You have a great blog post full of great information, but you need to get the user to read it. Ensuring the headline compels readers to click on it, will mean that your blog post is actually read. Here are some quick tips to writing a blog headline.
1. Numbers and Digits Paired with Impact Words
Readers can be mesmerized by lists, and they work really well. I actually wrote a blog post on three reasons why list posts always work that you can check out here. Including a list when writing a blog headline can help grab the reader’s attention. Starting with a number can show the reader that they are about to be reading a list of items. You also need to pair an impact word to get the users to click on the headline. This is a list of some of those types of words:
- Methods
- Reasons
- Ways
- Facts
- Strategies
- Techniques
- Ideas
- Tips
- Tricks
- Secrets
- Statistics
- Smart
- Surprising
- Hacks
2. Clearly Define What the Article Contains
You need to make sure readers can easily identify exactly what you post is about. If you are too vague, you may experience a lot of people clicking but then leaving before reading much of the post. You want readers to click on the post and read what you have to say. A bad headline might be something like “Preparing an Onion” where as a better headline for the article might be “5 Tips for Slicing Onions Perfectly”. Just between those two titles, readers are more likely to click on the longer article if they were in need of learning how to cut an onion.
3. Embellish A Little When Writing A Blog Headline
Many blog writers will exaggerate small details in order to get users to click on the posts. Is it really a “secret” that choosing a light paint color will make a room feel larger? Not really, but you can include that in a post titled; “5 Tips to Make Any Room Feel Larger”. Advertising that you have a secret tip or something special others many not know about, can make readers fast to click on your post.
4. Address the Second Person
Normally writing in the second person can be awkward in most instances, but it works exceptionally well for blog headlines. Call out the reader and they will reward you with a click. Here are a few headlines that use the second person:
- Think You Know Everything About The Office? Take This Quiz to Find Out
- 3 Hot Chocolate Variations to Keep You Warm This Winter
- 8 Things You Should Never Leave Home Without
5. Use Keywords When Appropriate In The Headline
Using keywords in your title is always a good idea when it comes to SEO (search engine optimization). It will help you get noticed by search engines like Google, leading to more readers clicking on your post. They don’t always lead to the most creative headlines though so I recommend only using them when the keyword fits the title perfectly.
6. Keep it Short and Sweet
Headlines should always be less then 70 characters including letters, numbers, and spaces. Most search engines will not post headlines over 70 characters so if it is longer, it will be cut off. Also to make things easier on the user, you want to make sure your titles are simple and easy to read. That way the user can find exactly what they need on your blog.