There are 4 million blog posts published on the internet every day, fighting for people’s attention and reading time. Luckily, not all articles are created equal, and how they perform depends largely on the blog headlines.
Maybe you’re an expert in your field and have tons of valuable information to share. Or maybe you want to be a blogger and write about your life and interests. In any case of writing content for the web, it’s catchy and creative blog titles that make the readers click and share.
Wondering what makes people click on a blog post headline? Well, you clicked on this one to learn the best tips, so keep on reading.
Follow a Headline Formula
Most bloggers and professional writers with successful headlines follow a simple copywriting formula that gets them clicks. Some of the best-performing blog post titles include:
- How To…
- The Ultimate List/Guide To…
- The Proven Methods To…
- The Secrets To…
- The [number] Mistakes People Make…
- [Someone] Did [Something Unusual] + [Timeframe]. Here’s What Happened.
- Stop [Strong Command]
- What You Should Know About [Topic of Choice]
- [Number] Little-Known Ways To…
- Are You [Question]?
Using these formulas, you can make a long list of catchy titles and refer to it whenever you’re stuck and need some inspiration. You can always use A/B testing to see which titles perform best.
Study Successful Blog Post Headlines
The best way to learn how to write good titles is to analyze what’s already out there. Study successful blogs in your niche and see what types of headlines they publish. Watch what gets shared on social media and whether the content actually delivers on the promises in the title.
You’ll notice a lot of similar titles out there, but to be on the safe side, try to think of your own unique ones. It’s important to be original because search engines and readers can smell a bad copy from a distance. You can also use online tools and research reports to see which headlines perform the best.
Deliver What You Promised in the Headline
The number one rule of successful headlines is to deliver on your promise in the content. When readers click on a title, they want to get some information on a particular topic. The majority of online readers have an attention span of around 5 seconds and they’ll quickly skim through your article to find what they need. If they don’t, they’ll leave and won’t come back.
This is why you need to make things easy for them and use the right formatting for your blog posts. Headings, bullet points, quotes, images, and short paragraphs are a must for online content, both for SEO purposes and your readers.
Steer Clear of Clickbait Titles
You’ve seen clickbait titles all over the internet saying things like “you’ll never believe what happened next” or “this simple trick will shock you and change your life“. While some clickbait titles are good, others are just sensationalist and the content they offer is fluffy and nowhere near as shocking.
Luckily, readers who need value and knowledge know a clickbait title when they see one. The reason why clickbait doesn’t perform well in professional industries is because it sounds like gimmicks and readers don’t want to waste their time. Instead of trying to lure readers in with clickbait, offer real value in your headline and deliver on your promises.
Use Keywords in Your Headline
Google and other search engines have algorithms that analyze your headlines and content for quality, backlinks, and keywords. If you want to rank your content high on the SERP, you need to implement a valuable keyword into the title and then into the article. Keywords should fit the title naturally, not be awkwardly placed just to be included.
Make a list of several keywords that your target audience is searching for and play around with title combinations. You can also type in the keyword in your search bar and see what headlines come up. You can then analyze them and see what performs best.
Make It Personal
Even though your headline is meant for thousands of people, the reader should still feel like it’s addressing them personally. You don’t have to (and realistically you can’t) use personal names in the title, but you can use personal pronouns like ‘your’ to make people feel like the content is all about them.
A good headline example is “Your Ultimate Guide to Backlinks” instead of “The Ultimate Guide to Backlinks“. For this to work, you need to know your target audience extremely well and talk directly to them instead of the entire internet.
Appeal to the Reader’s Emotions
Headlines that appeal to the reader’s emotions have better chances of performing and getting clicks than dry data. In fact, BuzzSumo analyzed 100 million headlines and discovered that the most shared and clicked on headlines appealed to the reader’s emotions.
However, this can be tricky because you don’t want to overpromise in the headline and fail to deliver in the content. For example, if your headline contains the phrase “you’ll be shocked“, your audience will expect to be shocked. Otherwise, your title is clickbait.
Practice, Practice, Practice
For every blog post headline you think of, you need to write at least 10 more before you choose the winning one. Learning how to make a good title takes time and practice, but you’ll soon get a good feel of which headlines resonate with your readers.
There are also online blog post title generators that can help you come up with ideas and word combinations. Remember to avoid clickbait titles, overly-promising headlines, or titles that contain jargon your readers can’t understand.
Coming Up With Creative Blog Titles Is Easy With These Tips!
Whether you’re a business owner, a blogger, or just someone who enjoys publishing content online, a good headline can attract the right audience to your blog.
These tips will help you create catchy, valuable, and creative blog titles that your readers will love and happily click on.
Need more writing and headline inspiration? Here are 6 types of blog posts you should try today and wow your audience.
