When you’re creating content for your business, the first priority is always to draw in the reader so they will examine further and, in turn, produce a higher response rate. The best way to do this is through attention grabbing headlines that intrigue and interest your audience. You could have the best, smartest, most original blog or social media post that this world has ever seen; but, no one will ever find that out if your headline puts them to sleep. Think of the headline as your content’s first impression for the reader; you’re going to want to make it count.
How to Write Attention Grabbing Headlines
Incentivize Your Content
Zero in on what the biggest draw for your post would be and make sure it’s communicated accurately in your headline. Touch upon whatever your content’s biggest benefit is for the reader. The purpose isn’t to give away the entire post but to include enough information to at least pique the reader’s interest and convince them to read on.
Every piece of content you put out should ideally be of some value to your target audience. With that in mind, if your post is listing the best ways to X, Y, and Z, then explicitly state something along the lines of “The Top Ways that you can X, Y, and Z.” Let the reader know what they can expect if they consume your content.
Specificity Matters
You should know what the main point(s) of your content are and be able to communicate them concisely in your headline. The vast majority of people will just read a headline and move on with their day.
However, if you accurately convey the subject of your content, then people will be able to make that split second decision of whether or not it is applicable to them or if it’s worth their time. You don’t want to miss any opportunities to appeal to your target audience.
Don’t Underestimate Subheadings
Once you’ve soundly convinced (with your superb headline copy) your reader to peruse your content, the next trick is actually getting them to read it. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, reader’s attention spans aren’t always going to be able to handle content of any kind, especially if there are long paragraphs and blocks of information.
Therefore, it is essential to break up your text according to your primary points that you explore. The very best way to do this is by separating your text by giving each of your individual points subheaders. Subheaders are mini-labels for the different messages relayed throughout your content.
They allow those who may not have time to read the whole piece to skim through and focus on the parts that are relevant to them. If that one part that they read interests them, hopefully they will go back and read the whole thing.
Other Headline Do’s and Don’ts
When you’re creating attention grabbing headlines, here are a few other tips to keep in mind:
Do:
- Use an active voice. A sentence with an active voice has the subject performing the action of the verb. In a passive voice sentence, the subject is the receiver of the action. An active voice sentence would be, “The man wrote the blog.” A passive voice sentence would be, “The blog was written by the man.”
- Integrate keywords that are relevant to your blog and easily searchable for your readers.
Don’t:
- Use clichés and wordplay. They’re overused and can seem tacky.
- Use the same repetitive, boring copy.
- Mislead the reader by advertising your content falsely or promising something that isn’t there.
