First, read our article on Optimizing Your Website.
Done? Good. Now you’re ready to work on that headline.
Headlines are important. They are often the first thing that catches a user’s eye so you better make them count. Maybe you are working on a blog post, page, or some other important piece of information and you want to test the most effective use of headlines. Where do you start?
Start with any headline that encapsulates your topic and would make me want to click.
Let’s start with this headline:
Seven Easy Steps to Lose Ten Pounds
Change to a Number:
7 Easy Steps to Lose 10 Pounds
Ask a Question:
Want to Know How to Lose 10 Pounds in Seven (or 7) Easy Steps?
How Do You Lose 10 Pounds in 7 Steps?
Can You Lose 10 Pounds in just 7 steps?
Cater to Emotion:
Make a difference in your life and lose ten pounds today
Feel empowered and lose weight now
Avoid heart disease and lose weight today
Use Exclamation:
Lose 10 Pounds in 7 Steps!
Avoid heart disease and lose weight today!
Change the Order:
Lose 10 Pounds – Find out how to lose weight in 7 easy steps.
Test Formatting:
Seven Easy Steps to Lose Ten Pounds
Seven easy steps to lose ten pounds
Seven easy steps to lose ten pounds
Seven easy steps to lose ten pounds
7 EASY STEPS TO LOSE 10 POUNDS
Seven easy steps to lose ten pounds.
Test the Number of Words in the Headline:
Seven easy steps to lose ten pounds
Seven steps to lose weight
Lose weight today
Make it Self Focused:
We can help you lose weight in 7 easy steps
You can lose 10 pounds today!
There are a million different combinations of the headline you want to write each with different feeling, emotion, or visual effect. You only know which will work by testing various approaches and seeing which resonates best with your audience.
Experiment with some different types of of headlines. Have a few guidelines to categorize and document the headline tests you are running and use the results to guide your headlines in the future.
