We all know that a good headline can make or break your success as a writer. It’s the first thing your readers see. It’s what determines whether they click to read or scroll past your content.
Research from the Nielsen Norman Group—a leading authority in web usability—has shown that people typically spend only a few seconds on a webpage before deciding whether to stay or leave. And it typically takes less than a second—about 1.5 to 3 seconds—for someone to decide whether or not to read something based on a headline.
That sounds pretty harsh to me, especially when you consider that we writers meticulously plan every sentence. We put so much care and effort into our work, and it often takes us an average of 6 hours to produce a single blog post—only to end up hearing crickets.
Well, my friends, today I have fantastic news!
It’s time to stop shouting into the void and let your hard work to finally get noticed.
However, before I go any further, I’d like to ask you three simple questions:
Are you fed up and tired of writing tirelessly only to see little to no results?
Does your writing career feel like, no matter what trick in the book you try, nothing seems to bring about that lucky break?
Do you feel like the efforts you put into your writing are not being rewarded?
If so, I promise, this quick story won’t disappoint.
When I first started out as a writer, I specialized in copywriting—a type of writing that's focused on selling products or services.
Every piece of copy I wrote and write today is designed to guide my readers toward a specific action that benefits both them and me as the creator.
Whether you run a health newsletter or a blog about spirituality, turning your readers into paying subscribers will eventually require you to learn the basics of copywriting.
One of the key skills every copywriter must excel at is crafting headlines that INSTANTLY grab attention.
While this skill can be developed with practice, what if I told you that following my simple formula could quickly elevate not just your writing, but your readership, too?
The Basics of Writing Headlines That Convert to Reads
As a writer, regardless of your genre or style, it's essential to understand the power of persuasion.
The first step in engaging your audience is persuading them to click on your work.
You achieve this by crafting headlines that readers simply can’t ignore.
Today, I’ll share some of the most effective tricks of the trade that you can start using immediately to see real results.
But first, let’s look at some common mistakes we often make when coming up with ideas for our headlines.