This one skill well mastered, will make you a successful writer

We have all been there, researched, fact-checked, probably interviewed some industry experts, sat down poured our hearts out, and sometimes our souls too, wrote this amazing article, hit the publish button then a thunderous silence!

Nobody is clicking on the article and we don’t know why.

Turns out a little fix could solve the problem.

Have you ever wondered why media houses employ full-time in-house editors whose sole job is to write headlines?

Writing captivating headlines is not just a skill it’s a talent. But it’s a talent many online writers underestimate.

Copywriting experts have some advice, spend half the time it takes writing your article tweaking, and writing a persuasive headline.

And there is a reason for that — 80% of people read headlines, and only 20% of people who come across your writing will read your article.

Make this 20% count. Draw them in with a powerful headline.

Statistics reveal that 7.5 million articles are uploaded online every day, and most of them aren’t read.

Because many readers overwhelmed by informational overload spend an average of 37 seconds on an article before moving on to a flashier more promising headlines.

Articles with dull headlines are doomed to end up in the graveyard.

Interestingly writing captivating headlines people will click on has a science behind it.

Ever heard of Melanie Duncan’s 4 U formula? It’s a powerful approach to crafting headlines people want to click.

There are 4 U’s behind every attractive headline.

1. Useful
2. Urgent
3. Unique
4. And Ultra Specific

Useful

Useful headlines offer readers something that they need, they are crafted to suit your audience, are entertaining or educational. Once you understand your audience’s interests, your headline should offer them a solution to their problem.

For example, How-to posts. This headline tells the reader how to accomplish something they provide a solution to the user’s problem.

Or Lists posts. These break up the post making it easier to read, i.e. 5 ways to cut weight

The number in the headline helps with click-through-rate. it shows the reader what to expect.

Urgent

A headline that is time specific pushes the reader to take action. It plays on the fear of missing out.

For example; Why your dog needs a vet now!

The title promises time-sensitive information, it pushes the reader to take action immediately. But urgency doesn’t always apply to all content, use this U if the article truly has urgent information.

Unique

A Unique headline stands out from the pack. It piques the reader’s interest because it doesn’t say what every other headline is saying. The writer in a bid to rouse interest plays with words creates a pun or includes humor.

For example, — A Smiling Tomato shouldn’t miss in your menu

Ultra specific

Finally, an ultra-specific headline makes it clear what the user should expect. This kind of headline works well with numbers.

Numbers help to niche down your topic

For example, 5 Ultra-modern tools you should avoid.

Other kinds of headlines include ‘Why You Should:’ These headlines make the reader realize he/she may have a problem and the article has the answer.

Finally, Questions — posing a question in your headline, comes with a promise to answer the question.

For example — Do you know you can learn to play the violin in one day?

These are great for SEO, as many questions are also search queries.

Be Mysterious. People love mysteries, they want to solve some ‘why’- For example, Find out why your cat purrs just before she poops

Be negatively Bold. Make a forceful statement that shocks readers. For example, — The book everyone is reading that’s about to be banned

Comparing unusual items will intrigue readers to figure out how the two relate. For example, The health benefits of snake poison.

Address the reader directly. Readers want to be involved. For example, a headline like –5 daily activities that will make you a better writer — is much better than, — 5 daily activities better writers do.

Think of how your article will help your audience. Your tips should help them become better at what they do or should teach them new ways of accomplishing their tasks faster.

The headline should also promise special content that isn’t anywhere else on the internet. The way to do that is to write headlines that are custom-tailored for your content, niched down to your reader’s peculiarities and delivered to solve a specific need.

For Example, if you are writing to students with a tendency to procrastinate because they love playing on their play station. Your headline could read something like,

How to zip through that play station urge and have a full revision in two hours.

Final Thoughts

Writing great headlines might not guarantee viral content but It is the key to getting traffic, leads, and your readers’ eyeballs on your content. Writing a great headline takes hard work, you will have to write that headline several times before you can craft one that sucks in your readers.

Learning from the pros is always a sure way to success. Here is one pro you could learn from, his name is Jon Morrow, He wrote the Headline Hacks report on how to create sure-to-go-viral headlines Copy blogger uses as a guide for its writers today. Check him out for more tips.

This article was first published here: Are you an online writer? Master this one skill if you want to succeed