5 Headline Types You Underestimate When Writing a Blog Post

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Editor’s note: This post was written by Cari Bennette, a passionate blogger and writing consultant at jetwriters.com. Cari loves surfing websites for writers and sharing her advice on various forums and blogs.

Can you guess what’s the most important part of your blog post? I know, you probably think it’s quality content, right? Quality content builds your site’s credibility and keeps your readers coming back for more. What about visuals? A pretty picture draws the reader in, right? While both are important, neither of them are as important as a good headline.

headline types

Want some stats that quantify just how important the headline is? There’s the 50/50 rule which states that half of the time you spend writing a blog post should be spent composing the headline. And those who practice the 50/50 rule do so because of the 80/20 rule – 8 out of 10 people read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 read the post. [Read more…]

You’ll Never Believe the Difference a Great Headline Makes

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Be honest: You clicked on this story because of the headline, didn’t you?

Headlines are the single most important piece of a blog post right now. Just as you wouldn’t dream of going fishing without baiting your hook, you shouldn’t post a blog entry without a great headline. Think of it as the bait that encourages people to click. A hook baited with something unappealing, like crickets when the fish wants a worm, won’t get any bites. A hook baited with a big juicy worm is exactly what the fish desires and it will score plenty of action.

Great headlines are what people want. The proof is in the huge success that sites like Upworthy have had in using headlines like this. Upworthy has seen stunning traffic increases and other sites are now trying to adopt the same method.

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Read on for more on the case for great headlines, how they can help your blog and what constitutes an outstanding headline. [Read more…]

4 Tips to Writing Great Headlines

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writing great headlines

In the world of online media, many websites with great content face a dire problem: writing great headlines. Sadly, thousands, potentially millions of blog posts go relatively unnoticed because of a boring, or unresponsive title. I liken a blog post to fishing: your site is the rod, your content is the line, and the hook is your headline. Without a solid hook, you can’t capture the fish, i.e. grab people’s attention.

There are several great ways to go about writing great headlines which we’ll dive into, but there are also bad ways. While link-baiting can be done correctly, it often comes off sleazy, and deceptive.

Your goal should not be to gain attention for the sake of increasing pageviews, and racking up ad dollars. It should be to gain attention because you are an authority, and a reliable source of awesome content. The success, although not arriving as fast as most of us would like, will come. [Read more…]

Using Numbers in Headlines: Is the Game Changing?

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I spent a couple of years working at FOX News where I had the opportunity to hone my headline copywriting skills.

My boss at the time would plead with us to read Reader’s Digest, claiming they had mastered the art of “catchy” headlines.

The way we digest our media has changed, but the tried and true methods of creating a powerful headline have not. Effective elements include… [Read more…]