So you have done your research and discovered a great topic to write a blog post about. How can you help make sure your post gets read? Headline writing is a critical step in the process in crafting a well read piece.
Your headlines are the first impression that your writings will make on a potential reader. So, it’s important that they capture your readers’ attention and make them want to read the rest of your post. It is quite important that you develop good headline writing skills.
The Importance of Writing Headlines First
Writing the headlines first, all of them, will bring you two huge advantages. First, it will help you to stay focused on just the headlines themselves. It’s easier without any other content to distract you from your task of creating effective headlines.
Second, writing headlines first will help you to organize the overall structure of your posts. Trying to write headlines, then several paragraphs of body copy, then another headline, alternating back and forth, often leads to a disjointed post.
Writing your headlines first will help ensure that you have a nicely organized framework on which to build the rest of your writing.
How to Rock with Good Headline Writing
The most effective headlines you can write are structured like the very headline you see above (thank you), that is, the “How to” headline. Be sure to focus on the benefits to the reader. How will learning “how to” do something solve the pain-point of your reader?
“How to Work Less and Have More Free Time”
“How to Get the Job You Have Always Wanted”
“How to Have Those Difficult Questions with Your Daughter”
Include Your Keyword Phrase in Headlines
This seems like a logical rule. For SEO purposes, that it, showing in the higher ranks of Google’s Search Engine Results Page, you want to make sure that you discover which keyword phrases your audience is looking for. Thus, having well demanded keyword phrases in your headlines will draw the attention of Google’s search bots to that phrase.
However, another rule for good headline writing that you always want to hold fast to is: Write for your human readers, not for search engine bots. Remember, your readers will be able to detect that you wrote the headlines and / or post content for SEO and not for them. They are not likely going to read a blog post they sense was not written for them anyway, thereby defeating the purpose of the post in the first place.
It’s important to get your headlines right, as they form the backbone of your blog post.
Keep in mind that the purpose of your blog is to share your story about your interests, your travels, or your life. If you are a business, you are first and foremost striving to engage with your customers, to share valuable information with them that will answer their questions or address their pain points.
You are not writing to impress search bots just to get ranked higher on Google’s search engine results page. Even Google itself doesn’t want you to do this!
The best way to get ranked, read, appreciated, and shared is to write content that your readers will enjoy and benefit from. So, whereas you should include keyword phrases in your headlines, you most certainly should do it in a way that will make sense to your readers.
Structure Your Headlines as Numbered Lists
“5 Ways to Start Saving Money Today”
“4 Best Kept Secrets for Building Stronger Relationships”
“8 Top Destinations for a Vacation in Florida”
OK, we are actually breaking a grammar rule here. Usually, we spell out numbers less than 10, (“seven” versus 17), but studies have shown that psychologically, people are more drawn to numbers when included with word text. This helps draw the attention of your readers to your headlines.
It’s even better if the number appears at the very beginning of the headline.
Phrase Your Headline as a Question
We are also more naturally drawn to questions. When we see a question, we just can’t help but try to answer it, even if only inside our own heads. Using questions in headline writing gets your readers thinking about an answer. Then, if they find the question interesting, they will want to read on just to see how you answer it.
Try to avoid yes/no questions. They are not nearly as interesting. Plus, they don’t do nearly as well as open-ended ones in drawing your reader into seeking an answer. Consider these:
“Want to Know the Best Places to Eat in Manhattan?”
The reader could very easily answer this question as a “no” and then abandon reading the rest of your copy. Rephrase it as an open-ended question and you will get better results:
“What Are the Best Places to Eat in Manhattan?”
The reader will only be able to discover the answer to this question by reading the content of your blog post.
Appeal to Human Emotions
Finally, your headline should appeal to the emotions of your readers. This doesn’t mean they should be overly dramatic or phony sounding. Keep it real, but try to factor a bit of feeling into your headlines.
“Lose Weight Starting Today Even If You Failed Before” will appeal more to someone who has gone through the pain of losing 25 pounds over the course of a couple of months only to put back on 30 pounds. This is preferable to “How to Lost Weight Effectively with a New Diet.” In this second headline, the emotional appeal is lacking and it seems too bland.
Making your headlines appeal to emotions will make your readers want to continue reading your post. Just make sure that the content of your post lives up to the promise made in your headlines!