Headlines turn scrollers into readers. But even beyond that, a headline might be the only part of your meticulously researched and crafted blog post that most people read.

According to a 2020 study, a whopping 59% of users on social media will only read the headline of an article. And many of them will ignore your article without even reading it if the headline doesn’t get their attention.

The point I’m trying to make here is that it isn’t enough to write great content. If you aren’t catching the scanning eye of the modern reader, all of your hard work will become visual white noise. Nobody wants that.

Still…writing headlines is hard. That’s why I’ve put together this comprehensive guide based on what I’ve learned in more than 10 years of writing headlines for marketing copy.

I’ll cover the psychology behind compelling headlines, best practices, SEO, and a few tools you can use to help you infuse your headlines with a little creative genius.

Play Mind Games to Write Scroll-Ending Headlines

A headline should always answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” or WIIFM. Readers are always asking this question whether they realize it or not. A headline answers that question…but that answer isn’t always compelling enough.

Pulling the Emotional Trigger

The key to creating clickable headlines is to tap into an emotional trigger. I hear you groaning from here, but it’s not as hard as you think. For example, my original sub-head for this section was: The Psychology Behind Compelling Headlines.

While that accurately describes what I plan to discuss, and it sort of answers WIIFM with “compelling headlines,” it sounds more like an assignment for Copywriting 101. No one wants that.

“Play Mind Games to Write Scroll-Ending Headlines” answers WIIFM with “irresistibly clickable headlines.” But it’s the “play mind games” that really taps into the reader’s curiosity. Plus, a game always sounds more fun than school.

Curiosity isn’t the only emotion you can play on, but it is one of the most effective. Surprise, fear, humor, and anger can also work. Just make sure you’re being authentic.

Don’t Forget to Be Clear & Specific

It’s easy to lose the point when you’re focusing on emotional drivers. But remember, the first thing a headline needs to do is answer WIIFM. The best tip I can give you is to start with that. Even “The Psychology of Compelling Headlines” is better than a headline that’s vague, unclear, or worse…clickbaity.

A headline should always tell the reader what they will get from the content. Think about the last time you saw an interesting headline and clicked on an article that didn’t include the promised info. You felt tricked, right? Annoyed, even angry…and less likely to click on another link from the same source.

Clicks are important when you’re creating content, but not so important that you can disappoint your reader like that. Even if your headline is meant to evoke a negative emotion, you want to make sure you’re delivering on your promise.

Best Practices for Writing Headlines

When you sit down to write a headline, there are a few best practices you can follow to get the best bang for your buck.

  • Keep it short: Headlines should be 60 characters or less. Shorter headlines are easier to scan. There are also SEO benefits, but I’ll talk about that later.
  • Use numbers: It’s no secret that numbers get clicks, but you can’t just throw a number in your headline. Making a list? Count out the steps. (Pro Tip: Match your number to your reader’s needs. If they’re looking for a comprehensive list, go high. If they want easy instructions, go for a lower number. )
  • Add a few power words: Power words are connected to emotional triggers. Some of the most common ones are “new,” “exclusive,” “special,” and “last chance.” There are a ton of power word lists out there, but my favorite one is from Hubspot.
  • Match the tone: Make sure your headlines match the tone of your content. You should also match the tone your audience is expecting. Headlines that attract C-suite executives differ from those that speak to small business owners.
  • Write multiple options: Don’t take the first idea you have and go with it. Spend time with your headlines. Write several good ones so you can choose the best. Plus, you’ll have options for A/B testing later.

Optimizing Headlines for SEO

Okay, so Google has been telling us to write useful content for years, but as marketers, we always look for ways to game the system. That’s just how we are. Headlines are the perfect place to balance SEO and usability.

  • Headlines are a ranking factor…sort of. According to Google Search Advocate John Mueller, title tags are a tiny ranking factor. But you can play around with the title tag vs. the actual title on the page. You still want to make sure they are related and match the content on the page.
  • A good headline can improve your click-through rate. When users search for a keyword, they are looking for something. Match your headline to that “something” — in other words, their search intent — and they’re going to click. This goes back to writing headlines that answer “What’s in it for me?” clearly and specifically.
  • Include your target keyword in the headline. I left this out of the best practices section because keywords are an SEO thing, but it also belongs there. Your primary keyword should be in your title. It should still seem natural, so you don’t have to match it exactly. And don’t start stuffing in a bunch of related keywords, or you’ll end up with an overly long headline that doesn’t make sense.

Headline Writing Tools of the Trade

By now, you’re probably ready to jump right in and start writing some outstandingly click-worthy headlines. No? Okay, so maybe you need a little help to get your juices flowing. There are a few useful tools you can use to shape your headlines…and even help you get a few words down.

Headline Analyzers

If you have trouble writing headlines, you’re not alone. There’s a reason I wrote this post, and it’s not only because I did a little keyword research.

There was a time when I hated writing headlines. I would put them off until the last minute and then read hundreds of headlines to see if anything sparked any ideas.

Then, I would write something and proceed to read it a hundred times until I had no idea if it was good or not. While that worked…eventually, it also stressed me out for no reason.

Tools to Try:

  • Advanced Marketing Institute Headline Analyzer

    In one of my many, many searches on “how to write a headline,” I ran across this cool headline analyzer from the folks at the Advanced Marketing Institute. It measures how emotional your headline is and what emotion it evokes in your reader.
  • Capitalize My Title Headline Analyzer

    While I prefer the AMI Headline Analyzer, this one from Capitalize My Title gives additional information about SEO. They also have a useful tool that shows you which words should and shouldn’t be capitalized in your titles, depending on what style guide you’re using.

AI Title Generators

No, I won’t tell you to use AI to generate all of your headlines. You just shouldn’t do that. AI is very limited in the creativity and emotion departments, so it tends to spit out some generic-ish stuff in the form of a headline.

What you can do is use AI tools to help you come up with a few seeds of ideas that you can use to create your own headlines.

Tools to Try:

  • The Hoth Free Title Generator

    This tool is interesting because you have to fill in several pieces of information about the headline subject and target audience. In my experience, the more information you give AI, the better it does. The results aren’t perfect — I got “How to More Clicks Blog Headlines” as one of my results — but there were a few that gave me some ideas.
  • Easy-Peasy.AI Headline Generator

    If you want something a little simpler, this headline generator might do the trick. All you have to do is enter a topic and a tone, and the tool generates 20 headlines broken into categories like listicles, how-tos, and questions.
  • SumoMe Kickass Headline Generator

    I haven’t played with this one as much, but it seems promising. It uses a few common headline formulas to help you get past the dreaded blank screen paralysis. Again, you aren’t going to be able to just generate a headline and slap it on a post, but this tool might point you in the right direction.

Take-Away Tool Kit for Mastering Compelling Headlines

Writing compelling headlines isn’t some magical ability that only exists in the heart and mind of a true marketing copywriter. It’s a skill that anyone can learn with a little practice.

Effective headlines catch your reader’s eye by appealing to their emotions and telling them how your content will help make their lives easier.

Following a few best practices will get you there. Then, all you have to do is remember some easy SEO guidelines to help your audience find your content. And if worse comes to worst, there are tools to help you get started.

So get out there and write irresistible headlines that have your readers begging to read your dazzling content.

And if you’re still having trouble with headlines and are ready to bring in a hired gun, drop me a line. I’d love to talk about your content writing needs!