When I started blogging regularly, I became a bit frustrated by the reach of my posts. Some posts seemed poignant, timely, and important yet received little to no attention. Others felt a bit frivolous—personal rants and trivial afterthoughts—but were shared widely and attracted a dozen or more comments. I would return to one of the meaningful posts, feeling deflated and perplexed. This is good stuff, way better than half the crap online. Where did I go wrong? And how does the fifteenth picture of Susan’s cat get 874 shares?
When the answer came, it was part realization, part acquiescence to something I knew but had resisted.
I’d just shared my best work yet—it was personal and well written, and it urged my readers to engage. My eagerness peaked at the click of my mouse: Post. Two hours later, two people had “liked” it. Two days later, it had been shared a whopping five times—by family members. My heartache couldn’t be contained, and so, later in the week while having lunch with a good friend, I mentioned to her how poorly my latest blog had fared. (She hadn’t read it or shared it either, a fact I hadn’t missed.)
“I don’t get it. It’s useful, beneficial. I think people would really like it, if they’d actually read it.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to read it myself. I saved it in my email. I was just busy—the boys were over, and Ray hadn’t even started dinner. Did I tell you about the mess at the gallery?”
My friend launched into a sporadic, detailed account of her insanely busy life. There was her husband, her two step sons, the gallery she managed, the laundry, groceries, her mom’s hospital stay. It went on and on. I read between the lines.
She had seen it but forgotten it, even saved it but never came back to it. She was busy and figured it required too much of her time. She hadn’t even clicked the link before deciding this. I wanted to shout back at her, “But it doesn’t take up a lot of time, and you’ll really like it, and it will benefit you!” I didn’t. I realized my headline should have said that for me. And I realized I needed to take headlines more seriously if I wanted my posts to be read.
Typically, a headline will get one of three responses:
- I must read this now
- Hmm, interesting, I’ll come back to this
- Nah, I have things to do. Or simply, Not interested.
Only the first one gives you a real chance to earn the reader’s time and attention.
An effective headline in today’s digital hurricane of information must catch your reader’s attention, promise them that the article will be worth their time, and live up to that promise by offering something of value.
After I realized the importance of a headline, I asked myself, do writers have to write clickbait headlines just to be read?
Yes and no.
We don’t have to be slimy. Slimy is something writers and readers both want to avoid. Plus, it becomes less effective by the day. Internet readers are shrewder than ever at sensing the inauthentic, especially as many of us try to raise awareness about the need for fake news literacy. Most readers can spot the insincere, vague, and passionless from a URL away. They’ve seen it so much that suspicion precedes interest.
But we do have to persuade. In a sense, we have to sell our ideas to readers, get them to buy in. Don’t turn your head away just yet. Selling by itself isn’t evil, especially if you’re selling something genuine that you care about and that gives value to your readers. You can hate the thought of having to sell your words, but it won’t change anything. I prefer to think of it as sharing. I have something worthy to say. I need to find an effective way to share that with as many people as possible.
The fact is, people are drowning in information. Just think about how many emails you get a day, how many posts are on your Facebook feeds, how many online news sources there are to choose from. Add that to your busy schedule, the office lunch, your kid’s ballet recital, those dishes piling up. You get the picture. People have a thousand reasons not to click on your link. If they do click, it’s likely for one reason—a great headline.
Readers spend a few seconds or less deciding whether to click a headline. What can you do to succeed in such little time? Here are three tips for writing an effective headline:
1. Keep it Simple
You can lose your audience quickly. Don’t assume they’ll read more than a line. Get to the point, and make sure the headline honestly reflects the contents of the article. Often, it’s best to write your headline after you’ve written the article. A clunky headline may signal to the reader that the article will be clunky as well, and they will move on. Keep it direct and simple.
And remember, a headline doesn’t just entice people to click; it shapes the reader’s entire experience. You should never sacrifice honesty to write a good headline.
2. Convey Value
People want to know what they will get out of reading your post—tell them. Just as you need to convey the content of the article, you need to convey the value being promised. Maybe you’re offering tips on writing or your opinion on a political issue. Whatever you are giving, make sure it will benefit the reader and make sure your title communicates that benefit. This is the all-important so what? of the headline.
(Remember, it’s also your job to make good on the value your headline promises).
3. Incite Curiosity
This is the tough one, right? How can we make people curious? Here are a few suggestions.
You could use a title that conveys the content of the article accurately and a subheading that is a little more daring in trying to entice the reader. You could use the “How To” format, which is a popular and proven strategy for getting reader engagement. The same goes for numbered list posts. You could try creating a cliffhanger, or an open loop that the reader can close by reading the article. Or you could make your headline an intriguing question; just be careful to avoid certain pitfalls.
Inciting curiosity means that your headline leaves readers wanting more. Whichever strategy you choose to employ, make sure you leave some mystery. An ideal headline is simple, conveys value, and leaves the reader with an unanswered question or unresolved interest.
Headlines that Work
Let’s look at some examples of headlines that stand a chance of getting readers to click.
How to Earn Money from Your Blog–Without Selling Your Soul
10 Writing Tips: I’m Trying #4 Today
Got Writer’s Block? 12 Proven Strategies for Becoming a Prolific Writer
Stop Wasting Money: Free Digital Advertising for the Small Business
“Students don’t give a rat’s ass”: An Interview with a Writing Professor
11 Writing Habits You Need, but Probably Never Thought About
Is Women’s Literature What’s Missing from Your Life?
“You’re safe here.”: A Boy’s Struggle to Save His Life with Daily Writing
Creating effective headlines has never been more important. Our attention spans are dwindling—we have so much information to sift through and so little time to do it. A good headline works against these pressures; it draws us in and makes us forget about the swarm as we give our precious time and attention to someone else’s ideas. That’s a powerful thing.
Don’t lose your audience because you’re afraid to write an enticing headline. Instead, realize that you have something valuable to share and that the only way to share it is to trigger that first click.
[…] Writing Headlines That Work: Earning and Keeping Your Reader’s Interest […]