How to Write A Blog Headline that Will Grab Attention

The first thing someone sees about your blog is the headline, so it really needs to grab the readers. Here are tips and lists to help you get more readers.

Everything now is about analytics and SEO–things I don’t really know much about but I have learned what it takes to make a better blog headline.

There are three things you’re going to need.

1. The Write Better Headlines Analyzer–your headline score should be a minimum of 70% on the scale to be considered appealing enough for the masses. The link for the Analyzer site is here.
2. Keep a list of Power Words, Influential words, and Emotional Words.
3. Print off and post the examples of questions or structure that have proven to be successful in the past.

Ever since I got the Write Better Headlines Analyzer, I’ve been working on creating better headlines for my blog posts. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

The first thing I’ve struggled with is “emotional” words which when used, elicit an emotional response from readers as per SEOPressor

The TOP 28 WORDS to elicit an EMOTIONAL response are:

• Free
• Guaranteed
• Because
• Easy/Simple
• Today
• Discover
• Huge
• Everything you Need
• Never
• Save
• Proven
• Instant/Fast
• Powerful
• Secret
• Premium
• Best
• More
• People
• New
• This
• Exclusive
• Amazing
• How to
• You and Your
• What, Which, When
• Why
• Numbers…like the Top 10 Reasons…Lists are always a quick read and people love them.

When I read this list through and think about how they affect me when I read them I find it interesting that the words hold some sort of promise. Whether it’s a promise of discovery, satisfaction, or something more personal–each word really does speak to me.

Are you using these types of words in your headlines? Try it.

Here are more words that you can play with in your headlines.

And then there’s the POWER WORDS

the “power” words make readers take action.

Even with the list of examples for emotional and power words, you still have to put them into a catchy phrase to grab the reader’s attention.

Using QUESTIONS and HOW TO in your headlines.

I’ve learned through trial and error that questions and how-tos work well.

Start with How-to, What, or Why. These questions elicit curiosity and a quest for an answer to some nagging questions that the reader didn’t even know they had.

For example: How to Write a Book in 30 Days Or How to Write a Children’s Book…

How To…

How to Write a Book in ________________
How to Build Your_____________ in Simple Steps
Why __________ is ten times better than
What No One Ever Told Me About ____________________
What You Need to Know about ______________________
Why ___________________ is Superior in every way to ___________________
How To ___________________ Like an Industry Insider
What ____________________Can do for You
Why You Must Do _________________ Before____________________
The Why, What, and How-To on______________________

Questions are great because it gets the reader engaged in wondering what it is you have to offer.

Make A List…

Another great headline is offering a list. Fill in the blanks and move the words/spaces around as you see fit.

• The Top 10 Things About XYZ
• Five Tips to Make ___________________
• 27 Clever Ways to ___________________
• 100 Reasons To _____________________
• The Top 10 Ways to _________________
• 25 Powerful Ways to Use _______________Without________________
• 50 Ways to ____________________While Maintaining_________________
• 13 Foolproof Ways to _________________________
• 5 Tried Tested and True Examples of ___________________
• 99 Smart Choices to Make During ______________________

Lessons Learned…

These can still have lists or questions but are more personal and related to you.

How I learned _______________ the Hard Way.
What I Wish I Would Have Known Before I ___________________
Advice From Someone Who’s Been There
How I Completed _____________ in ______________________
Here’s My Secret to ____________________________
Why I Adore/Despise ___________________________
How I ____________________________
Grandma Always Told me _______________ Would ____________________
Five Things I Learned From _______________________
My Confessions about ____________________________

We learn ad share our lessons, but we can also provide resources and how-to guides. So let’s look there for some good headline starters.

Inspiration…

A Complete Guide on ______________________
The Art of ________________ in __________________ Easy to Follow Steps
My Cheatsheet for ____________
A Step by Step Guide on How to _____________________
Don’t Miss the Ultimate Directory on _____________________
The Simple ABC’s of Building Your Own ___________________
The ____________Keys to Being a ______________
The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need to _________________
What You’ve Been Missing About _____________
Do _____________ Before you ________For the Best ____________

Remember…

… be honest and forthcoming in your headline. If you can’t find a catchy title then you’re better off telling the truth. There’s nothing worse than clicking on a post to find out that it was all headline and no substance.

Please feel free to share this post and I hope it helps you get more traffic to your blog. Come back and tell me how you did. I’d love to hear.

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