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

The Importance Of Connecting With Your Audience

J. Chad Barnett, Contributing Writer

Audience connection is a must for any writer. Knowing what readers want from you, can make a big difference when trying to come up with topics. While most people think that sports writers are in their own category, they can actually be broken down into a variety of different niches within the sports genre. The trick is to figure out what the readers want to know about in that particular sport, then you have a base to make an audience connection. Considering the fact that time changes everything, constant research is required to keep up with common interests.

I came across a very good article about audience connection, written by Yaro Starak at Entrepreneurs-Journey.com. In it he discusses a DVD from Frank Kern, on audience connection. The exercises discussed can be helpful to all writers.

There is also another article about how to make niche selection easy. This can be beneficial to new writers. Niche selection can depend on a number of variables. The article breaks selection down to make it an easy task. Read the article here.

Remember, your connection with the audience determines whether they read the whole article, or just the first sentence. You want them to read all the way to the last sentence, and if a connection was made you are doing that right now.