Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Secret To Making Your Articles Irresistible: Tips For Creating An Engaging Headline


J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Having a good Headline is paramount for capturing readers' attention. You have to make them want to read your article. Now there are a variety of ways to go about accomplishing this. Being the gracious person that I am , I have shortened this list and am going to share it with you now.

I. Use "trigger-words" and superlatives in your Headline---Grab the readers' attention with "catchy" words and phrases. Examples>>>the truth behind, secrets revealed, most exciting, one-and-only, etc.

II
. Adhere to the Four "U"s of writing Headlines implemented by the trainers at American Writers and Artists, Inc.---1. Be Useful to the readers. 2. Provide a sense of Urgency. 3. Make readers believe the main benefit is Unique. 4. Do all of this in an Ultra-specific way.

III
. Use "specific" key-words and phrases---The more you use specific key-words, the higher your article will appear in the initial search results. Count how many times I use the word Headline in this post.

IV. Before and after you write your Headline, ask your self these questions---"Is my Headline intriguing enough to make the reader want to read further?"--"Is a reward of some kind offered to the reader in my Headline?"--"Would this Headline make me want to read more?"--"Does this Headline connect with my audience?"

I believe that following this simple, yet very effective, list will increase the numbers to your blogs, websites, etc. Oh, and one more tidbit of information for you. Research has proven that longer Headlines produce more traffic than shorter ones. It's common sense. The more information you have in the Headline, the more a reader will want to view it. Don't go all Section 8 on it though. Be somewhat subtle.

"Either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing."--Benjamin Franklin

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