When you take on the task of creating headlines for your articles, there's one thing you always want to keep in the forefront of your mind: If your article isn't rich in content and/or it's all too obvious that the catchy headline is there for the sole purpose of drawing traffic to your post, you'll end up doing more harm to yourself than good!
The line between a creative article title and a tacky one can often be blurred. The key is to always make sure you DELIVER: No matter how wild it is, the headline still has to make sense in its own way; it has got to RELATE to the content. The last thing you want is to make your readers feel like you think they're so dumb they can't tell the difference!
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With that said, here are a handful of my favorite attention-grabbing techniques:
A. Promise Value
Headlines that promise value often start with "How to": What you do is you announce to your reader that you're going to give away some incredibly invaluable tips on how he can succeed in a particular area of his business or personal life. These types of headings are often enhanced with an intriguing, definite number.
Some examples would be:
"How To Attract Women Like A Rock Star", "13 Ways To Defeat Information Overload", and "How To Replace Your Income In 67 Days".
B. Make a Specific Promise to Your Reader in Return For Their Time
"Give Me Just One Hour, And I'll Forever Change Your View On Network Marketing", "Give Me Three Days, And I'll Teach You How To Dance Like A Las Vegas Showgirl".
A variation of method A, ("Promise Value"), this type of headline holds a strong guarantee, and it's an extremely effective way to draw your reader's attention. A word of caution though: Make sure you're always able to back up your claim and deliver exactly what you promise!
C. Announce An Underdog Success Story
"They Didn't Think We Could Win the Game, But We Did!", "They Laughed At Me When I Stepped Up To The Microphone, But Not When I Started To Sing!", "My Friends Chuckled When I Submitted My First Article, But Their Laughter Changed To Amazement When My Piece Was Featured!"
The above are what I like to call "beat-the-odds" headlines. They reason they work so well is because we humans are enormously fascinated by personal success stories - especially those where it's the "little guy" that hits it big.
A variation of this is the "How I/we/he/she/they..." headline:
"How I Went From Waiting Tables To Millionaire Status in Less Than 24 Months", "How Sharon Lost 95 lbs, Won Back Her Husband, And Was Named Teacher Of The Year."
D. Announce That You Have A Secret Or A Warning
Headlines in this category target human emotions such as curiosity and fear:
"Secrets Of An Award Winning Novelist", "Seven Secrets To Success In PPC Advertising".
You don't have to be ten years old to love a secret! Your grown-up reader is intrigued by them, too!
Similarly, with "warnings", what you do is you evoke concern, anxiety, even fear in your reader:
"Warning: Read This Before You Book Your Trip", "Don't Shop At Wal-Mart; Here's Why".
None of us wishes to be duped, cheated or to make fools of ourselves. So, if someone claims there is a good chance we will, but that THEY can help us avoid it, we're likely to give them our attention!
E. Entice Your Reader With "Hot" Names Or Topics
"Lessons In Leadership: What You Can Learn From The Hillary Campaign", "What Britney Spear's Career Has Taught Me About Marketing Overkill", "If You Watched 'The Secret', You Must Read This!"
In our celebrity-obsessed culture, famous names have an almost unmatched ability to catch our eye. Additionally, when we are under the impression that there's something important going on, we want in on the news. If everyone's "talking about it" - be it politics, sports, sitcoms, or whatever - we want to be "talking about it" too! Heaven forbid that our friends would regard us as ignorant or "behind the times"!
Therefore, if you are able to incorporate some hot names or topics into your headlines (in a way where it doesn't appear disingenuous), you'll find that this will draw a lot of added attention to your writing!
Well, there you have it - those are some of my favorite "eyeball-grabbing" techniques when it comes to creating article headlines! Now go make them work for YOU!
How To Create Article Headlines That Tickle, Stimulate, Shock & Provoke Shock Me Like
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