Want to know how to create website blog headlines that go viral? Alluring headlines attract traffic, they sell products and lead to conversions!
If you want people to read your blog you need to use powerful, compelling headlines and sub-headlines. Use them on your website blog, homepage, e-mail subject line, or advertisements.
Do your headlines suck?
Would YOU read your own blog posts just based on their headlines?
If not, then read on and follow the tips in this guide for great headings that will have your readers swooning to read your post and go viral with clicks and shares!
Write An Amazing Headline That Converts
Everyday people are bombarded with articles that are clamoring for their attention. Which would you read? Blogs with boring headlines, or those with exciting, captivating headlines?
Powerful headlines sell content and increase traffic to your website! Your headline is the first impression a prospective reader has of your content. The headline is the ‘hook’ which appeals to your target audience and drags them into reading your contents.
Your hook needs to use language that resonates with your audience. But to do this your must first know what is valuable to your target audience. You also need to know what they want and what problems they have that keep them awake at night.
According to Copyblogger “On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.” If your headline isn’t sexy, persuasive, compelling or intriguing, the rest of your content may just as well not exist!
In this post you will learn how to create website blog headlines that inspire your readers to read your content. Basically, headlines should contain infectious words that grab the reader’s attention. They should stir the emotions, or appeal your audience’s deep-seated needs and desires.
Powerful, sexy headlines have the power to capture the reader’s attention, inspire action, and/or help your readers to convert.
4 Elements You Never Knew About How To Create Website Blog Headlines.
Writing great headlines is a crucial skill if you want eyes on your content. However, it’s important to keep in mind that headlines won’t perform the same way on different platforms.
For example, a headline that performs well in search engine results may suck on social media. Headlines that do well on Facebook don’t necessarily perform well on Twitter or Pinterest. With this in mind it’s best to test your headlines and tweak them for different platforms.
There are 4 main elements that make great headlines. Great headlines should:
- Be Unique.
- Be Specific.
- State A Benefit.
- Convey A Sense Of Urgency.
These important elements will help you nail your website blog titles, email subject lines, social media headlines, and can convert your readers into buyers!
It would however be difficult for one headline to contain all 4 main elements. But if you can include two elements, then you’re bound to write a headline that’s more likely to compel your readers to read your content.
Below I will discuss these awesome elements further. I will also give you more ideas on how to create attention-grabbing website blog headlines that go viral.
Tips On How To Create Website Blog Headlines That Make Your Readers Swoon!
1. Headlines Should Be Unique.
Regardless of how much time you have spent writing your content, your blog is dead in the water if people glaze over your headlines! Make your content pop with amazing headlines. Alluring headlines that will make people stop in their tracks and make them actually want to read your content.
If you want your headline to stand out from the crowd you need to do something different to what others are doing. To stand out, write headlines that challenge your readers!
Negative Challenging Headlines
Negative challenging headlines can make your message irresistible to your readers. This is because they challenge commonly held believes which in turn creates curiosity, or draw up raw emotions.
Challenging headlines could be confrontational, controversial, forbidden, dispel a myth, or present an unconventional opinion.
For example:
- “If Your Relationships Fail, There’s Something Wrong With You!”
- “Why Ruthless People Succeed While Others Fail.”
- “7 Things Employees Hate About Their 9-5 Jobs.
- “5 Everyday Foods You Should Never Eat To Prevent Gaining Weight”.
Right away, these negative headlines challenge you! They could make you feel shocked, angry, curious, or they could make you feel fearful.
Power Words Headlines
Powerful effective headlines contain power words. Headlines that use power words play on various emotions such as joy, love, lust, hate, greed, anger, fear, surprise, curiosity, etc. The word “New” is a powerful power word. This is because this word inspires readers who want to be the first in line to take action.
For example:
- “Double Your Money With Bitcoin.”
- “Fall In Love With These Gorgeous New Shoes.”
- “This Brilliant True Story Will Have You Crying Like A Baby.”
- “17 Ordinary Everyday Things That Will Make You Smile.”
