How to write catchy headlines - is a skill. It’s science. Seriously.
Let’s say you are building a funnel in Tedbree.com’s tool, and you want those clicks to come rolling in. A catchy headline is how you do it. If you are looking for tips-to-write-catchy-headlines, then there will be plenty below.
You can read our previous post on the Importance of a Content Schedule on your blog to learn more on the impact of a content schedule on your brand.
Writing catchy headlines is a skill. Much of it comes down to telling people what they’re going to get and giving it to them. But snappy, smart headlines aren’t just for your blog posts. Catchy headlines for LinkedIn are essential. Writing catchy headlines for your advertising will draw people in. Words have power, so use it well.
Drafty - but catchy
Your title might not pop the minute that you write it. You might have to wait for the magic to happen. Use a working title in the meantime - a draft title. This relieves the pressure of sticking totally to the title that you have thought up. A draft title gives you the chance to play with the content.
The topic is what the post will generally be about.
Topic: Pineapples
So anything at all about pineapples could be in the content.
Working titles: Why pineapples are good for you and your hair. How to make a fantastic face mask with pineapples.
The working titles have a direction, a focus, and tell you what the content will be about. But the working title is not the final form. It’s the jumping-off point.
You should finish with something like:
“Homemade Pineapple Face Mask Recipe For Radiant Skin”
This tells the reader what they will get, answers a search term, and tells them the benefit. Simple.
Details
Your title should be a quick and clear explanation about what the reader will get from your article. It is setting an expectation. If you say ‘107 ways to eat eggs’ but deliver 89 ways to eat eggs, that is under delivering and a lie. There is also the issue of being bombastic. Which is simply wildly exaggerating the content - for great content, you don’t need to do that either.
You can clarify your content when needed with brackets. Like this:
Facebook Marketing Legend Shares Secrets [Podcast & Article]
Short, to the point and tells you exactly what you’re about to get.
Get Playful
Words are delightful. You can be honest, accurate, and still have fun with them. Making your title tantalizing and playful can work wonders. But, you will still need to lean into the personalities of your readers. It will also depend on the topic. For sensitive items, don’t dance around; there is no need, and it is usually in poor taste.
Use impact words: Hate, Love, Brilliant, Shocking, Exciting, Unique. Use them in moderation, so they retain the impact.
Alliteration: “My Mom’s Magnificent Macaroni” - simple, short, descriptive, and tells you what you’re getting.
Value: Here Is What You Get + Why You Need It = Qualified Readers. Show your readers what they are getting, the problem it might solve (when applicable), and you will get readers that are your audience.
Visual: ‘Produce 100 Pieces of Content A Day [Photo Guide]’. With this one, you are saying what they get first, and telling them, you will show them how.
‘Produce 100 Pieces of Impactful Content A Day [Photo Guide]’ one word can make a lot of difference to your reader.
Length
The size of your title matters, to some extent. If you know what you’re doing with words, then you probably can fit what you need to say in 70 characters or less. 70 characters or less doesn’t get cut off by search engines.
You’ll need to be aware of how those titles will show on different social media too. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have different title lengths, research the title length for each that gets the most shares, and customize.
SEO and Social
So ideally, you want your content to rank. But if you are cramming as many keywords as you can together or packing out the title with keywords with little use - you are writing for robots, not people. You can write for search and social with a little time and effort, though. Use your keyword as the heart of the content and title, research the search volume for those keywords - choose the best one for your title after you have the data.
Where possible, put what you want the content to rank for first. So:
‘Pinterest Marketing For Beginners [Download Guide]’
It’s 50 characters, so safe for search and social media.
Pinterest marketing is what you want it to rank for, and that is first.
The brackets tell them what the content has for them (value for the reader).
In conclusion, it is very important the headline is simple to read while adhering to all of the requirements of search and social sharing.
And that is it, a simple guide on how to write catchy headlines for content that ranks, and tells the reader what they can expect when they click on your link.