How to Write an Awesome Headline
A study finds that the more explicit a headline, the more the headline resonates.
Headlines are critical in content marketing it's worth the extra time and effort to think of something that will catch the eye of the reader and draw them in.
Headlines get attention and convey information in just a few words. Choose these words carefully because the headline is the foundation that our content is formed.
Your headline needs to have a specific benefit to the reader to grab their attention and make them want to see what more you have to say. First impressions are important and your headline needs to be compelling to draw people to read more of what you write.
Quick tips to construct a better headline.
Keep it short.
Cover the main idea.
Write the headline first.
Benefit the reader.
Add numbers.
Create how-to headlines.
Generate curiosity.
Adopt proceeding formats.
Use keywords.
Tell secrets.
Make headlines funny.
Ask a question.
Be controversial.
Captivate your audience.
Make a promise of value and keep it.
Use adjectives.
The Secret to Writing Original Quality Content
There is no reason to constantly regurgitate material. I'm sure people get tired of reading the same information written a thousand different ways. The answer for this fresh, superior content is research. There are thousands of places to get information at your fingertips.
Here is a list of some research resources:
Google search. This is a good place to start for your research.
Journals. You will find high quality with this kind of research, although you may have to pay for some of them. Here is a list of free open access journals:
Databases. Look for open access journals they're free.
Google Scholar. Search information from abundant sources.
Write content suited for your audience. Material targeted toward their desires will let them know that you understand their needs and trust that you will also fulfill those needs.
Be transparent. Be real. People appreciate real especially in this day and age when fake seems to be on the rise.
Be emotional, laugh, cry, empower. Feelings connect your content with the reader on a deeper level, building positive connections. People love to share strong feelings with others and you want people to share your content.
Types of Content
Epic content. An example of epic content would be if someone went to your blog for the first time and loved it and kept coming back for more or when the only reason people go to your blog is because of the content, it's epic. Epic content consists of:
- Lists
- Answers a question.
- It's consistent.
- Expresses an opinion.
- Is known as the best.
- Contains call to action.
- Incorporates visuals.
- Has tips and tricks.
- Contains statistics and facts.
- Long content.
- Amazingly integrated.
- Has abundant utensils.
What to do to become an epic writer:
Read all the time.
When you're not reading; write.
Record all your good ideas.
Know everything about your niche.
Viral content. Content becomes viral because it shares and delivers swiftly.
What can we learn from viral victory:
Use visuals they are engaging and easy to understand.
Be interactive. The more interaction your readers have with your content boosts engagement and more people share it.
Inspire emotion. It doesn't matter whether the emotion is good or bad, but how strong the emotion is that will get people to react.
Make it personal. When people perceive you in a deeper way from content they feel more at ease and bond with you.
Engage a sharing audience if you want more of a chance to go viral.
Support established opinions this will make people more like you're on their side.
Five precepts that go viral:
- Social standing. People share because it benefits them socially.
- Emotions. Strong emotions get shared. Antagonizing emotions (sadness) do not get shared.
- Practicality. Executes action.
- Stories. Stories include conflict and problem solving. We expect triumph or disaster not pointless events.
- Going viral will make us and our brand noticed extensively. We will produce more white hat back linking. Our community will grow and be more committed. We will gain abundant traffic.
Effective content. This is content that gets shared and attracts associates and potential customers.
Three things to do to generate highly effective content:
- Write something compelling.
- Write something engaging and easy to read.
- Make offers that get responses.
Key points of effective content:
- Educates. Gives the audience information they hunger for.
- Has personality. It's a lot harder to be personal and touch readers with our content than it is to regenerate an old article. In the long run you will have stronger foundations. If you take the time to be more personal.
- Has a sweeping headline. Favorable headlines get shares, links and customers.
- Considers SEO. Effective content is targeted for people before SEO. Effective content identifies harmony where SEO and the human being meet.
- Puts reader first. No matter type of content we choose the first commandment in any business is to always put the customer first.
Dynamic content. Also referred to as "smart" or "adaptive" marketing. Dynamic content changes often and keeps the reader hooked. The dynamic online experience is more personalized making visitors more engaged.
Dynamic content to add to your site is:
- Forms
- Call to action
- Recommendations
Dynamic content is based on information provided in the past. It uses stored information to add content according to what the user has chosen in the past. A good example of dynamic content is Amazon's recommendations.
Some technologies involved with this:
- A database is the core of dynamic content managing.
- Web pages. A dynamic site has easy reading and navigation.
- Email. This system will be integrated with your database.
- Using a more personalized approach will make customers feel more complacent and stay on the site longer.
Benefits of database content:
Better profits. Improves efficiency leading to higher profits.
