The Key To Writing Great Headlines That Drive More Traffic

When I was a kid, one of my favorite movies to watch was Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. What can I say — those puppies were so stinkin’ cute!

One of the movie’s quotes that always stuck with me was something Rodger says to Anita:

“Melody first, my dear, and then the lyrics.”

It’s a rule that many musicians stick to, but his words have some application for today’s topic.

Headlines to articles and blog posts are much like the melody that set the tone for the rest of what you’re about to write .

Much like a catchy melody, a Headline is more likely to stick in someone’s mind and grab attention. Therefore, the ability to compose headlines that catch people’s attention and inspire them to read what you have to say is one of the most important things any blogger and copywriter could ever learn.

If that’s not enough to convince you, then let’s take a few minutes to consider some reasons why building an amazing headline is the true foundation of any blog post.

Why Does Your Headline Matter?

So why? Why should you care so much about your headline? Because of this sound:

*Click*

That one sound, that single action is the difference between a blog post that gets read and one that gets skipped over for another post with a title that is better than yours.

Here is a rather famous quote from the Godfather of Advertising himself, David Ogilvy:

On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

A headline is so much more than just words that say what your post will be about. They should be built on the idea of increasing your click-through rate and a part of your marketing strategy as a whole.

A blogger who can write such a headline takes their game up from being just another run-of-the-mill blogger to being something closer to that of a skilled Copywriter. (Yes, there is a difference.)

Headlines are what convert your potential audience to your actual audience and your blog post is what should keep them coming back for more. However, your money is in that headline.

However, your money, as David Ogilvy brought out, is in that headline.

If you want to take things up a notch (and you should), then here are some easy ways to take your next blog post title from good to click-worthy.

5 Tips for Easily Creating Magnetic Headlines

Image by Anikei via Shutterstock

Okay, so you’ve decided you want to learn how to the art of Headline Copy — great! But, I’m sure you’re wondering, “Uh… how exactly do I do that?”

Though it’s true that writing compelling headlines is something that will take some time to practice and master, you don’t need to be a genius to come of up with something that helps you generate more traffic.

Here are 5 simple tips to help you get started:

1) The Tried and True How-To Headline

People love How-To posts, and it’s not something that works with a single topic. You can write How-To posts about anything and your title doesn’t have to be complicated or take too long to create.

Your headline for this is simple:

• How To [Fill in the Blank]

Easy-peezy! The Elegant Themes blog is full of How-To posts that are rather popular and have received many comments and social shares:

• How To Improve Your Google Page Speed Score
• How to Minify Your Websites CSS, HTML & Javascript
• How to Create Your Own Affiliate Program with WordPress
• How To Optimize Your Google Plus Profile Page
• How To Create Your Own Images For WordPress Posts

Though you can create something pretty simple out of this, you can also use it to create something that’s even more compelling

For example:

• How To Write 2,000 Words a Day | This is simple and can attract a reader who is looking to learn about how to write more efficiently.
• How To Write 3,000 Words Before Lunch Without Breaking a Sweat | This headline reflects something similar to the one above, however, it is infinitely better. The headline, without being very long, gives a reader the hope of learning how to do a lot more in a short time with a lot less work on something that they really want to learn. Result? *Click*

2) Lists

Another semi-easy way to create headlines that rock is to create a numbered list post with a corresponding title. People love lists because they make the brain think that they don’t have to do as much work to understand the topic at hand.

List Posts have the potential of going viral. These also take some time to master, but creating them and measuring the response from your audience will help you hone your skill in creating them.

Here are a few examples of about to write up a list headline:

• 7 Ways [To Accomplish a Certain Task]
• 10 Steps to [Fill In The Blank]
• 101 Reasons Why [Fill In The Blank]
• The Top X Ways to[Fill In The Blank]

7 is pretty much the magic number of list posts so if you’re going to start off trying one of these out, then try your list post and headline with that number.

Just as a tip, list posts are supposed to be more like bite-sized bits of information so keep each of your points short, sweet and to the point so that you don’t overwhelm your reader.

3) Reveal a Secret

Even for those of us who aren’t the gossip mongers that some of our friends may be, I’m sure we all still love to get the jump on some juicy secret. Headlines that promise to reveal secrets quickly pique curiosity and prompt clicks.

I mean, if you’re a blogger wanting to learn more about online marketing, wouldn’t you click on a headline like this?

• The Number One Secret All Online Marketing Gurus Don’t Want Your To Learn

What’s the secret? Why don’t they want me to know it? What’s the big deal? (*Click*)

Powerful, right?

4) Resolve an Issue

Everyone runs into a situation in life that is like an itch they just can’t scratch — and it’s annoying as heck! Play Doctor Blogger and help them resolve their issue with a headline that starts like this:

• Get Rid of [Insert Issue Here]

The Issue can be anything, but the words, “Get Rid of” prompt a mental sigh of relief. Now you just have to deliver with something useful and epic.

5) Make Is Fast and Easy

We live in a whirlwind world. People are busy with life and work and they just need a bit of simplicity to make things a little less complicated in are the crazy.

Here are some headline idea to deliver the goods:

• Quick and Easy [Fill in the Blank]
• The Quick and Simple Way to [Fill in the Blank]

The headline says it all: fast and easy.

Your Quick Reference for Creating Headlines That Suck People In

Using the ideas above are just to help you generate some headlines, but there are other ways to take those headlines further.

This part of the post is dedicated to be a short and quick reference area to that you can always come back to help you kick up some ideas in order to jumpstart your headline creating so be sure to bookmark the page or pin it in Pinterest so that you don’t lose it.

Stick to a formula. Use Neil Patel’s Infographic on writing good lines as a starting reference. Everything you want to do when you’re starting out is on this image so keep it close by:

• The Formula for a Perfect Headline | QuickSprout

Use Power Words. What are those? Power words are words that trigger a response. Can’t think of any? Well, Jon Morrow has over 300 that you can use as part of your headline to boost that clicks and traffic:

• 317 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better Writer | Boost Blog Traffic

Try Out A Headline Analyzing Tool. CoSchedule has a great and free tool to help you test out the potency of your headlines and thus help you take out a lot of the guess work. The tool is based more on creating headlines with power words and words that trigger an emotional response but it’s still amazing:

• Headline Analyzer by CoSchedule 

Your Headline Hacking Homework and Worksheets

If you’ve managed to get this far in the post, then my guess is that you’re serious about learning how to write headlines. If that’s true, then roll up your sleeves and dig in, baby!

Below are some great articles, e-books and worksheets to help you master the art of Headline Copy.

• How to Write Magnetic Headlines | This is a free ebook on CopyBlogger by Brian Clark. You’ll need to sign up for an account with them, but you can sign up for free.
• Headline Cheat Sheet by CopyHackers | This is a cheat sheet to help you craft a headline that is even the best copywriters would love.
• 5 Easy Tricks to Help You Write Catchy Headlines | This post gives a nice breakdown of 5 ways to easily come up with a headline that grabs your readers’ attention.
• 52 Headline Hacks on Boost Blog Traffic  | Jon Morrow is an amazing blogger and his copywriting skills are hard to beat, but he’s a nice guy and wants to share his knowledge. You can grab his cheat sheet for crafting headlines that people love and that he uses to get a jaw-dropping amount of traffic and social shares on just about everything he writes.
• 43 Powerfully Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Blog Post Headline Templates | This is another great find I recently stumbled into. These templates can help you come up with a headline when your brain just won’t do it for you.

Article Thumbnail by Mascha Tace via Shutterstock