11 Ways To Create Seductive & Engaging Headlines

Getting the headline right is one of the biggest challenges there is. A good headline should grab people’s attention immediately. If it doesn't, they'll simply never see your fantastic content, and you'll have lost them. This makes creating the content in the first place a total waste of your time and energy.With so much information hitting people’s eye balls every day, you really need to stand out from the crowd if you want to engage them immediately.Watch this video to find out more:

Create Seductive & Engaging Headlines

How to Write Great Headlines

1. Use numbersNumbers are important to us because they initially tell us the limit of the content and alert us to the fact that it should be fairly easy to scan. Numbers suggest it will be chunked, with sub-headlines to separate each point.

About 80% of people do not read content word for word – these people are called scanners. I am one of them, and I prefer content that is going to follow a logical sequential pattern of 1-6 or 1-11 etc. It makes me feel comfortable and makes me want to engage with the content.

How many times do you see numbers in headlines these days? That’s because it works. You may have noticed I used a number in the headline for this article. 2. KeywordsHow do people surf the web? They type keywords into the search engines – mainly Google. If you use the keywords that are most likely to be searched then you stand a chance of ranking for these keywords. This is even more likely if you use them in the title.

You can find out what types of words people are entering into Google by using their free keyword tool which is here.

Also, if you have keywords in the title (and body of your text) then the content will subconsciously feel much more relevant to people who typed those keywords in the first place.

This is much better than plucking keywords and key phrases out of thin air and hoping people will type them in. 3. Eight Words or LessThe rule of thumb is to keep headlines at eight words or less. There are some copywriters who would oppose this – and in some cases they would be right – but the majority of the time this is enough to grab people's attention without losing them. I personally aim to keep mine below 12 unless it is a sales page. 4. Use the emotional hot-button of PainJust as we said use pain in your content, the same is true with headlines.

Example:

• The Top 5 Reasons Most Businesses Fail in The UK
• Why Most Businesses Fail in The First 12 Months
• 7 Things You Must Avoid if You Want To Succeed

5. Use the emotional hot-button of PleasureJust as we said use pleasure in your content the same is true with headlines.

Here are some pleasure examples:

• How to Double Your Productivity Working 50% Less
• 5 Ways to Increase Your Sales Whilst Reducing Your Calls
• How To Double Your Business In 12 Months or Less

6. Use the emotional hot-button of CuriosityJust as we said use curiosity in your content the same is true with headlines.

Here are some curiosity examples:

• The One Thing Every Business Must Do To Survive The Recession
• The 10 Lies You Will Hear From Recruitment Agencies

7. Use Capitals at the Start of Every LetterThis is something that truly works and has been proven countless times. I like to use capitals on the main letters but not on the conjunctions, as this looks neater. 8. How To…You see headline that start with “How to…” absolutely everywhere, because it works like a charm and always grabs people's attention.

Example:

• How to Increase Sales with Less Work

9. …Reasons Why…Again, opening a headline with a number followed by: “…Reasons Why…” works like a treat because readers know they will be getting a list of useful features, benefits or tips, and this grabs their attention.

Here’s an example:

• 10 Reasons Why Gmail Is Better Than Outlook

10. Ask a Provocative Question?Ask a provocative question. When asking a question in your title, it’s important to make sure it’s relevant to your reader. Hopefully your knowledge of your target audience should help you formulate the perfect questions.

An example would be:

• Do You Make These Seven Common Mistakes With Your Corporation Tax?

11. A … Guide to …?Just fill in the blanks with this format. Here’s some examples:

• A Beginners Guide to Successful Recruitment
• A Dummies Guide to Guaranteed Sales

I hope this advice will help you carve some brilliant headlines that guarantee fast engagement and a long term following.