Your Headlines Will Make or Break Your Content Marketing

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June 3, 2010 By 7 Comments

There’s a saying in the marketing and communications industry that goes something like: “If you have ten hours to spend on your content writing, spend nine on the headline.”

great copywriting marketing successAlthough I wouldn’t follow this by the absolute book, there’s no doubt that you need to make sure your headline works hard to grab the attention of your prospect. If it doesn’t, your content marketing will drive them away almost immediately.

What’s more, the quality of your headline is vital no matter which channel you use or where you’re trying to communicate your message: TV, telemarketing, your business blog or website. They all need killer headlines.

10 Tips to Help You Write Better Headlines

  1. Realise that your headline must convey an idea or intrigue the reader to want to learn more
  2. Speak directly to the reader – even if a zillion people will read your message
  3. Start to tell a story
  4. Begin your headline with “How to”
  5. Test headlines which include “Free”, “Why” or “You”
  6. Warn the reader not to delay buying
  7. Make sure your headline is in the largest type on the page
  8. Use 3 – 5 words
  9. Make it sound like important news
  10. Make an important announcement.

Although many online content marketers get caught up with writing headlines for search engine optimization (SEO), don’t forget that your headline should sound natural, engage the prospect or risk losing them – forever!

Image: FlickrCC

Filed Under: content marketing, copywriting Tagged With: , ,
About Jon

Marketing and Communications Consultant. Head of Jontus Media. Podcaster. Life-long Liverpool FC supporter. Guarded by basset hounds.

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  • markwilliamschaefer

    I hate it when you snatch my blog posts out from under me. Oh well, I guess great minds think alike. And we do too : )

    Seriously, this is spot-on. One of my favorite bloggers is so fantastic but her headlines are dreary. This does not make the blog post any less great, but in this era of blog reader scanning it will severely limit how much you get noticed.

    To get noticed out there you have to provide exception content and it has to start with the headline. Thanks Jon!

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Sorry Mark! But I now want to see your take on this.

    How can B2B companies create cool headlines?

  • http://soulati.com/blog Jayme Soulati

    When writing press releases, the most time is spent on exactly that, Jon, the headline! It’s the summation of the story; it’s the news hook; it’s the attention grabber for an audience. It invites the reader inside for more. Teaching snappy headlines is a challenge; writing them is even more up for grabs. Any tips I can offer would encompass active voice, new and jazzy word choices, and no marketing jargon like “leverage.”

  • http://soulati.com/blog Jayme Soulati

    When writing press releases, the most time is spent on exactly that, Jon, the headline! It's the summation of the story; it's the news hook; it's the attention grabber for an audience. It invites the reader inside for more. Teaching snappy headlines is a challenge; writing them is even more up for grabs. Any tips I can offer would encompass active voice, new and jazzy word choices, and no marketing jargon like “leverage.”

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Some great points there, Jayme. The active voice is essential. I hate those weasel words like “Best practice” and “leverage”. rnrnIt’s important for PRs to talk in a tone of voice that really grabs the reader’s attention.

  • http://www.jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Some great points there, Jayme. The active voice is essential. I hate those weasel words like “Best practice” and “leverage”.

    It's important for PRs to talk in a tone of voice that really grabs the reader's attention.