So, while you want to post premium content to your website, blog, social media etc, it’s the title that gets the reader’s attention. Just to prove how crucial titles are, let me throw a statistic at you,
For every 10 people that read a headline link, only eight will click on it.
Only two out of every 10 people will actually continue reading after the headline.
What makes people want to read the rest of your article? You must have guessed it – it’s the headline!
The title of your article holds this special power, because although it may be catchy to the reader and make them click, they will not share the link just because of the title alone, which is why your body of content still needs to be on point and fluid with the headline that gave the article its theme.
Need an analogy? Here’s a perfect one:
Imagine you’re buying a used car (the headline) and the outside of it is less than appealing to your eye, but the inside (body of content) will blow your mind with how new it is. The outside of the car needs to match the inside; otherwise they won’t buy it – why? Because the outside of the car is what gets their attention.
There are three popular types of headlines that you see on the internet every day,
Obviously, this is the most popular and most direct. The whole idea of a news title is giving the what and where or what and who. However, if you are not writing a news story which begins with a lead (one to two sentences who, what, where, when, why) then you should not be writing a news headline because it won’t flow with the rest of your content.
News worthy story headline’s are meant to be written in a compelling fashion that gives some detail, but not too much.
Example: An Exclusive Interview (what) with Oprah (who)
For many of the popular blogs out there, especially one’s like Buzzfeed, they thrive on the Reasons Why headlines and it works – perfectly, I might add. Any headlines that tell reader the “32 Reason’s Why” they are like “Khloe Kardashian,” they’re going to click and find out.
It’s the same thing with How To articles. Plenty of writers out there who give advice on content marketing and search engine optimization will tell you that How To articles will generate a decent amount of attention.
Example: How To Make Your Pet Respect You
While that one hints at a humorous article, it would still generate some attention on any popular site. However, it needs to tell people how to do something or reasons why – otherwise, once again, no one will share the link.
As long as the question is interesting to your target audience, don’t ask them. Otherwise, this is a great way to get people to click on your link. However, the question cannot give away too much of the info that makes up your content. While the following example is way overused, it still generates enough traffic for plenty of different sites.
Example: Want To Live Like A Celebrity?
This title can imply anything – by clicking on your link, are they getting advice on making money? Celebrity health tips? Or are they getting celebrity accommodations? Whatever the reason may be, it will lure them in.
While content is one of the most crucial elements to internet marketing, being able to generate a direct response is an art form – you need to be able to deliver different words to an infinite amount different people, and creating an eye-catching headline is the first step in generating attention.
