Of all the people that visit your blog, 80% of them will read your headline: and only 20% of them will go on to read your body copy.
While that may seem like a dismal statistic, it holds some serious power for the people who get headlines right. The reason for this is that when you craft great headlines, you boost your chances that people will go on to read the rest of your content.
If you want great results for your content, you can’t expect to just whip out headlines left and right. In fact, QuickSprout recommends spending half the time you spent creating your content creating a headline. While this may seem overkill, there’s no underestimating the importance of headlines. Part of this is due to the fact that there are upwards of 2 million blog posts, 864 thousand hours of vide, 294 billion emails, and 400 million tweets being created on a daily basis.
With that much content on the web, it’s clear that a headline is one of your only chances to grab a reader who’s distracted by a million other things and say, “Hey! Click here.”
When you get it right, you have the potential to boost your traffic, earn more readers, and rise to web fame. But how do you do it well?
Here are 10 tips to help you get started.
10 Tips for Headlines So Good They’ll Break the Internet
Writing great headlines is an art form. There are several tried-and-true formulas that work well every time and, as a content creator, it’s important to get familiar enough with these that you can include them in your arsenal. Here are some of our favorites:
1) Use numbers
“9 Facts about Elon Musk, according to Elon Musk,” “20 Ways to Have the Best Day Ever,” “5 Fitness Tips to Help You Rock the New Year” …. what do these headlines have in common? They all use numbers to draw readers in. According to a study conducted by Moz, 36% of readers prefer numbered list headlines. And according to the BBC, this is because list posts tell us exactly what we’re getting. Plus, list posts are easy to read, easy to skim, and easy to draw value from. This helps readers feel like they’re getting a great deal and creates content that is highly shareable.
2) Address the reader
“Have you Ever Wanted Anything as Much as This Cat Wants This Laser?” “Don’t Know What to get your Father for Father’s day? We can Help.” “Your Complete Survival Guide to the Holiday Madness.” According to the aforementioned Moz study, 21% of readers prefer headlines like these. The reason is simple: when a headline addresses the reader directly, it breaks the previously-held barriers between a writer and a reader, creating a more personalized experience that’s easier for the reader to relate to.
3) Offer valuable information
Imagine this: you’re having trouble setting up your new Bluetooth speaker. You head to the internet to search for answers and several results pop up. There are Q&A boards, a lengthy description of your Bluetooth speaker, and an article titled “How to Configure Your Bluetooth Speaker Without Ripping Your Hair Out.” Which one are you going to click? Chances are, you’ll choose the how-to article. The reason for this is because the how-to article offers immediately actionable information in a simple-to-read package, which saves you from combing through Q&A boards or scrolling endlessly, in search of answers to your pressing questions.
4) Steer clear of superlatives
“The 13 Best Ways to Create the Most Perfect, Smartest Kid Ever.” Is that headline a little too superlative-dense for you? We thought so. Moz recently surveyed respondents for their tolerance to superlatives. What they found was that about 51% of them were more inclined to click on a headline that featured only 0-1 superlatives. In other words, most readers prefer a headline that is descriptive, yet understated. The reason for this may be that, most of the time, superlative-dense headlines feel a little too unbelievable. For best results, and to attract the most readers, keep it toned-down, believable, and clear.
5) …. Or go all out
In that same Moz survey, a full ¼ of respondents went the other way entirely. Instead of clicking on the understated headline, they leaned toward headlines that were packed with up to 4 superlatives. The takeaway? When crafting your headlines, readers either want you to keep it simple or to go big. Just remember that when using superlatives, you’ll want to keep them positive (think “perfect, largest, funniest, strongest, best, fastest, easiest”, etc.) in order to craft strong, emotionally appealing headlines.
6) Offer the best information
Today’s readers area all about efficiency. They want to know the best way to do something in the shortest amount of time. This is part of the reason sites like Lifehacker have become so incredibly popular. Because of this, headlines that offer “the best” path to anything are much more clickable than those that beat around the bush. Take, for example, the recent New York Magazine article titled “The Best Ways to Fake Clean a House.” Who wouldn’t click that headline?
7) Back it up
While being the best and piling on the superlatives is all well and good, it’s not worth much if you’re just making it up. For this reason, it’s important to back your outlandish claims up. Take the recent Lifehack article titled “10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Stay Happy All the Time.” It has over 5,000 shares and we’re willing to bet a good deal of that is because the words “scientifically proven” back the claim up enough that people find it immediately trustworthy.
8) Get real
Just like people love authoritative information, they also love authentic information, which means that posts that tell shocking, true stories are very popular. To draw people into these posts, headlines should be raw, honest, and willing to share an experience. Take, for example, the Huffington Post article titled “10 Things I Learned from Getting Divorced in my 20s.” This headline is specific, open, and immediately relatable to many people. Plus, the fact that it offers an inherent undertone of “helpful information” means that it’s more likely to be clicked than an article titled “Divorce 101.”
