Ever encountered the following?
You've spent the entire week crafting this amazing ebook offer guaranteed to solve your audience's problems, as part of a new marketing campaign.
With great anticipation, you put the finishing touches on your ebook and release it on the Internet.
You wait for the hits to roll in. Clicks start rolling in, but your conversions remain flat-lined.
Or worse still, no one clicks on your offer.
What could have gone wrong?
Attracting people's attention online takes more than great content and slick design.
Headlines and titles are the most important part of anything you write. A powerful headline convinces people to keep reading and engage with your offer.
Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger stresses the importance of a catchy headline, saying, "Each element of compelling copy has just one purpose—to get the next sentence read."
People do judge a book by its cover. HubSpot did A/B testing on a title of an ebook offer to see which title would perform better. They took the original title "The Productivity Handbook for Busy Marketers" and compared results with a revised title "7 Apps That Will Change the Way You Do Marketing".
Source: "The 30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips, Tricks and Ideas", HubSpot
The revised title generated 776% more leads and improved conversion rates from 32.3% to 51.7% compared with the original title.
In short, the title has a significant impact on how attractive or effective your offer is.
So what's the secret behind great titles to hook your reader?
Great titles employ one or more of these elements:
1. Make a promise
Source: Entrepreneur
2. Create intrigue
Source: Upworthy
3. Identify a need
Source: Forbes
4. State the content
Source: Goins Writer
So how do you go about creating these types of magnetic offer titles?
1. Use Numbers
Many ebooks and blog posts use numbers to start off their headlines. People typically remember three to five points, but odd numbers like 13 or 47 can also catch people's attention for being unusual choices. Examples:
HubSpot's "100 Ideas that Changed Marketing"
BuzzFeed's "47 Hilariously Underwhelming Local News Headlines"
2. Use Interesting Adjectives
Examples include:
Effortless
Absolute
Wonderful
Free
Amazing
Essential
Users especially love verbs and adjectives in their headlines.
3. Use Unique Rationale
Consider the following examples in creating original list posts and ebooks:
30 Reasons to Start a Business Right Now
4 Secrets to Writing Killer Blog Content
10 Timeless Lessons from the Wall Street Crash
7 Proven Headlines that Convert
4. Use Trigger Words
Words like 'what', 'why', 'how', 'when' help to persuade readers of the value of your content. Strong headlines include either a trigger word or a number, rarely both.
5. Make A Promise To Your Reader
Are you listening to what your readers want or need? How does your content address these needs? Promise your reader something valuable.
Powerful headlines dare your reader to read your content.
Once the reader is hooked, deliver on what you promised in the headline. People don't want to be tricked into reading something uninteresting. They want to be sent on an exciting journey and take away valuable insights in the process.
The best copywriters can take days to craft the perfect headline. Crafting a headline can often be something we think off the top of our heads but spending more time on your headline can propel your content above your competitors.
Before you publish, ensure the headline grabs people's attention and doesn't let go. And then deliver on what your headline promises.
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