How To Write Headlines That Attract Interested Readers

Read my headline again; note how I didn’t say “how to write headlines that sell.” I am trying to make a point here.

IMO, job #1 for your headline is to attract readership, grab their attention and persuade them to read further. In other words, headlines should act as “stop signs” and not necessarily, as “buy signs.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not denying that headlines do play a key role in the selling process but don’t confuse a good headline with a call to action. Tabloids like The National Enquirer, The Globe etc. do use outrageous and shocking headlines to seduce you into buying their publications.

I’ll post another article later about the different points of view among professional copywriters about the real role of headlines.

Here, I want to concentrate on crafting headlines that attract serious viewers and readers to your website and/or sales page.

You can spend days or thousand of dollars in writing the most convincing sales letter or article but if your headline is weak, no one will bother reading it if you can’t draw them in.

So, how do you get them interested enough to continue reading the rest of your copy? You need to learn how to write “magnetic” headlines that attract readers.

Once you’ve done that, you need to draw them into your main copy. The headline leads to the opening paragraph, which in turn leads to the next and so on and so forth until you reach a compelling call to action.

The truth is online readers don’t read web pages like you would read a book. They skim and scan before deciding whether to read the rest of the text or not.

Your headlines must at least have these three components:

1. Be search optimized – In order for your articles to be ranked high on Google, Yahoo or any of the other search engines, choose keywords/phrases that your target audience would use. Your copy is worthless if your target readers can’t find you on the Internet.

2. Be short and simple – Summarize your main content in as few words as possible. Don’t cram your headline with every benefit to cover all your bases. Stick to the main ones and quickly separate serious visitors from the casual ones who may have found your page accidentally.

3. Be truthful – Today’s online readers are savvy and suspicious enough to know hype from honest. Headlines that promise the moon or to make you an instant millionaire, deserve and will receive no more than a second of attention and will be discarded just as quickly.

How can you learn to write magnetic headlines? Where can you find great examples? Check out the headlines on other websites, in newspapers and magazines. Here are a few sure-fire headline formulas that work courtesy of Bryan Clark at Copyblogger. Use them as starting points or inspirations.

1. Who Else Wants [blank]?
   Who Else Wants a Great Blog Template Design?
   Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?
   Who Else Wants More Fun and Less Stress When on Vacation?
2. The Secret of [blank]
   The Secret of Successful Podcasting
   The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation
   The Secret of Getting Your Home Loan Approved
3. Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
   Here is a Method That is Helping Homeowners Save Hundreds on Insurance
   Here is a Method That is Helping Children Learn to Read Sooner
   Here is a Method That is Helping Bloggers Write Better Post Titles
4. Little Known Ways to [blank]
   Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill
   Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail
   Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely

You can read the rest of the headline examples here…

Here’s another valuable resource, The 100 Greatest Headlines Ever Written.

Special note: For email marketing, the subject line is your headline. People are reluctant to open emails where the subject or the headline does not interest them. Writing a magnetic headline in the subject line is like having caller ID on your phone – it determines if you will “open (answer)” or not. Active headlines tend to have greater open rates, for example:

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