Power word headlines connect with your readers at a deep, primal level. They trigger and pull on the emotions, and are effective at creating a loyal following and at increasing conversion rates.
- Evoke An Image
Use words that conjure up an image of someone, a place, a feeling, or an emotion. If people can see in their mind’s eye the message that your headline conveys, then they will want to read your content.
For example:
- “Mineral Water That’s As Refreshing As A Cool Breeze Over The Alps.”
- “Lose Your Belly Fat In 7 Days Without Exercising!”
- “13 Colorful Scarves To Brighten Up Winter’s Dark Days.”
2. Headlines Should Be Specific.
Your headline should be clear and specific to your target audience. There is so much content out there that people don’t have the time to try to work out tricky or vague headlines. As a result, headlines that require people to stop and think, won’t get read.
Great headlines should provide readers with enough information that helps them to decide if what you are presenting is of interest to them. The best way to attract your target audience’s attention is by using the exact searcher keywords that they use.
- Use Exact Keywords.
When your audience searches the internet, they type in keywords. Headlines that contain those exact keywords will be found by search engines. On the other hand, headlines that don’t contain your searcher’s keywords won’t get a look in.
For instance, a New York based cake decorator that specializes in gluten free cakes would want to be found by celiacs that live in New York.
A headline such as, “Elegant Cakes Decorated Just For You.” won’t cut it.
But a headline such as “New York’s Elegant Gluten Free Cakes: Decorated Just For You.” Contains very specific keywords.
When celiacs type in “gluten free cakes in New York” the second headline will most likely pop-up, whereas, the first won’t be found by search engines.
Pose A Question.
Knowing your target audience well, will enable you to write the most effective headlines. Know their pain points! In this way, you can then present a pain point and solution all in the same headline.
For example:
- “Who Wants to Increase Their Sales? This New Foolproof Formula Never Fails”
- “New To The Neighborhood? Here’s A List Of The Best Qualified Tradesmen.”
- “Does Your Website SEO Suck? Use This Checklist To Get More Traffic.”
- “Working Too Hard? Need A Break?” Fiji’s Beaches Are Waiting!
Headlines that are in the form of a question can pique your reader’s interest. But question headlines that include a solution to the problem are irresistible!
- Use Numbers In Your Headlines.
Headlines that contain numbers are very persuasive. The reason for this is that list headlines imply that the writer is an expert on the itemized subject. Because people are short on time, a headline with a defined time scale can be very alluring!
For example:
- “5 Simple Techniques On How to Grow Tomatoes During The Winter Season.”
- “7 Investment Techniques That Will Double Your Savings Within 3 Months!”
- “Hate Commuting? Here’s 15 Proven Ways To Earn Money From Home.”
Take note that odd numbers are more compelling than even numbers. So, use odd numbers if you want your headline to go viral.
- Gossip Headlines.
People love gossip and are captivated by “secrets”. So, why not use this in your headline to make it even more compelling.
For example:
- “Is Your Partner Unfaithful? (Women Are More Likely To Cheat Than Men).”
- “3 Reasons Why Shy People Have Better Sex Lives.”
- “15 Secrets To Making Money Online.”
- “7 Things No-one Will Ever Tell You About Drop Shipping.”
Just ensure that your content delivers, even if it’s not precisely what your headline promises. Content that doesn’t deliver will result in you losing your reader’s trust!
- Use Brackets Or Colons.
Headlines that contain brackets or colons can create visual variety. They can become even more appealing by referencing additional bonuses or by generating curiosity.
For example:
- “Why You Should Stop Internet Dating? (It’s Not What You Think).”
- “7 Ways To Train Your Dog. (Includes Free Weekly Puppy Training Guide).”
- “Bosses Hate Talented Underlings: And What To Do About It”
- “New Slimming Secrets: That Will Make You Look Great Without Dieting.”
3. Headlines Should State A Benefit.
Your headline is a promise to your readers of the benefit you will deliver in exchange for their time. To go viral your headline needs to connect with your reader with a benefit. To do this you need to know what your target audience really wants.
Any benefit that relates to your target audience will do. For instance, your benefit could be to save time, pay less, get more clients, learn something new, be entertained, solve a problem, etc.
