Want to know how to write a headline that attracts attention?
Be specific, create curiosity, draw interest and offer a benefit.
Does your headline need to include all these things? Not necessarily but your headline should be specific enough to inform the reader of what your content is about and then raise enough curiosity, either through an interesting idea or by including an irresistible benefit.
Whether you’re writing your newsletter, writing articles, writing sales letters or writing web content, grab your reader’s attention in your headline with these 5 powerful attention getting strategies.
1. Write Headlines That Create Curiosity & Interest
Consider this headline,
“Lose Ten pounds while sitting in your chair”
Does that sound like it might be something of interest? If you sit all day at a desk, I’m guessing it would. But it also stirs up curiosity. We don’t think of sitting as a way to lose weight, so this idea has the power to intrigue.
2. Your Headline Should Include a Benefit
What’s the benefit your article is offering? Going back to our title:
“How to train your dog in 24 hours“
The benefit is fast training. This is more likely to attract attention than simply saying “How to Train Your Dog“.
3. Be Specific with your Headline
If you’re vague, you’re reader will lose interest. Think about this. Would you rather have a ‘yummy dessert’ or a ‘ tangy lemon chiffon Pie’?
Or how about this:
“How to save on your Grocery Bill” or “How to Save 40% on Your Grocery Bill Every Month“.
Give as much detail as your headline will allow without getting too wordy.
Avoid comparisons that state ‘faster than’ or ‘bigger than’. To a reader, they would be asking ‘faster than what?’, ‘bigger than what?’ Sharpen up the picture with specifics.
4. Headlines Should Not Be Misleading
Don’t mislead your readers. Promising something that you can’t deliver on is irresponsible. Instead, create an eye-catching headline that reflects what you’re actually delivering. A headline that says:
“How to make a million Dollars in one week“
will have readers rolling their eyeballs. It’s not realistic nor is it likely that you can deliver on that.
Get your reader’s attention but not at the expense of misleading them or bending the truth.
For more examples of great headlines, check out the headlines on other articles, newspapers, magazines and websites and create a swipe file of headlines that caught your eye. It’s OK to pull ideas from other sources.
5. Optimize Your headlines for the Search Engines
Don’t forget the search engines when you write. Choose keywords phrases that the search engines will recognize, yet aren’t too competitive.
Start by using your favorite keyword tool to determine a keyword phrase that best describes your content.
For instance, if you are writing about dog training, a headline that reads:
“How to train your dog in 24 hours“, is better than ‘Dog Training Tips’ which is a much more competitive keyword phrase.
“How to Train your Dog” is much less competitive and has a better chance of ranking higher in the search engines.
I like to use these 4 steps to writing effective SEO copy as a guideline.
Once you’ve settled on the best keyword phrase, figure out how to write a headline that gets attention by using those keywords with attention getting words or benefits that your reader will appreciate.
Hope that helps 
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
A catchy title never misses to grab attention. I think the title and first few lines is enough for the readers to decide whether to read on or not. Its really important to work on the title