Let us consider that there is a seller who sells fitness shoes that are incorporated with modern tech to make your workouts more easy and informative. Now suppose this seller wants to advertise these shoes on some social media platform and he needs to choose one headline from these two – “Shoes That Improve Your Workout” or “Fitness Shoes That Feature Perfect Blend Of Comfort & Technology”. Which headline do you think will make more impact?
The problem with the first headline is that even though it tells that the shoes are meant for your workout, it fails to highlight the importance of the modern technology used in these shoes. The second headline, on the other hand, clearly conveys that these shoes are meant for your fitness regime and offer you comfort along with technology. Naturally, the latter makes more sense and is bound to generate more leads than the former.
David Ogilvy, who is regarded as the Father of Advertising, once said: “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” A crisp and informative headline will not only make your content worth reading but also shareable. Be it on a banner ad or a landing page, a succinct headline is a key to attract your target audience. Here are a few tips that can help you to write a good headline:
- Never ignore keyword research: Keywords are the fuel for any search engine and it is these words that your potential customers enter while looking for the product they desire to buy. Spend some quality time doing research on the specific keywords or phrases your target audience uses to look for products pertaining to what you are selling.
A headline should always be infused with keywords that have maximum search volume and showcase your needs in an effective manner. As a matter of fact, there are numerous people out there who will share your post the moment they find your headline catchy. You need to sound unique as well because there are many other businesses that are in the same field as you and post almost similar content every day. But, if your headline sounds bold and intriguing, you are sure to woo the customers to your website.
- Create a sense of urgency: After reading your headline, a reader should feel like they need your product more than ever and that they should act immediately. A headline that creates urgency is bound to pique the interest of the visitor. You can make use of words like “Now” or ‘Today” in your headline along with the promise of a benefit to get an immediate response. For example: “7 Things You Can Do Now To Increase Your Website Traffic”
Another approach towards creating urgency is by showing a negative consequence in your headline. For example, “5 Mistakes You Are Making While Writing A Headline”. This title makes the visitors want to read the blog to avoid or rectify the mistakes they are making while writing headlines.
- Avoid writing misleading headlines: If you wish to develop a relationship with your audience, then you need to be transparent about what you write. A misleading headline that does not relate to your content will displease the readers and they might never come back to your brand even in the future.
Whether it is a social media post or an online advertisement, your headline should be precise and clear. The title should be so crisp that just once glance at your headline and the reader should be able to understand what kind of information he will learn or solutions he will find to his problems. Take a look at the example given below. The heading efficiently conveys that the reader will get to know how to write LinkedIn articles that are shareable.
- Use numbers wherever necessary: Headlines that contain numbers perform better than the normal headlines because the content belonging to such headlines is considered to be a quick and easy read. Using a small number will show how short your post is and using a high number will tell how detailed the post is.
Research has shown that an odd number generates 20% more traffic than the even number as it quickly grabs the reader’s attention. Also, numbers take less space which comes as an advantage when you are walking on a tight rope when it comes to the total characters for a headline.
- Write multiple headlines before choosing one: If you are waiting for a great and productive headline to pop up in your mind and then write it down, then you are probably wasting a lot of time in this process. An effective headline is the byproduct of numerous permutations and combinations before you find ‘the one’.
For an article or online advertisement, you should be ready with at least ten headlines or more. Think and figure out which of these headlines is best suited for your target audience and use it on social media. If you see that it is creating engagement, then you can use it on your banner ad or even on your landing page.
Writing a headline for your blog or social media post is nothing short of an art. You need to be at your best while writing a headline because this headline is going to be the gateway of your post for bringing in clicks and conversions. So, the next time you start brainstorming about a headline, make sure that you apply the tips mentioned above and make it more click-worthy and meaningful.
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