Raise associations. Making better connections.
Increase sales. Saves money by diminishing waste.
Timeless content. Write content that will still be important in the future. Do your homework and find quality original content to write about. People are getting tired of the same information rehashed repeatedly.
How to write timeless content:
- Go evergreen. Always ask yourself if your subject will still be effective in a few months. Choose topics that will stand the test of time.
- Focus on meaning. Feelings don't age. We will always have feelings. Add new ideas that will compel the reader while at the same time making yourself stand out from the crowd. Make your content meaningful.
- Keep your article up to date. Check on it periodically to make sure it's still timeless. New facts are evolving all the time.
- Remove dates. No one wants to read old articles. I pass on an old article it if there's a newer one around.
What to avoid when writing timeless content:
- References to "today" or "tomorrow".
- Books.
- Magazines.
- Television.
- Blogs.
- Movies.
- Forums.
- Writing groups.
- Quotes.
- History.
- Travel.
- Religion.
- Dreams.
- Google.
- Newspapers.
- Bookmarking sites.
- Freelancing.
Story writing content. Telling a story draws readers in because it sparks their curiosity and interest. Every brand has a story. Share one that has impacted your life. Share what you've experienced on your journey. Talk about your successes and failures. The story can be about someone else that may have been an inspiration to you.
All of your content should be story writing content.
Six steps in story writing:
- Start with a setting: This sets the groundwork for the story. You will create the mood. Your first sentence should immediately peak interest and curiosity. Say something like "Guess what" or "Did you know". Choose something in your life that made an impact. Write as though your audience is with you. Make your audience become part of your story.
- Introduce the characters. Remember you are always one of your characters. You may choose to be the narrator just be sure to include yourself.
- Build curiosity and suspense that keeps the audience interested. This is where you'll hook the reader.
- Reach the climax. This is the most important part of story writing. This is the element of surprise that has kept the reader in suspense. The climax could be an opinion, experiment or research.
- Soften the curiosity and suspense. Bring the audience down slowly with facts, data and reference links that verify your findings.
- The ending has to be forceful and compelling. It has to initiate discussion or questions. You want the reader to feel that it's worth reading and want to share the story.
What to write stories about:
Why you love your work. Be passionate about yourself. Link this post to your website's biography. Use a meaningful image. It doesn't have to be about work it can be anything really.
How does your brand meet the needs of your audience better than other brands? Give examples.
Measure your product or service's success by using a how-to headline with numbers, such as "How Puppy Chow Sold 95% More Products Using consumer's dogs."
Ask a question like "What issue does your company refuse to address?" Do a search on your question and see where it ranks.
Get Inspired, Stay Inspired
Provide Answers. After you find the answers write a practical how to guide as if you were talking to a friend. Use keyword tools and search question and answer sites to find questions people have about your industry. Use forums, Yahoo Answers, Quora, Topsy and groups to determine what people are unhappy about and provide a solution. Solutions will give you more authority and your audience will have more confidence in you.
How-to use Google keyword search to find answers to what bothers consumers:
Log in and click on search for keyword and ad group ideas.
Type in an extensive search in your niche area under your Product or Service to get ideas.
This will show you problems people are having within your niche to be more specific click on keyword ideas.
Arrange them by average monthly searches.
Keywords that are about three words will tell the best story.
Keywords tools are full of ideas for finding content. Use key phrases like "online marketing mistakes" or "online marketing tips" and make an inforgraphic.
Newsjacking. Take advantage of a good news story. Present the story so it somehow connects to you and take advantage of a popular and interesting news article.
Incorporate current affairs into your field. Write an article on a current affair about something people are searching for and merge it to a relevant area of your site. Use some of the tools I have listed to find a good topic. There is a lot to choose from.
Be controversial. Mix and match theory with disbelief and see what you come up with. Use a content generator and infuse contradictory terms see what happens.
Writer's groups. The perfect place to improve writing skills. You will get to meet new people in the community. A great way to get inspiration is by listening to someone else's work.
Try Freewriting. Just write, write, write this will free you from inhibitions. Not long ago I did some freewriting on a blog I never use. What a mess it turned out to be although I haven't gone back and read through it. The next day I felt so light there was a heaviness that was gone. I really felt good after that.
Brainstorm ideas. Instead of focusing on everything as you did in Freewriting focus on ideas. There will probably be something interesting you can use to write about.
Success stories.These will promote positive things to generate for you. I usually read inspiring stories about dogs. They can be so moving and bring all that emotion to the surface.
Constructive Proof-Reading Tips
Concentration is essential. Eliminate distractions. Turn off the TV, cell phone and ignore email.
