The goal for almost all content creators remains a simple one: Make something meaningful. Something that serves a unique purpose. Yet how will an audience ever interact with your content if you don’t know how to properly engage with them? For many content creators, especially those within the digital realm, this is a burning question. Thousands of people spend hours creating amazing, incredible content, but they neglect their headlines. We spend years of schooling learning how to create the perfect essay, the perfect research paper, but there’s no class on how to create the perfect title, or more appropriately, the perfect clickbait.
But the formula is simple, really.
A well-crafted headline = More clicks and engagement = Success!
But the question remains: How do we get this so-called “well-crafted headline”?
Sweat Over Every. Single. Word.
Choosing your words carefully and combining them in a thoughtful manner is key. In a study by BuzzSumo, researchers analyzed over 100 million Facebook headlines to identify phrases that performed best.
“Will make you” are the three magic words, drawing in double the amount of clicks from its second place contender, “This is why.” These simple phrases describe the explicit impact your content will have while also tugging at the emotions of your audience. Both of them answer the most important question: Why?
Why should people click? Why should they care?
Curiosity is another element that should be considered when creating the perfect headline. People want to know what’s “in.” What others are discussing. What’s happening around them. Create headlines that explain your content will answer these questions.
Write in the Right Context.
The idea sounds simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. Not only did BuzzSumo look at the best performing Facebook headlines, but they also looked at those with the least amount of engagements. As it turns out, the phrase “on a budget” was one of the worst performing phrases. It seems strange, especially in today’s world where everyone is trying to ball on a budget. However, this phrase performed extremely well on the do-it-yourself headquarters of the world, Pinterest.
This brings up an important idea. Something that performs outrageously well on Facebook may not do the same on social media outlets. It’s about knowing your audience, targeting the right people and doing the appropriate research. What sort of people are using that platform? What are their interests? What are they talking about?
Less Doesn’t Always Mean More.
This one is bit tricky, especially because research tells us different things. On one hand, some experts tell us headlines with five to six words perform the best. Others say the ideal length is anywhere from 16 to 110 words.
So who do we believe?
BuzzSumo put each of these theories to the test. With their 100 million Facebook articles, they looked at which articles performed best and how many characters were in each. Their findings tell us headlines with 12 to 18 words draw in the most clicks. It seems overwhelming, sure, but how else do you give people an effective taste of your topic?
Let’s take a look at some of the best examples of this:
This Infographic Shows How Only 10 Companies Own All The World’s Food Brands.
E-Cigarettes Found to Have 10 times More Cancer Causing Ingredients than Regular Cigarettes.
This tells us sometimes the longer the headline, the better.
By paying special attention to your headline, you are likely to draw more engagement toward your content. Never neglect this important element because with endless amounts of blogs and articles on the Internet, it is easy for someone to scroll past yours because of a lousy headline.
And who knows? It could've been the best thing you've ever written!
How will you stand out?
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