Copywriting Panda

Wondering why no one is opening your emails?

Still waiting for someone to click on the link to your latest blog post?

Have you considered that the problem may be with your headline?

The hardest part of the writing process for me is coming up with a catchy headline.

Whether it is for a blog article, email or press release, a great headline is essential. It is what hooks the reader into reading what it is you're offering them.

Consider this quote from David Ogilvy, "the father of advertising."

"Five times as many people read the headline as the body copy. When you've written your headline, you've spent 80 cents of "your dollar."

Math isn't my strong suit, but it doesn't take a mathematician to know the headline is a valuable piece of real estate.

I use Headline Studio by CoSchedule to optimize my headlines. I love this tool because it forces me to consider how effective my headlines and what I can do to improve their effectiveness.

Here are five things you can do to get the most bang for your buck when writing headlines. 

1. Solve a problem.

Don't just tell the reader what you're writing about. Let them know what you're writing will help them solve a problem". That’s why I used a "How to" headline for this post.

Headline Studio gave my headline a score of 72. You want to aim for a score of 70 or higher if you look on the left-hand side of the graphic below, you'll see that I tried a variety of different headlines before going with this one.

2. Speak in your audience's language.

If you want your target audience to read what you wrote, you need to write in their voice. My target audience includes entrepreneurs in the health and fitness industry, so that's why I used words like "win" and "game" in my headline.

3. Find balance in your words.

One of my favorite features of Headline Studio is that it helps me analyze the effectiveness of each word in my headline. As you can see, my headline isn't perfect, and there is always room for improvement.

One suggestion is to increase the number of uncommon words in my headline, and the app conveniently includes a list of uncommon words from the dictionary as a reference.

4. Consider your headline's length and reading level.

Remember, you only have seconds to grab the reader's attention. Not only do you want your headline to be eye-catching, but you also want it to be easy to read and understand.

The right length can increase the number of people who click on your content and writing below a 7th-grade reading level makes your writing more digestible.

5. Be a little bit more sentimental and use keywords to your advantage.

Adding more words that spark emotion helps increase engagement. CoSchedule has a handy list of power words you can use in your headlines if you're having a tough time coming up with some on your own.

You also want to consider your headline's "skimmability." Make sure your keyword is front and center.

Become a headline writing pro.

If you'd like to try Headline Studio yourself, you're in luck because they offer a free version for people who need a little help in writing compelling headlines. You can use Headline Studio Free or upgrade to a Pro subscription, which will cost you $19 a month. Click here to learn more about the tool and sign up.