best Headline Formulae for bloggers and content writers

Headlines You read them every day, in newspapers (even if you do all your news reading online) and magazines. You see them on websites. They introduce blog posts and articles.

What is a headline?

For our purposes here, though, we’re talking about your artist website and the marketing channels related to your website, such as your email newsletter and your blog.

It’s important to create winning headlines for all three of these channels if you want to be successful online.

For your website, a headline is a line of copy at the top of each of your web pages that tells your web visitors what that page is about, or piques their curiosity in a way that makes them eager to read the rest of the page.

For your blog, the headline is simply the title of the blog post or article, and for the emails you send out to your newsletter list, the email subject line functions like a headline.

How Important Are Headlines?

Successful copywriters argue that at least half the time you spend writing content for your business and website should be spent on the headline; it’s that important.

The oft-repeated statistic is that 8 out of 10 people will read the headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the copy.

The headline is there to get them to read the rest of that copy – that’s its sole purpose, in fact – so if it’s not compelling, the rest of the blog post or article or sales page or website page you’ve written, will, unfortunately, be ignored.

Headline Formulas

Now, if you do a search online for “how to write headlines,” you’ll actually find lots of very good information.

The problem when applying that information to artist websites, newsletters, and blogs is that many of the headline tips and formulas you’ll find are geared more to service businesses, software, and other standard products and services, not to an inherently creative and subjective offering like art.

Let’s review a few headline formulas so you’ll have an idea of what I mean.

Now, if you can find a way to adapt the headlines on your artist website, blog, and newsletter using the formulas below, kudos to you. It won’t be easy, but it’s important to at least understand a few of these formulas so you can get to know the principles of a good headline.

Keep in mind, the formulas below are a very tiny sample of the many, many headline formulas and templates out there.

Promising a Benefit

Two of the most effective ways to approach writing headlines is to promise a benefit or arouse curiosity.

Here are two examples of benefit-driven headlines from my blog:

:: The Dreadful Client-Repelling Mistake That Will Keep You Broke (and how to fix it)

{Benefit: how to fix a mistake that repels clients}

:: What a Personal Development Book from 1959 Can Teach You About Writing Web Copy That Sells

{Benefit: write web copy that sells}

Using Curiosity in Headlines

If you want to arouse curiosity, one way to do it is to ask a question your audience/readers/potential customers want the answer to.

If you pose a question that’s aligned with your audience’s needs and desires, they’ll want to read on to find the answer.

Here are two examples of headlines that evoke curiosity from my blog:

:: What Can Chocolate Cake and Donuts Teach You About Selling More?

:: Creatives: Are You Making These 3 Web Marketing Mistakes?

Fill-in-the-Blank Headline Formulas from Well-Known Copywriter, Brilliant Marketer and Expert Business Strategist Dan Kennedy

Here are a few of Dan Kennedy’s fill-in-the-blank headline formulas along with his examples of how to apply them:

#1 – Who Else Wants ___________?

Examples:

:: Who Else Wants a Hollywood Actress’ Figure?

:: Who Else Needs an Extra Hour Every Day?

#2 – How ___________ Made Me ___________

Examples:

:: How a “Fool Stunt” Made Me a Star Salesman

:: How Relocation to Tennessee Saved Our Company $1 Million a Year

#3 – ___________ Ways to ___________

Examples:

:: 101 Ways to Increase New Patient Flow

:: 17 Ways to Slash Your Equipment Maintenance Costs

Instant Clarity Headline Formula

Then there’s the tried-and-true instant clarity headline formula.

The instant clarity headline looks like this:

End Result Customer Wants + Specific Period of Time + Address Objections

To be able to make this formula work, you need to have a deep understanding of your collectors and clients and their needs, wants and desires with respect to your offering.

I first learned this formula from a fellow called Dane Maxwell, and the example he uses to demonstrate the formula is this, from the real estate niche:

Recruit 2 Top Producing Agents Each Week Without Cold Calling Or Rejection

He goes on to share that using only the first item (end result) or the first and second together (end result + time frame) can also be effective, but using all three elements at once is the most powerful and persuasive.

The reason this formula works well is because it instantly telegraphs the benefits and results the reader can achieve from reading the content or buying the product or service. It’s all about what important to the reader, client or customer.

I once used this formula to write a series of blog post headlines for an interior designer client. She ended up using the following headline as the title of an e-book she planned to give away to build her email list:

:: From Chaos to Calm: 7 Simple Steps for Transforming Your Busy Young Family’s Home into an Oasis of Practical Luxury in 30 Days or Less