3 Tips for Writing Great Headlines
In any sort of copy you take on, something that you should keep in mind are the headlines and sub-headlines. Why? Because headlines and sub-headlines do two things for your copy –
1. Make Website Visitors Stop and Pay Attention to Your Message.
2. Compel Your Visitors to Keep Reading.
For your business – this can mean many things, including more profits, more sales and more sign-ups. In this post, you’re going to learn some creative and helpful tips for writing great headlines.
1. Consider Your Target Market
If possible, when creating your headline, address your target market. This is especially important if you’re creating a headline for a sales letter. When you speak directly to your target market, they will listen. Look at the two headlines below and notice how the bottom one demands attention by addressing the target market.
‘How to Make More Money Starting Today’
‘How Stay-at-Home Moms Can Bring in a Fat Check Every Week’
By considering your target market, you can really create a headline that is going to work for you.
2. Tell the Reader What Is In It for Them
One thing you want to do when thinking about your headlines is consider what value the reader is getting. That value should be made plain in the headline. With sales letters this is easier, because they’re getting the solution to their problem. Of course, the solution is typically your product or service. But what about regular articles, blog posts, etc?
Consider the headline of this article – 3 Tips for Writing Great Headlines. The reader automatically knows that he or she is getting 3 tips for writing great headlines. This is the value. Think about what you’re offering to readers with your articles, blog posts, etc. Then, make sure it’s plain to the reader what knowledge they will gain or problems they will solve if they read. Here are a few examples:
• ‘How to Change a Tire’ – Here, the reader knows he or she is going to learn how to change a tire.
• ‘What is the Red Ring of Death on my Xbox 360?’ – Here, the reader knows that he or she is most likely going to find out what that ‘red ring’ means and how to fix it.
• ‘13 Creative Ways to Find a Job’ – When nothing else is working, the reader will find new ways to get a job in tough times.
By promising the reader something, you’ll ensure that more people actually stop and read your copy.
3. Keeping Readers Engaged
Sub-headlines are great for keeping readers engaged in your copy. This is why they’re used so often in sales letters – the whole point is to keep the reader interested. You may notice a small block of text and then a sub-headline under it which is something like, ‘And then I learned why I had been having so many problems,’ or ‘then I discovered a breakthrough solution that anyone can use.’
These sub-headlines keep the readers engaged because they want to know what that solution was or why that person was having so many problems. For typical articles, it could be as simple as letting the reader know what they’ll learn in each section of the article.
For instance, a medical article could be broken up into the ‘causes’ of a condition, the ‘symptoms’ of a condition and the ‘treatments’ of a condition. By dressing it up a little bit, you might have sections that look like these:
‘How Did This Happen?’
‘How Do I know it’s really _______?’
‘What Do I Do about It?’
The reader will continue reading to get the answers to those questions. The entire point of sub-headlines is to break up the text of your copy, make it easier to read and keep the reader engaged.
By using these great tips for writing headlines, you can ensure that your copy gets more attention and works harder for you.
