Great Content? You Have to Write a Great Headline.
By: Peter Darling
The most important part of writing effective content isn’t writing effective content.
It’s writing effective headlines.
Around 80% of your visitors will read a headline. But only one in four will go on to read the actual article. The secret, then, to getting people to read your content is writing effective headlines. The headline sells the content, which hopefully sells you. But a weak headline stops the reader cold, and wastes much of the effort you put into writing in the first place.
Here are some tips:
As an opening observation, a Very Smart Move is to put some real time and effort into writing your headline. One article I’ve seen recommends drafting up at least 25 different headlines for every piece you write. I think this makes sense.
There’s a tendency when writing pieces for publication to finish the article itself, and then, mental tank empty, whip up some kind of quick headline as a kind of afterthought. This is totally understandable – you’ve put a lot of effort into writing, and you’ve had it. However, it pays to resist this temptation, and aim one final shot of energy at coming up with a whole set of headlines. Pick the best one, according to the following concepts, and use it. But take the headline-writing as seriously as you take the rest of the piece. It’s important.
First, keep the headline short, readable, straightforward and simple. “COVID-19 Means Big Changes In Your Employment Law Liability” for example.
Now, having worked with hundreds of lawyers as a writer, I know that this may seem a little unnatural. Attorneys – and I am one – are trained to write in a certain voice. Effective headlines may seem too casual, too unprofessional, not lawyerly. All true – and all irrelevant. You can write effective headlines without coming across as a timeshare salesperson. The key is striking the right balance.
Next, use numbers in your headlines. For some obscure reason, the human brain likes this, and repeated studies have proven that if there’s a number in your headline, it’s a lot more effective. “Ten Rules for An Effectively Defending Depositions” is a lot better than “An Overview of Effective Deposition Defense” for this reason.
It’s also good to, within reason, write headlines that specifically address your readers by using terms like “You”; “Your” or “Your Firm”. Something like “How You Can Prepare for the COVID-19 Downturn in Business” works well.
Try specifying a problem, and promising a solution. “Staff Turnover at Law Firms Is Increasing: Here’s How You Can Keep Your People Happy.” You’ll note, by the way, that this headline combines two techniques in one – both the problem/solution one, and specifically addressing readers. Anytime you can do that without making it too obvious or labored, you’re a double winner.
Another good approach is to frame the headline as a question, or to include a question – “Where Is the Ninth Circuit Going?” Questions draw the reader into a conversation, and are really effective and compelling when they’re artfully phrased.
Pay attention to metrics. It seems like the most basic, obvious thing in the world, but start tracking how many, say, LinkedIn shares your pieces are getting, and start thinking through reasons why this is happening – or isn’t. Much of it will be because of your headline. Peter Drucker said long ago that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and no matter where your article is placed, there are tools in place that allow you to track how well it’s doing.
One excellent source of metrics is a headline analyzer. There are several of these web-based tools, which score potential headlines for you on a variety of metrics, such as your use of emotional marketing value, SEO impact, and so on. These are not hard-and-fast laws, but they are useful indicators of how strong your headline is in general.
Watch out for clickbait – writing headlines that promise more than an article delivers. The one thing that will absolutely kill the positive effect of your writing is readers who are disappointed, which is the very definition of clickbait, which is everywhere these days. Make sure that your headline doesn’t write a check that the article can’t cash.
But remember the headline. Before anyone reads your stuff, they have to decide they want to. The headline is how they do it. Make it good.
Peter Darling is a freelance writer in Northern California who specializes in creating content for law firms. To learn more, visit his website at www.peterdarlingwriter.com