Headlines have always been an important component in writing—particularly journalistic writing—but with the rise of social media they are probably even more important than ever before. When content is shared through Facebook or re-tweeted on Twitter, the headline will either grab the reader’s attention or it will not. Our increasingly busy lives dictate that we no longer read when perusing a web page, rather we skim quickly, jumping here and there until a word or a phrase stops us and makes us take notice.
Scanning is the norm in web reading, with readers spending less than five seconds on a headline to determine whether they will continue to read. If you’ve offered a confusing or lackluster headline, you have just ensured your article will not be read therefore your headline is possibly the very most important part of your article. So, your headlines must grab the reader’s attention, snapping them out of their digital media daze. Next, it should spark their interest by relating to a particular problem or issue they are having in their life. A great headline should not, however, attempt to tell the whole story rather should intrigue the reader while staying snappy and to the point.
Sparking Your Reader’s Curiosity
If your headline fails to engage your reader’s curiosity, then it is unlikely they will continue to read. To stimulate curiosity, writers must use word such as “revealed,” or “at last,” to generate interest. Your ultimate goal in your headline is to speak directly to the emotions or needs of the individual reader, making them feel as though you are speaking directly to them. Keep in mind the five basic human needs or motivators when writing your headline.
Of course first there are the physiological needs such as hunger, shelter and clothing, and the safety needs including the physical, emotional and financial. Next comes social needs which include the need for acceptance, companionship and love. Self-esteem needs include the need for attention, respect and recognition, and finally comes the self-actualization needs which speak to a person’s need to reach their potential in life. These motivators should be incorporated into your web content headlines whenever possible.
Other Ways to Write Killer Headlines
You can use the “call out” method when writing your headline which specifically calls out to your target audience. If you write a one-word headline which simply says “Migraines?” you have effectively hooked every reader who has ever suffered from migraine headaches with one little word. Another method involves simply stating the benefit right up front in your article’s headline. Say you are writing an article about how to make vanilla extract at home.
You could simply title your article “Making Vanilla at Home,” or you could grab your reader with this headline: “Saving $$$ by Making Vanilla Extract at Home.” The second headline has told your reader right up front that they can save considerable amounts of money by making their own vanilla extract, while the first, while it gets the point across, is somewhat lackluster. Writing a “how-to” headline is also an attention-getter—after all, how many women will bypass an article that states “How to Lose 15 Pounds by Summer.”
Dealing With Conflicting Advice
New writers particularly can be confused by conflicting advice from professionals. Some state that information must always be front-loaded into the headline with a goal of conveying as much useful information about the content of the article as possible. Unfortunately, headlines of this type can often end up so dull they are regularly bypassed. Other seasoned web writers advise using the headline simply to lure your visitor in, ignoring whether there is any front-loaded information involved. What you should remember is that your headline will quite often be read out of context, meaning it could come up as an Internet search result, a newsletter subject line in an email, or re-tweeted on Twitter. This means that your headline must have significance outside the context of a website. In the end, it is definitely worthwhile for any writer of web content to focus considerable time and attention on their headlines.
