There are many techniques bloggers can use to create more effective headlines. If you want to be as successful as possible, make sure your headline immediately commands attention, which will help your blog stand out from the crowd.
Those bloggers who have already seen some measure of success know how important good headlines are. If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, here are 5 ways to write more effective blog post headlines.
1. Keep It Short & Sweet
People have very limited attention spans, so in order to draw readers in and keep their attention, your headlines should be kept short and sweet. Keeping it simple is really the key here. The shorter your headline, the easier it is to understand – and a short headline means the entire thing will appear in search results.
While it’s certainly fine to use longer headlines once in awhile, generally speaking these can confuse and frustrate readers. Your goal is to draw readers in, not turn them away from your content because the headline was too long. When crafting headlines, make an effort to write them as succinctly as possible.
2. Command Attention
A good headline will command a reader’s attention from the very beginning, and keep a reader interested enough to read the entire post. One effective way of doing this is to create headlines that immediately capture an audience by using “shock tactics,” controversy or other techniques.
However, if you choose to use a controversial headline but fail to deliver on your promise throughout the rest of your post, readers will soon learn you are not a credible source of information and will go elsewhere. Rather than tricking your readers into reading more of your post – and then failing to deliver – make sure whatever your headline promises is something you can follow through on.
3. Solve a Problem
Another way to create an effective headline is by solving a problem a reader may have. These types of posts are usually “How to” or tutorial-type posts, and can help solve a problem or address a need of your reader base. These types of posts often attract a lot of interest, especially if it’s a widespread problem that a lot of people are looking to fix.
Consider your blog niche and what types of “How To” posts you can write that will address the problems of your readers. How can you help them? What expertise do you have that will enable you to solve common problems readers within your subject are likely to encounter? These headlines are very effective at drawing people in.
4. Consider Keywords
Stringing a bunch of random keywords together won’t make a compelling headline, but you should consider popular keywords within your niche and how they can help you craft a more effective headline.
Brainstorm some of the keywords associated with your topic, then use a keyword tool to look for the most-searched keywords or phrases for that topic. Ideally, you want to find popular keywords or key phrases that don’t have a lot of competition.
Doing research like this can help you with a good headline, especially if you’re having writer’s block and can’t come up with an attention-grabbing headline on your own.
5. Be Clear & Direct
Your headline should sum up in as few words as possible exactly what the reader can expect to find when reading the rest of your post. While some people may be intrigued by cryptic headlines, the majority of readers want headlines that are clear, direct and focused on what the post will be about.
For example, a reader who clicks through to a post titled “How to Ride a Bike” will expect to find a blog post explaining exactly how to ride a bike – no more, no less. If the post starts veering off into a completely different direction, your readers will end up frustrated and confused.
Be as clear as you can be in the headline while still making it compelling and worthy of a reader’s attention. Don’t mislead your readers!
The Bottom Line
While there are many techniques to use when you need to craft compelling headline, these methods are some of the most effective ways to capture a reader’s attention.
If you haven’t been concerned with your headline before, now is a good time to put as much thought into your headlines as you do to the rest of your post.
A good headline can mean the difference between a blog post read by many or one that’s only read by a few.
I try and start with a headline first when writing my blog posts. Then, I write a short outline of what my post is going to consist of. When I’m done writing my post, I’ll revisit the headline to try and make sure that I’m covering each of the elements you discuss in this post. Sometimes it works out great, other times, it needs a little work
I’m pretty much in the same boat. For me, I think up the long tail search keywords I want to go after, then think up a headline and go from there. Like you said, sometimes it’s a home run, and others a lemon.
I always write my headline last.
Gives me time to think about it.
This is my take on titles for speeches, which have a lot in common with blog titles.
http://easypublicspeaking.co.uk/speech-titles/
Helpful article. The problem with my headlines is that I usually come up with a much better one the day after I’ve already published it. LOL.
Maybe you should write it, then sit on it a day before you publish. Beat the system, ya know?
That’s not a bad idea. We’ll see…
I’ve seen some of my articles get much more traffic than others just because of the headline.
In my case (tech blog) a headline that solves a problem and keeps simple + some SEO optimization worked quite well.
But I think sometimes headlines are a matter of luck. Sometimes you hit the sweet spot, and many other times you don’t…
Very helpful, it can and will help us writing a post that attracts a lot of readers to click on
This is the kind of stuff I really need to know. Also, I love the long tail post linked to above. Also extremely useful. Thanks!
Certainly producing the effective headline is a huge task to get the intention from the reader and I think the most important thing is to use the keyword and producing the post that solving reader’s problem can be very crucial.
Thanks for sharing great 5 tips
I definitely think up my headline first!
When I think of a headline, I login to WordPress and create a draft post with the headline, including the category and tag decisions. Consequently, I have lots of drafts, partially done when I login to do my daily post.
Works for me!
Great post Brian!
Apparently we have the same habit Kevin, because I recently posted a photo of all the drafts I have stashed away using the same method.
I usually keep my ideas on Evernote. The first thing I do when creates a new post is to do keyword research. After that, I’ll look around to see how people write about this keyword. The last thing is to apply some tactics to make the header clean, direct and compelling
I always look for a good way of writing a good headline. When each time I am stuck in headline, I will go to Coppyblogger.
I think the best way is to write the headline first. This will give you a general idea what the reader expect from the post.
Once you define the headline, then you can break it through with your post.
I never think of putting the keyword in the headline, thank for make me attention to this.
There’s something I need to learn right now!
Thanks Brian for a wonderful post. I am not a writer, but I always appreciate the work that goes into an article, specially when you are targeting a specific or general audience for traffic or simply speaking your mind.
Thanks again, I will keep this as bullet points for when I get to do writing.
thanks a lot, im do much better now:)
Great article, thanks Brian, it helps a lot right now!
Some examples would be welcome.
One other thing I’ve seen with headlines- Those that start with ‘How’ or ‘Why’ or contain a number (like this one) do particularly well…
It’s tiny but important.. Thank for your post..
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