No, a poorly written article with a great heading will not go viral, but a fantastic article with a poor heading will not go viral either. The title is the first step towards getting people to decide to read your article in the first place. So how can you write better headings? Easy, we’ll give you the copywriter’s guides to writing killer titles.
Write Your Blog Title Last
People will either fall into the write the heading first camp or the write the heading last camp. For copy, we suggest always writing the heading first. For content writing, we suggest writing the heading last.
By writing the article and then the heading, you know what value your article gives the reader. This article may have been “how to write viral headlines” or “X ways to improve your blog titles” if we had written the heading first. Because when you sit down to write, you’re focused on the content you will write. By writing the headline after the article, you focus on what value the article can give. Remember to make sure your article delivers on any promises you make. Clickbait titles may attract a lot of readers, but they will not share your article with other people.
Focus on Results
If the reader follows the advice in your article, what results can they expect to see? This is not an excuse to make outlandish claims, give examples of what results your company saw from implementing these strategies. Alternatively, give examples of the results a client or friend got. Examples of this could be:
- Want to boost your email open rate by 50%?
- The six-figure sales page
- Sell more with these 3 changes
The trick is to stay away from common clickbait titles like “how did one entrepreneur 10x their income overnight?” or “I tripled my sales with this easy trick.” Everyone has been tricked by headlines like that before, so even if you deliver on the promise your blog title makes, people are likely to think its fake without even reading.
Tap Into Emotions
Use your blog headline to hit them right in the feels. But when it comes to emotions that will capture a reader’s attention, not all emotions are created equal. Here are some of the best ones to target:
- Frustration
- Envy
- Fear
- Love
- Altruism
- Pride
- Nostalgia
But you can’t just tell people what they feel. Think of it like when you’re staging a house to sell, you want the buyer to imagine themselves in the home. When you write a headline, you want the reader to think of how that scenario makes them feel. If you try and tell a reader how they feel about things, it sounds like a cheesy infomercial: “Is having to create content every month a complete drain? Are you jealous of people who make it look easy?” Instead, subtly hint at their emotions and let the reader’s brain do the rest. “How to Fix 5 Annoying Website Issues in a Lunch Break.”
Reference Well-Known Brands
Can you tie your lesson back to a well-known brand like a company or public figure? Instead of just writing an article about how to grow your social media following, you could write an article about how Zoella became a household name. The famous name will attract people who don’t usually follow you.
Put These Tips to Work
Do you know that most writers don’t write their headlines in the first go; sometimes you have to write 5- 10 headlines to get the right one. Take your time when you write blog headlines and ask yourself if there’s a better way to say it.