Headline Writing Secrets Your Readers Can’t Resist

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reading the newspaper

Photo compliments of: inju

I can’t read the text, but that newspaper must be pretty interesting if he wants to read it while swimming. If you’d like your readers to be as hooked as he is, you’ll need to write great headlines to start your sales copy.

Here are some secrets for writing attention-grabbling headlines for your posts, your ads, or your emails.

Make them curious

Curiosity is bad for cats, but good for people. Write something odd, or unexpected, and your readers will want to find out more about it.

One way to do this is to put two or three things together in a new way. Or, combine subjects that don’t seem to belong together at all.

The Yogi Berra Marketing Guide
The only way to find out what in the world Yogi Berra has to do with marketing is to read the post.

The Pajamas, The Lizard Brain, and the Employee Manual. Certainly a strange combination.  The only way to find out what it’s about is to click the title.

Ask a question (without a clear answer)

Are You Reading These Blogs?
Do You Make This Common Marketing Mistake?
Why Are Clients Like Fish?

Asking a question that the reader can’t immediately answer arouses both interest and curiosity.

What are those common marketing mistakes anyway?  If you don’t read the post, you’ll never know.

And what the heck do clients have in common with fish?  There’s only one way to find out.

Make a big promise

The Number One Marketing Secret You Need to Know

What is this secret?  And how will it help me earn more or grow my business?  Tell people you’ve got secret, long-lost, or inside information about a topic of great interest.  Appeal to their desire for knowledge that most people don’t have. This makes people curious, and they’ll click through to satisfy that curiosity.
Try This Timeless Copywriting Technique

This promises another secret.  In this case, it’s a copywriting trick that you may not know, but that has been working for a long time. This lends credibility to the idea. If it’s timeless, it’s proven to work for others, and can work for you too.

Revealed: Why Clients Want to Make the Logo Big

Graphic designers and businesses have been fighting over logo size since the beginning of advertising. If you want your audience to read your article or post, use a headline that addresses something that really bothers them (and offer a solution).

The Truth About CAN-SPAM

Many marketers misunderstand the FTC CAN-SPAM rules.  Getting it wrong can be an expensive mistake. This article has valuable information that will keep you from making those mistakes.

Appeal to self-interest

Earn More Money by Giving Free Gifts

This headline sets up what seems to be a big contradiction. How can giving something away for free lead to more money? The only way to find out is to click the link.
15 Tips for Writing Emails That Make Money

This one appeals to a strong, common desire.  In this case, to earn more money from your marketing emails.  Who wouldn’t want to earn more money, especially if it’s from something you’re already doing.

Get Record-Setting Results in a Recession

This headline appeals to the desire to beat the odds.  We want to earn more, and we also want to know how we can do that when the economy is poor and it’s harder to get clients or sales.

Try these on your own posts. You’ll get headlines so good, your readers will want to take your work everywhere—even swimming.

Creative Ways to Write Great Headlines

Today is the second in this week’s roundup series. The theme this time is headlines. Here are five posts with tips on writing headlines, starting your sales letter with a bang (and going beyond the headline), and some unusual sources for headline inspiration.

7 Easy Ways to Write Great Headlines

Never-Fail Headline Writing Tips

Start Your Sales Letter with a Bang

7 Secret Shortcuts for Writing Great Headlines

102 Great Headlines

Image: gracey

7 Secret Shortcuts for Writing Great Headlines

headline_rabbit

Image: autiscy

The headline is the first thing that catches a reader’s eye. Nobody (except for judges in advertising competitions) will read your entire post or ad unless the headline does its job.

If you’re stuck for ideas, here are seven headline tips and formulas that make creating headlines easy.

1. Start with a number

People love lists. They promise knowledge, quick help, and understanding of complex problems— in a format that’s easy to read and digest.

2. Ask readers if they make common mistakes

A headline asking if readers made “these common mistakes in English” was a bit direct mail hit long ago. Ask your readers if they make these common design mistakes, or web development errors.

3. Offer a quiz

It’s fun to test your knowledge, especially if it’s a contest. Have your readers see how well they do on common (or uncommon tests of grammar, design, or photography tricks.

4. Make a big promise

Offer to get rid of [horrible problem] once and for all. Or, a quick, easy way to do something hard.: Get a web site that’s impressive and easy!

5. Offer inside information or big savings

Everything you need to know to get cheaper software, or how to (do something that’s usually expensive) on a budget.

6. Create an especially large list

This is particularly effective in social media or blog posts you want bookmarked or shared. List 51 design tools under $50, or 27 free marketing ideas. The longer the list, the more important it appears.

7. List the best (or the worst) examples

“The best software under $50,” or “The worst marketing email. Ever. ” Why is that software so great?  And what made that email so awful?  The only way to learn the answer is to read the article.

What are your best sources of inspiration for headlines? Share them in the comments.

And how many of the headline formulas did I use in this post?