People want to know upfront what they’ll receive before reading what you’ve written. If your headlines fail to communicate a benefit, they then fail at giving readers a reason to continue reading!
- “How to” Headlines
If you want to write a teaching blog then you will probably use the words “How To” in your headline. It’s a great “go to” as people want to learn all manner of things.
Many internet searchers will use the words “how to” when they conduct an online search. “How To” forms part of many keyword phrases and as such attracts a high amount of traffic.
For example:
- “How To Fly Fish For Trout.”
- “How To Play Tennis Like A Pro.”
- “How To Optimize Your Website And Boost Your Revenue By 45%.
Now that you have attracted your audience’s attention, your contents must follow up and give them practical ways to achieve that result.
- “You” Headlines.
When people read your headline, they are usually reading it on their own. A great way to appeal to them is to speak directly to them. You do this by making them the focal point by using the word “YOU” in the headline.
For example:
- “You Don’t Have To Succeed At Everything (And Why You Shouldn’t Even Try).”
- “17 Basic Cooking Tips That Will Make You An Expert Chef In Minutes.”
- “9 Brain Exercises That Will Make You Smarter.”
The phrase “will make you” states that the topic will directly impact on the reader. This phrase is a great one to use to motive your reader to read your content.
4. Headlines Should Convey A Sense Of Urgency.
People hate to miss out! They have an unconscious fear of not being included. They also hate missing out on the things that they perceive other people to possess. This could be investment opportunities, ability to win prizes, opportunity to engage in unusual experiences, ability to increase their social interaction, etc.
Whenever possible, your headline should convey a sense of urgency that compels readers to continue reading so that they don’t miss out. This rule can’t always be used, but when it can, it works extremely well.
For example:
- “Final Sale: This Weekend Only, 40-60% Off All Car Accessories.”
- “Limited Edition Nike Shoes: Grab Them Before They’re All Gone!”
- “How to Increase SEO Value in a Week Webinar.” Last Day To Register!
Headlines that help people image what they would miss out on if they don’t take action, are the ones that go viral!
- Concluding Headlines.
Most people aren’t creative when it comes to their concluding headlines. The job of your headline is to grab people’s attention so that they read your content. That means that all your sub-headlines and concluding headlines should also be interesting and captivating.
Attention grabbing concluding headlines are very important. This is especially the case if you have a call to action at the end of your article. Because, if your readers don’t get to the end of the article, they won’t see your call to action. That will result in a loss of sales or conversions!
Summing Up: The Ultimate Guide on How to Create Website Blog Headlines That Go Viral.
Headlines are what readers notice first. Attention grabbing headlines will make your content stand out from the crowd.
A headline can make or break a website blog, homepage, e-mail subject line, or advertisement. Whereas an alluring headline will inspire people to read your amazing content and go viral.
Compelling headlines consist of at least one of the 4 main elements below. They need to:
- Be Unique.
- Be Specific.
- State A Benefit.
- Convey A Sense Of Urgency.
Powerful headlines and sub-headlines contain infectious words, stir emotions, or appeal to people’s deep-seated needs and desires. Compelling headlines make your article more engaging because they pull the reader through your article.
Once you have created your alluring headline, make sure that your content is relevant to your headline. Don’t let your headline down with mediocre content. Your content needs to deliver! Otherwise you will erode your reader’s trust and they will go elsewhere.
I hope you found this post on “How To Create Powerful Website Blog Headlines (That Go Viral!)” to be enlightening!
Do you have problems creating headlines that go viral?
Please leave any comments that you may have in the comment section below!
Wow-what a great post I have signed up so I can learn more from you. I am new at creating my website so you have loads of tips that I can learn from. Thank you for creating such an informative article. I really appreciate it.
Hi Kay,
Thanks for your comment. Creating a great headline is very important if you want to ensure that your blogs get read. Without a captivating headline all the time you invested in writing your content would be wasted. Having said that, your content also needs to be great so that people will keep coming back to your website.
I wish you all the best of luck with your new venture and website.
Regards Suzie