26 science-backed tips to write headlines that convert.
A 5-min read on writing headlines that convert and make money.
Hey friends,
Welcome to Issue #18 of Market Curve - a weekly newsletter exploring the intersection of marketing with consumer psychology and behavioral economics. Through Market Curve, I hope to offer marketers and founders a different perspective on how to better understand their customers - one that is rooted in science.
Help me get to 1500 subscribers by the end of May by doing any of the following:
Forward this email to friends, family and peers.
Share within your existing community or Slack channels
Share on LinkedIn, Twitter etc with a short note.
Writing powerful, memorable headlines is an art. It is an art I’m learning about each day in my business.
Today on Market Curve, I will share with you a comprehensive yet concise guide about writing powerful headlines that convert. Here’s what you’ll learn:
The purpose of your headline.
The structure of your headline.
The content of your headline.
All in less than 5 minutes!
Let’s dive in, shall we?
How to define your headline?
Before you start writing a single line of your headline, you must know what purpose your headline serves. To put it another way, we are trying to understand: what is the nature of any headline? What are the “rules” (so to speak) you need to keep in mind while writing your headline?
There are 11 rules you must keep in mind before writing any headline:
The primary purpose of a headline is to get the first sentence read.
A good headline is actionable and relates to a broader piece of content.
A good headline is a concise abstract of its associated content.
A good headline offers readers a reward for reading.
A good heading invokes self-interest and curiosity on the part of the reader.
A good headline triggers a strong, actionable emotion the reader already has about the subject at hand.
A good headline presents a proposition that instantly gets your prospect nodding his or her head.
A good headline is never accusatory.
A good headline makes an irresistible offer.
A good headline tells a story.
A good headline is never generic.
How to shape your headline?
Think of the structure as the skeleton of your headline. It is what holds the headline together. It is what defines the headline and gives it shape. Most marketers don’t put nearly as much time into figuring out the structure of the headline - they go straight into writing mode. Don’t do this.
Here are 5 rules to keep in mind as you give shape to your headline:
Make sure the first 11 characters of your headline contains action words such as "transform"," increase", or "optimize".
Keep your headline between 6-8 words.
Make your headline pass the highway test: Can a person speeding through on the highway at 65 mph read my headline on the passing billboard?
End your headline with a lure - a hook to make them read the sub-headline.
The middle part of the headline is where the magic is made.
How to write your headline?
Finally, we come to the part about how to write your headline. Here are 10 rules you must keep in mind while writing your headline.
Be specific and make immediate sense. Reduce cognitive load.
Tell readers something useful, interesting or funny.
Omit non-essential words.
Use objective statistics and numbers where you can.
Ask yourself this: Could your headline benefit from the inclusion of a proposed transaction?
Use the customer language itself.
Use your product name in the headline copy.
Mention any of these three things in your headline : (a) Problem (b) Solution or (c) Benefit.
Don't use negative words in the headline.
Write in the active voice.
Before I leave you, keep in mind that none of these “rules” are actually rules. Neither are they prescriptions. Think of it like a map. And you know what they say about maps right?
“The map is not the territory”.
These are only guiding principles to show you the way - not rigid rules that are never meant to be broken. It’s easy to think that we have all the answers - most marketing websites do claim to be so. But be wary. Take everything you read with a grain of salt.
That said, this guide did take me a while to create. If you found this valuable, please consider supporting me and my work. You can do so by buying me a cup (or two) of coffee.
Thank you so much for reading! If you want to get in touch, you can respond directly to this email or reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn.
If you want to hire the services of my agency, or just want to jam out some ideas, feel free to email me. Always excited to meet like-minded people!
Until next week!
— Shounak.