There’s no better way to draw visitors in than with a great headline. It’s the gateway to your content, the promise of value, and the difference between a click and a pass. In a world where everyone has short attention spans, the headline is the key to your article’s success.
In order to craft a great headline, it’s important to understand the factors that make an article clickable. To do so, we recommend that you look at your top performing articles and find common elements that all of them have. This will help you create a headline formula that can be used to write more compelling articles.
One of the most popular elements of a headline is to use emotion to invoke an emotional response from the reader. This is a classic strategy that’s been around for decades, and it’s easy to see why. The more emotion a headline can invoke, the more likely it is to result in a click.
Another effective element is to use numbers. Listicle headlines (posts that feature a list of tips or information) are popular among online readers because they offer scan-ability and provide a clear structure to the article. In fact, a study by Buzzsumo found that headlines with numbers have higher Facebook likes and shares than those without.
Finally, using “How To” in a headline can be extremely effective because it promises a solution or answer to a problem. However, it’s important to note that these types of headlines should only be used when the target keyphrase isn’t being truncated by Google and inbox providers. Otherwise, they may be pushed aside by other search results and social posts.
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