Headings matter! Just ask David Ogilvy who dominated the marketing game by creating some of the most iconic advertisements for brands such as Dove, Marlboro, and Rolls Royce. He explains that the reason behind the success is his ability to write magnetic headlines. Ogilvy believes that your headings must contain some benefit of your product as it is what will grab the attention of the people.

Writing meaningful headlines has become all the more important today. According to The Definitive Guide to Copywriting by Neil Patel and Joseph Putnam, headings can be the difference between middling results and wild success. Catchy headings were the reason I chose Spectrum TV, and I’m sure those drew many other users as well!

How to Write Powerful Headlines

There’s no doubt that headings have gained the utmost importance in an online marketing effort. So, for making the most out of these efforts, let’s look at some of the ways which will help you write effective headlines.

#1. The 4 U’s Rule

Neil Patel and Joseph Putman have introduced the rule of ‘4 U’s’ that will surely help you write better headlines. These four U’s are as follows

  • Unique: Make unique headlines. One way to do this is to use humor. You have to make sure that your heading does not sound monotonous. It should reflect some personality.
  • Ultra-Specific: Make sure that your headlines are ultra-specific. This is because people don’t have much attention span online. So, write headings that can easily let people know what to expect.
  • Urgency: Write a heading that should answer your target audience’s burning question.
  • Useful: Pretty similar to ultra-specific, this means to construct to the point headings and also include the benefit it offers.

It’s probably not possible to write a heading whilst meeting all of these four points. However, you should try to hit on at least one or two of them which would be enough for the readers to click the headline.

#2. Convey the Benefit to the Reader

You should try to write a heading that would let the readers know the benefit they would gain from reading it. For instance, notice the heading of this article. It clearly states how you will be able to write effective headlines. So, those who will be interested in the topic might click on it. This way you will be clearly giving your reader a value proposition to consider.

#3. Incorporate Data in Your Headings

Using data is one of the most effective ways to create a catchy and clickable headline. However, note that not the whole content piece would require data to be included in a heading. Here are a couple of examples.

  • This is How Spectrum Internet Acquired 20% More Market Share
  • Increase Your Sales to 30% With These Tips

Including a number or a statistic in your heading gives the topic some magnitude that you are discussing. It will be much easier to visualize the implications of what is going to be discussed in the article if a simple data point is present in the headline.

#4. Create Multiple Headings

According to the blog post, “19 Headline Writing Tips for More Clickable, Shareable Blog Posts” shared on WordStream, the idea of your first headline will almost never be your best. So, it is better to let your creative juices flow and pen down as many headings as possible while considering the 4 U’s discussed above. Although this process might be a little time taking, it will be worth it in the end. You can consider implying various combinations of adjectives, verbs, and numbers to see which heading flow best. Also, consider using your keyword in the article. But keep in mind that if it doesn’t fit naturally then don’t force it.

#5. Keep It Short

Always remember to keep your headings short and simple so they may appear in their entirety in the Google search rankings. For this, make sure that your headlines don’t exceed 70 characters. Doing this will also help in terms of readability and SEO. Also, note that if your entire heading doesn’t appear in the search results, then people will be less inclined to click through. Thus, try to present a solution in the heading which will be similar to getting responses from the Spectrum customer service number.

If the content is king then the headline is its crown jewel. One must not undermine its importance. You can use these tips that will ensure you to write great headings that will attract more readers. And who knows some of them might just turn into paying customers!