Six ways to write a great headlines for marketing content

Top tips to make your headlines command attention

If you’re creating any kind of marketing materials, the headline is one of the most important elements; if you don’t grab people’s attention straight away, they won’t bother to read on.  Your flyer will go in the bin, they’ll turn the page and skip your ad or they’ll click away from your website.  But if coming up with compelling content isn’t your forte, how do you write a great headline? 

Headlines are what sells copy and content; that’s why newspaper headline writers often earn a lot more than the journalists researching and writing the articles.  If you don’t have what it takes to be a Fleet Street hack who can make the newspapers fly off the shelves (and not many of us do!) there are some tricks you can use to help you create headlines that will make your target audience want to find out more.  It doesn’t matter what sector your business is in, try the following approaches for starting your headlines to generate the attention-grabbing intro you’ve been looking for.

Headline tip 1: 7 reasons…

We all love a list – that’s why the newspapers and magazines are full of them: 7 tips for a new you, 7 ways to get a good night’s sleep.  The same trick can be used to convince your targets why your product or service is right for them.

Headline tip 2: Why…    

‘Why we’re giving away widgets this month’ is so much more compelling than ‘Free widgets this month’.  The latter sounds slightly desperate, the former invites the reader to read on to understand the business decision.

Headline tip 3: Announcing…    

It’s an announcement, so it’s got to be new, right?  We’re all naturally curious and you’ve just whet our appetite.

Headline tip 4: DON’T…    

This works because we all expect marketing content to tell us what we should be doing; starting with ‘Don’t’ confounds our expectations. For example ‘Don’t change the oil in your car until you’ve read this.’ ‘Don’t call anyone about widgets until you’ve spoken to Will’s’.

Headline tip 5: New…    

Of course, the content does have to follow through with something that is really new. But if you’ve invested in developing something the market hasn’t seen before, this should be what you lead on.

Headline tip 6: Now…    

The conveys a sense of urgency – and the need to act quickly before it’s all gone.  ‘Now available: the one-touch wonder widget’.

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