You've most likely heard this before...
And I had previously ignored it. Why? Because you had no idea what to do about it.
"Eight out of ten people will read your headline, but only two will read the rest of your landing page."
Ouch.
If you have a bad headline, you will have a bad conversion rate. And the only way to fix this – the ONLY way – is to work on that headline and compare it to other headlines to see which works best. This gives you control, and you continue to test it against other headlines until something beats your control and becomes your new control, and...
…you're already exhausted, aren't you?
I understand.
Headlines are HARD because we put so much pressure on ourselves to GET. IT. RIGHT.
With that in mind, here are some headline rules to help you write a strong headline right away. Using these does not eliminate the need to test; it simply means that you can begin with a fairly strong headline and work from there.
1: Numbers increase click through rates.
• 3 Stupid Mistakes that…
• 1 Rule You Absolutely Must…
• $450,954 Per Year without…
2: With the exception of the number "10," odd numbers are usually more effective than even numbers.
3: Negative words are more effective than positive words.
The adage "If it bleeds, it leads" does not only apply to the news. Warning someone that they are about to lose all of their money usually gets more clicks than promising to show them how to make more money.
4: Organize your content. The subheadline should naturally follow the headline, and the first sentence should follow the subheadline all the way down the page. If the headline does not correspond to the content, you will confuse and lose the reader.
5: If possible, keep your headline between 5 and 7 words long. To expand on the headline, use the subheadline.
6: Avoid using words that have multiple meanings. Nobody wants to figure out what you're saying.
7: Use strong words and heart-stopping adjectives. You can find a list of power words online and choose from a variety of sources. Sites like https://inspirassion.com/en/ can also be useful.
To get you started, here are a few adjectives: Essential, weird, incredible, strange, surprising, effortless, unique and so forth – you get the idea.
Bonus: To get organic search traffic, keep your headlines under 65 characters.
And I had previously ignored it. Why? Because you had no idea what to do about it.
"Eight out of ten people will read your headline, but only two will read the rest of your landing page."
Ouch.
If you have a bad headline, you will have a bad conversion rate. And the only way to fix this – the ONLY way – is to work on that headline and compare it to other headlines to see which works best. This gives you control, and you continue to test it against other headlines until something beats your control and becomes your new control, and...
…you're already exhausted, aren't you?
I understand.
Headlines are HARD because we put so much pressure on ourselves to GET. IT. RIGHT.
With that in mind, here are some headline rules to help you write a strong headline right away. Using these does not eliminate the need to test; it simply means that you can begin with a fairly strong headline and work from there.
1: Numbers increase click through rates.
• 3 Stupid Mistakes that…
• 1 Rule You Absolutely Must…
• $450,954 Per Year without…
2: With the exception of the number "10," odd numbers are usually more effective than even numbers.
3: Negative words are more effective than positive words.
The adage "If it bleeds, it leads" does not only apply to the news. Warning someone that they are about to lose all of their money usually gets more clicks than promising to show them how to make more money.
4: Organize your content. The subheadline should naturally follow the headline, and the first sentence should follow the subheadline all the way down the page. If the headline does not correspond to the content, you will confuse and lose the reader.
5: If possible, keep your headline between 5 and 7 words long. To expand on the headline, use the subheadline.
6: Avoid using words that have multiple meanings. Nobody wants to figure out what you're saying.
7: Use strong words and heart-stopping adjectives. You can find a list of power words online and choose from a variety of sources. Sites like https://inspirassion.com/en/ can also be useful.
To get you started, here are a few adjectives: Essential, weird, incredible, strange, surprising, effortless, unique and so forth – you get the idea.
Bonus: To get organic search traffic, keep your headlines under 65 characters.
