Perspectives

5 Ways To Crack Killer Headlines

18 Jan 2015

By Cheryl Joy
@epic_brandz

Statistics show that out of 10 people that read your content, 8 will read the headline of your copy but only 2 out of them will get beyond it to read the rest. A good chance you have to get anyone to even consider browsing through the content that you have created is by creating a headline that urges them to read further.

What is it then about killer headlines? And how can you come up with eyeball-grabbing headlines that are tough to miss? We’ll tell you.

1. Know who you’re talking to

If you’re going to talk to a 50 year old the same way you talk to a college graduate, chances are you’re going to get passed up. But that doesn’t mean that aiming for an older audience spells boring and for a young audience spells fun. Creating headlines that are appropriate for the audience that is being targeted without trying too hard is the key. More often than not, this just means keeping it simple as a lot more people could relate to it.

2. One size WON’T fit all

Headlines are almost always dependent on the media they are to appear in. The kind of headline that works in a print newspaper would definitely not work in a social media post. Nor will a copy headline work for a white paper. So, one of the key considerations to be kept in mind while writing a headline is to take into account the media that it is meant for.

3. Solve problems

Let’s face it- for all the interesting content that we’ve read in our lives, more often than not we’ve clicked on the ones that are useful to us. Create headlines that give the reader an idea that you’re helping them in some way or the other. No matter how interesting your content is, a person who wants to ‘know how to change a light bulb’ wants to know precisely that- how to change a light bulb! It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

4. Take risks and be flexible

There was a time when short, easy to read headlines were considered to be the winners. Till we realized that people didn't have the time for them anymore.

The problem is that once a ‘winning formula’ for good headlines is established, every writer or journalist tries to fit their writing into that mould. The trick however lies not in adhering to any particular style or trend but in being flexible. Headlines should suit the kind of article that they convey. If your article tells the reader how to do something that they might want to learn, tell them just that. It’s as simple as that.

5. Headlines are like wine. The best ones take time.

This point cannot be reiterated enough because invariably it’s the one that people over look. Good headlines take time. It’s as simple as that. There is no point in reading a zillion articles or books about creating spellbinding headlines. None of those great headlines were created over a whim. Good headlines take effort and time. And a lot of thought.

Killer headlines are the start of a great article. They might be just a fraction of the entire content that you’re putting out there but that doesn’t take away the fact that they’re very important. Treat them that way, take your time and stick to being simple. More often than not, that’ll do the trick.

BY: Cheryl Joy

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