Print it out. It's easier to see it on paper, read it over it and will be easier to find the mistakes.
Be attentive of homonyms. These are words that sound the same but are spelled different. There is a distinct difference between effect (result) and affect (to change) or alter (to change) and altar (raised center of worship).
Watch for contractions and apostrophes. Some contractions are easily confused like who's and whose, your and you're, their, there and they're, it's and its. Contractions (two words that form one ex. you're is you are) always have an apostrophe and possessive pronouns (its, whose, your, their) do not.
Check punctuation. Capitalize and use commas and periods. I'm terrible with commas! I really need this lesson.
Read it backwards. Break the pattern of blindness when it comes to our own mistakes. Read it backwards word by word.
Check the numbers. did you mean 2.6 million or.26 million. Sometime we are off just by a comma or decimal point.
Have a friend proofread. This is my favorite thing to do because then you can have all the more security posting it.
Spend as much time as you need to create a post. There are people that promise you can write 20 blogs a day in 20 minutes. I like to focus on one blog and make sure it has quality and value. I want depth and meaning to my posts.
Add visuals and research data to your posts. A good blog post takes time and the more you get to know your topic, industry and your readers the more you'll learn what they expect and you'll have a clearer insight as to what they want.
Tips for Content Creation
I've added some tips to assist you in making your articles exceptional.
Spend as much time as you need to create one post. There are people that promise you can write 20 blogs a day in 20 minutes. I like to focus on one blog and make sure it has quality and value. I want depth and meaning to my posts.
Add visuals and research data to your posts. A good blog post takes time and the more you get to know your topic, industry and your readers the more you'll learn what they expect and you'll have a clearer insight as to what they want.
Create awesome titles and sub-titles. The opening line is the most important line in your writing. Give this line a lot of thought. Sub-titles don't have to be boring.
Add an element of surprise. Catch the reader's attention with facts that aren't well-known but are true.
Introduce observations that aren't already apparent. No ones wants to read that dog food is for dogs they already know this. Use information that will increase knowledge. Don't make your reader seem stupid.
Practice rhythm writing. Make long and short sentences. It keeps the words flowing.
Use astonishing statistics. You will call attention to your writing.
Break the rules. The days of being formal and distant in writing are over. Be personal and on the same page as the reader to create an understanding.
Add shock value. Give your readers something to have to stop and think about or laugh about. Instill a little impact to jump start them and keep them interested.
Remark about a pain point. Pain points will remind the reader that you are human and you have more of a chance of them staying on your page.
Establish a voice. Your voice is authentic and no one else can mimic it in any way. Keep writing and it will evolve.
Incorporate visuals. This breaks up the text and doesn't overwhelm the reader. It makes the article seem to flow.
Get rid of distractions. I know sometimes in our busy worlds we can't rid ourselves of all disturbances, but try to steal away some time for yourself to just breathe and relax.
Add power to your writing. The secret to this is shorter sentences and stronger verbs.
Get your writing seen. I know I'm a little insecure about posting my articles, but I know that content is the foundation for my whole online presents. As I publish I get less and less self conscience and more and more confident.
Write more informally. Writing online is different than writing an eBook. It's interactive and you have to be on the same level with your reader.
Use good grammar. Don't think that informal writing means that you sacrifice spelling and grammar errors. Good sentence structure is just as important. People will respect you and have confidence in your more than if you made mistake after mistake. I know when I'm reading an article and it's someone who I expected to be professional and they make errors I lose respect and don't usually finish the article.
Focus on one blog post. Spend all the time you need to get one post right. Don't sacrifice quality for quantity. It's better to have one awesome post than ten weak ones.
Keep the beginning and then end strong. In the beginning you have to draw them in and this is most important. You need to have a good ending so they want to return to read more.
This is my guide to content creation I hope you find it useful for your next article or post. I tried to make it as helpful as possible.
I know I didn't use a lot of visual I wanted to make this seem like a clear reference guide. Then I looked at some of the pics and thought how much they relate. I had to add them.
I will keep it updated because I plan to use it as a reference also. You can never have too many resources. I tried to cover all the bases. If I've forgotten something or left something out just let me know!
I hope you've enjoyed your time here as much as I enjoyed writing the article.
*I took the links out so you'll have to go to my site for those.
Hi! My name is Marsha.
I don't really have a call to action. I'm willing to help people get started in business free, but I really think that will be changing soon it's so much work! There's some useful information there if you like business. There are tons of links!
This is my first submission here and I was a little nervous about submitting it so finally I copied and pasted it from my blog. I've been getting more bold about sharing my content.
I am really a team player and I play to win.
I'm very supportive and like to keep a positive outlook.
If there's anything I can do just let me know.