9) Keep it short
According to a KISSmetrics study, readers only register the first three and last three words of a headline. In light of this, many marketing experts recommend keeping a headline limited to 6 words or less. This will help readers process meaning easily and decide instantly whether or not to click. In some cases, though, it’s virtually impossible to keep a headline to 6 words. In these cases, just remember that it’s the first three and last three words that count the most. Use this knowledge to pack all of your appeal, emotional connection, and shock value into those portions of the headline. This approach helps keep your headline interesting and ensures that you’ll draw plenty of readers.
10) Use keywords and keep it concise
Nobody wants to click a rambling headline that makes no sense. Likewise, nobody wants to click a headline that doesn’t offer an immediate overview of what the article is about. Because of this, it’s important to focus on using keywords at the beginning of your headlines. This provides immediate information for the reader and helps save time. Once you’ve done that, focus on getting to the point of your headline as quickly as possible. This saves you from losing your reader’s attention and ensures that you’re never “That wordy writer” you so desperately fear being.
Conclusion
According to CoSchedule, website traffic can vary by 500% all on account of headlines. Sites like Upworthy (who is reported to write at least 25 headlines for every single piece of content they publish) have got the headline game down, but for the rest of us, it takes some work.
Fortunately, crafting killer headlines isn’t nearly as difficult as it may seem. By focusing on delivering value, interest, and actionable information in a headline, you can draw readers into your content and ensure that of those 80% of readers who read your headline, all of them go on to read your body copy, as well.
Niche industries or unique industries have it made — they just don’t realize it. The competition isn’t as fierce in unique industries, such as high technological products. If you’re in a unique industry, it’s likely it’s just you and perhaps a handful (if that) of competitors. People are still searching for your niche, which means you have the potential to become a superstar overnight. See what we mean about having it made?
Unfortunately, finding compelling copywriting ideas in such a tight niche can be difficult.You need something fresh and something that catches the reader’s attention at the same time. As you sit there in front of the computer screen watching the cursor blink and taunt, your mind just draws a blank.
Turning a Boring Topic into Brilliant Copywriting
How do you come up with something brilliant in a topic that is, well, boring? The most difficult part of copywriting is just getting an idea and getting it on paper (or screen). There are ways to overcome this challenge, however, even for the tightest niche category.
To help get your creative juices flowing, consider these copywriting tips for coming up with topics on the fly for your niche.
1) Befriend Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to come up with topics — especially for tight or boring niches. In fact, social media is a topic gold mine.
2) Look to Twitter for Trends
Twitter gets over 500 million tweets per day, according to ABC News. That means there are a plethora of ideas just waiting to be plucked from this social media giant. Start by using the search feature on Twitter. You can look for keywords or hashtags — depending on the type of content you’re looking for. Add or eliminate spaces to refine your search. We recommend going into Twitter’s search first using your targeted keywords in your niche. See what pops up.
Then, it’s time to see what is trending. Copywriting your content around what is trending, as long as it is relevant, is a great way to build your site’s traffic faster. Also, trending topics are fresh and what people are looking for right now — double score! Once you’ve found keywords and hashtags that are relevant to your niche, it’s time to see if any of these are relevant to what is trending right now.
When you log in you should see the “Trending” feature box in your Twitter profile. Here you will see the topics people are most often tweeting about right now. While these trends come and go, they will usually stick around for at least a week — giving you plenty of time to write a blog about something trending.
3) StumbleUpon Ideas
StumbleUpon covers trending topics and unique niches that you might not find on Twitter. It features a collection of the most popular Internet pages, and you can even find recommendations based on what you like. Use StumbleUpon to see what is trending in your industry or expand your search by clicking on the “Discover” tab.
4) Scan Facebook
Facebook is similar to Twitter and has trending topics. There are tons of industry and niche-specific groups and pages on Facebook. You can even find guest blogging groups on Facebook that you can team up with to brainstorm ideas. While there might not be a lot of pages in your particular niche, there may be some that are just outside of it where you can get ideas and make them more relevant to your own.
5) Look Through YouTube
YouTube is considered the second largest search engine out there — and it’s not just about someone’s crazy home videos. According to YouTube statistics there are over 1 billion users on the site everyday — which means this is a great way to find some content ideas. Check out the videos posted in your niche categories, and you’ll get the idea juices flowing instantly.
6) Turn to LinkedIn Groups
There are niche groups on LinkedIn — even for those small, difficult niches. Joining these groups’ gives you access to a plethora of ideas and industry professionals who are ready to let you pick their mind for ideas. Set up a discussion thread in one of your LinkedIn groups to populate ideas.
7) Use Keyword Tools
Sure, Google’s free keyword tool has disappeared, but there are other keyword tools out there. Ubersuggest.org, for example, is a free tool that lets you look up relevant keywords from search queries posed by real Internet users. Just enter your industry niche or topic and see what people are searching for. Use these ideas to create your blogs, content and even guest posts. These long lists should instantly trigger some ideas and give you inspiration.
SearchEngineWatch.com discusses optimizing keywords within your specific niche. While keywords aren’t the most important, they can help drive your content creation.
