Try These 5 Surefire Headline Formulas
Your headline is a crucial part of your piece.
When your headline does its job, then your reader will eagerly click “open” to your email … tear into your envelope … or dig hungrily into your article.
Headlines that draw you in best by offering a benefit, such as –
- a solution, answer, or key to a problem
- a way out
- a curiosity
- a route to take that will make life better
- something you need
Here are five proven headline formulas that promise and deliver benefits. Try them!
The How To
Offers a practical, step-by-step solution to a problem. Make sure your body copy delivers the goods.
Example: How to write headlines that guarantee you’ll be read
The Question
Raises curiosity about your reader’s problem. Your question implies there’s a solution in the copy.
Example: Are you sure your headline works?
The News Item
Dangles a nugget of new or unusual information about your reader’s problem. When he bites, he’ll find more detail in the text.
Example: Why 5 times as many people read the headline over the body copy
The Command
Challenges the reader with a strong, second person verb. Command headlines give readers a concrete action step they can take to fix their problem.
Example: Try these 5 surefire headline formulas
The Testimonial
Builds trust. A user or donor or consumer gives credibility to your product or service by speaking from experience, explaining how you provided an answer to his problem.
Example: “These 5 tried-and-true headline formulas doubled my open rate!”
About the author
Kathy Widenhouse (www.kathywidenhouse.com) is a freelance development writer who specializes in producing materials for the faith-based, nonprofit market. She also provides strategic consultation to help nonprofits get their message out and get results. Kathy’s 90+ articles have appeared in more than 40 periodicals, and she has written 5 books.