of what to put in the title than to write a few paragraphs for my article.lol These are amazing tips and I think these should help me think of great headlines easier and faster. 🙂
I too think that headlines can make a difference and a good and curious headline can actually drive traffic to your post to go through the contents. The headline must also have some surprise element in it so that people open the post and read it till the end.
Hi Michael,
It’s good to remind e-writers and publishers the power of headlines. It’s like the head of the train. If it fails to attract visitors to the article, then no matter how good the content is, no one is gonna care.
I myself really like to use the curiosity trick and the fast and easy format of my articles. I always write them with bullet points as it’s one of the most effective way to deliver content.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Duy.
Good post. A headline is very important and can determine whether if the rest of the article is even read or not. It needs to be easy to read at a glance but at the same time, it has to strike out at you and be different from the rest. The reader should know the gist of the article in the headline itself, which can certainly be a difficult task but that’s why it takes skill.
-Jean
Headlines are the first things that people notice in an article. If it doesn’t grab them from the get go, then it’s pretty much a lost cause!
Great article by the way!
Though the headlines are important people tend to forget the other aspect. Now a days I see lot of blogs with great headlines but a BS content. Headline and content do not match at all. So for all bloggers out here, just a word of caution – When you have nice headline, make sure you deliver in the same way.
Yes I agree with you Sam. A good headline must go together with the content. Once you capture reader’s attention, lead them inside your content with quality in view. Thank you for commenting.
I like your tips for headlines. If you don’t have a good headline you’re dead in the water and you will lose the reader. I have done a lot of trial and error that wasted so much time and now am trying to be smart and grab the reader’s attention.
This is something that I have been working on a lot lately. I have also found that having a list of “templates” really helps when first starting out. When I get stuck, I can just plug in information about my topic and be reasonably sure that I have a good headline. For example: “Little known ways to _____”.