5 Essential Tips for Successful Headlines

Headlines are often seen as the most important portion of a blog post or email newsletter a company can write.

The section has to to be captivating to grab the attention of a reader, but also give an accurate description of what's to come.

Creating headlines can be a difficult process, and as a result, some businesses throw it to the wayside.

With some helpful tips, however, enterprises can find the recipe for a successful headline.

Let's take a look at five writing suggestions:

1. Negative Wording Can Lead to Positive Results

Readers frequently see content featuring happy headlines. Words like "best," "most," or "always" can be overused and passed over.

Negative wording not only taps into customers' insecurities, but outperforms its positive counterpart.

Compared with headlines that contained neither positive or negative superlatives, positive wording fared 29 percent worse, while negative wording fared 30 percent better, according to a study by Outbrain, a content marketing firm.

As more people are drawn to these negative headlines, they are more likely to share.

Companies should try to use words like "No," "Stop" and "Without" in their headlines to attract a larger audience, according to Quick Sprout.

2. Numbers, Digits and Lists Are Your Friend

Listicles are trending in the content world right now, so businesses should take advantage when writing their own headlines.

To begin, companies should start the headline with a number, as the digit will make it stand out among its competition.

Readers' eyes will be drawn to the juxtaposition of a number next to text, according to WordStream.

These headlines also give people a clear idea of what the content is about and will consist of, while allowing them to quickly scan.

3. Find the Right Question

Sometimes, it's not about brainstorming new content, but going back to the basics: answering readers' pressing questions.

Companies should deliberate on a list of possible inquiries their target market might have and start there.

The question headline, as a result, can be a successful route to take, according to Feldman Creative. At the end of the day, readers want to learn something from content.

Answering the right questions while also offering the audience important lessons will leave people feeling their time was well spent.

4. Use Uncommon Adjectives

Similar to positive wording, readers often see the same terms and phrases over and over again.

After awhile, those headlines become less interesting and people aren't as likely to click on or share them. Instead, businesses should focus on adding interesting adjectives to a headline to capture potential customers' attention, according to Goins, Writer.

Words like "free," "effortless," "essential" and "absolute" will make readers feel as though the content is the final authority on a topic.

As a result, the audience may send the information to their friends and families, increasing readership.

5. Keep It Short And Sweet

To make sure readers are interested in content based off the headline, businesses should make sure the line is no longer than six words.

A Kissmetrics study found readers tend to focus on the first and last three words, so companies should remove any wordiness in the middle to make a more concise headline.

If a headline ends up exceeding that limit, enterprises should remember the three-word rule. Short and direct headlines have a higher chance of retaining people's attention.

Developing successful headlines is a tricky process. There are many elements to consider to captivate an audience and keep them interested throughout the content.

Short, list-based articles with negative superlatives and uncommon adjectives will draw people in and make them more likely to read through and share content over time.