8) Just Ask
There’s no need to be shy with your readers. If you’re struggling to find a good topic or a new topic, post a question to your audience. You can get stellar ideas from the people who read your blog or website. Create a request line where readers can request topics or ask questions. Then cover them on your blog. We recommend posting your questions on social media, such as a Facebook fan page, for higher visibility.
9) Use Your Experience as Inspiration
You’re an industry professional. You’ve been there, done that and know everything in between. Take inspiration from the daily activities in your industry and the people you meet within that industry. Think beyond the walls of your office and take on the perspective of your readers. The more pride you have in your work and in your industry, the easier it is to come up with relevant topics.
What about you? Are there questions you ever ask yourself that are relevant to your niche? Instead of searching Google for the answer, create your own answer in your posts. Use research to fill in the gaps of what you don’t know and discuss with your readers what you have found in your own research. Don’t wait for some other competitor to get the idea and answer the question — do it yourself in your blog first.
10) Look for Answers to Audience Questions
You’re in a ridiculously narrow niche, but that doesn’t mean your readers don’t have questions. In fact, readers probably have more questions because your niche is so small. There aren’t thousands of websites out there that help readers in your particular area, so you are the go-to source for everything related to your industry.
For example, your industry covers umbilical cord clamping. That’s one heck of a small window. But, think of all of the questions and concerns people investigating that niche would have. For example:
When you should clamp the umbilical cord
The effects of clamping the cord
Steps you take to clamp a cord
Is there a risk when clamping a cord?
Each of these ideas could be spun into their own post — that’s four ideas right there for a tight niche. Address every concern and question your readers would have about your particular niche. The more you address your readers, the more ideas that will flow.
Never dismiss the ordinary or very basic questions either. Browse forums related to your industry and see what people are asking. By providing these answers on your site, no matter how simple they are, you can become the expert in your niche instantly.
11) Hijack the News
Newsjacking is a very popular method for getting ideas. There is always some sort of industry news buzzing around. See if you can relate the news’s top stories and spin them into content related to your niche. Using the example above, you could use a top story about births in your country, etc. and then go more in-depth about cord clamping.
Another example, you own a radio company. Capitalize on the music industry news and releases — there’s tons weekly– and connect them to your own products and services.
There’s a right way and a wrong way to news jack though. If you see a news topic related to your niche, you need to act fast…like really fast. Same day posting is likely to get you more traffic than posting a week later. You also need to choose your topics wisely. News happens by the minute, so you have to decide what topics are worth taking the time to write about and what topics are not.
You can also take non-industry related topics and make them industry-related. For example, a celebrity is in the news for his or her latest drama, we will refer to them as Celebrity X. Sure, it has nothing to do with your niche, yet. But, when you take that drama and trending story and say something like “10 Things Radio Professionals Can Learn from the Latest Celebrity X Fumble” you’ve just made it related.
The content you write from news stories still needs to be unique, interesting and share-worthy. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Just because you tail on the popularity of a news story doesn’t necessarily mean your post will automatically be popular. It’s all about taking your unique approach on the story, but keeping it relevant to your brand’s style.
12) Expand the Niche Through Connections
As an industry expert, you probably have plenty of connections — both on and offline. Reach out to those experts in your field or a related field for ideas. Brainstorm with one another and perhaps set up a guest blogging schedule with one another where you can share and branch off either others ideas on your sites.
13) Think About What People Will Disagree With You On
This is not only a great way to come up with posts, but also a great way to come up with world-changing ideas. It doesn’t matter what your niche is, you are going to have someone who tells you you’re doing it the wrong way. Think about how someone might disagree with your advice or any doubts they might have. Don’t be afraid to take a stance, no matter how controversial it might appear to be. Recite research and personal experience to back up your method and discuss why the other methods are wrong. It is a great way to come up with topics and also establish your credibility in this tight niche.
Just keep in mind the more controversial the topic, the more of a heated debate you might have in your comments section. Monitor the comments to see what ideas people share so you can expand in a follow-up post, but also moderate the comments to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.
14) When In Doubt, Search the Competition
Everyone has a competitor. If you don’t, then you really have it made. Browse what your competitors are writing about to get some ideas. We’re not saying copy your competitors. We’re saying draw on what they are writing about for inspiration. Put in your own expertise or spin off of that idea in your own direction. This is also a great opportunity to come up with more engaging topics and better titles than your competition has — giving you an edge when it comes time for a reader to choose between one blog or the other.
Tips for Implementing Your Ideas
You have some great starting ground here. You know how to come up with ideas even in a tight niche, but you still have to write some compelling content from those ideas. To achieve that kind of copywriting, you need to take your idea and brainstorm how you can make it better. While you have the advantage in a tight market — limited competition, a higher chance of visibility, etc. — you still need to make your content unique.
Coming up with great titles is only half the battle. The goal is to create a post or web copy piece that people are compelled to act on, comment and share. Consider some great content strategy ideas to get started. Once you’ve written your post, ask yourself if it is unique and helpful enough. Would you share it on social media with friends? Would you consider it unique compared to the competition? If so, then you are on the right track.
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