Rules for writing headings in articles. How to write a selling headline that will captivate the reader

The title is the part of the article that the reader will see first. This is why you need to write good headlines that will attract readers to the site, interest them and convince them to stay on the site. But how come up with and write the title of the article, which everyone would like and arouse interest. There are many headline writing techniques used. long years We will talk about leading marketers and the best in this article.

What is an article title and why is it needed?

Heading- this is a part of the text in which the main idea of the article is expressed in a condensed form. The title of the article is at the very beginning, which means that readers will see and read it first, and that is why it should be written with high quality.

Very often, articles have one main heading and several subheadings. Subheadings are needed to break the article into meaningful sections for easier reading or finding the necessary information.

The main heading is the title of the article and is the most important. And if you want to, then you will need to learn how to write headlines that arouse the reader’s curiosity and interest. For a webmaster who writes articles for his site on his own, this is an equally important task, since a high-quality title will determine how many users, having opened a page of your site, will stay to read the article in full, and not close it in a second.

Goals and objectives of the title (title) of the article

Let's figure out what goals you need to set before writing a title for an article. After all, the header has certain tasks that it must perform. So, let's get started.

Every article title First of all, it must inform the reader. Inform about the content of the article, what problems the article can solve, and how it can help. Based on the title, the reader should understand whether there will be any benefit from reading this article. Example: “How to come up with and write an article title?” – this title informs you that this article can help you write headlines.

Also, the purpose of the title of the article is to attract the reader's attention. No matter how useful the information in the article is, if the title does not arouse interest and curiosity, no one will know about it. We’ll talk about how to write a “catchy” title for an article below.

The purpose of subheadings is to distribute the material by degree of importance, to distribute the material into semantic parts. The subtitle, first of all, should be informative, explaining to the reader what he will learn from this part of the article.

Rules for writing headings (titles) in articles

At writing a title To the article you need to adhere to some rules that should not be neglected. Let's look at them:

The title (title) of the article must be related in content to the text. The title should reflect the essence of the article, without diminishing or exaggerating the factors described in it. It is important to meet the reader's expectations.

Non-compliance of this rule– this is disrespect for the reader. Few users will want to return to a site that did not meet their expectations. This means that if you write for your website, you will lose visitors. If you work as a copywriter, then it is unlikely that they will buy articles that do not follow this rule.

This rule also applies to subheadings. Their title must also correspond to the content of the article section. Otherwise, the reader will have confusion in finding information on the page.

No need to write too much long titles articles. The title should be short and succinct. Try to write article headings (titles) of no more than 7-9 words.

Search engines have restrictions on the length of the article title that can be displayed when providing search information. The length of the article title that will be displayed varies around 65 characters with spaces. So try not to go beyond these limits.

Do not use abbreviations when writing the title of your article. This is especially true for little-known abbreviations of words used in narrow circles. In rare cases, use only those abbreviations that are known and used by the majority of users. Example: “social network” – having used this abbreviation on the Internet, most users will immediately understand that we are talking about a social network.
Try to write an intriguing, catchy and catchy title that will arouse interest and curiosity in the reader. But don’t forget the main thing: the title of the article should be informative and not deviate from main point articles, so don't go too far.

Heading design: to put punctuation marks in headings or not?

Design of article headings raises no less questions than their writing. Is punctuation necessary in headings or not? Every novice copywriter or webmaster who writes their own articles asks this question. But this question is not the only one! Let's consider the most popular questions regarding the design of headings:

Capital letters in headings. It is extremely rare to find articles whose titles use all capital letters or every word with a capital letter. Firstly, this is extremely doubtful from the point of view of visual perception. A title consisting of capital letters can hardly be called beautiful and easy to read. They also don't like headlines like this. search engines.

Use capital letters in headings following exclusively the rules of the Russian language. Use capital letters in article titles only at the beginning of a sentence. If the title consists of several sentences, capitalize the beginning of each sentence.

Commas in headings. Commas in article headings are placed according to the rules of the Russian language. And if you don’t put them, you can harm not only the perception of the title by readers, but also worsen the ranking of the site in search engines.
Is there a period in the title?? There is no period at the end of a one-sentence title. However, if this sentence is interrogative or exclamatory, then question marks and exclamation marks must be inserted. Example of a title: “Period in the title”, “Is it necessary to put a period at the end of the title?”, “You cannot put a period at the end of the title!”.

If the title consists of two or more sentences, then you need to put a period between the sentences. In the last sentence at the end of the title there is also no period. Example of a heading: “Design of headings. Placement of punctuation marks."

How to write a beautiful title (title) of an article?

We have figured out the rules for writing and designing headings. Let's now talk about how write nice title that would interest the reader. They are often called catchy headlines. There are some ways to structure an article title that have been used for years and work great.

Question title. This type header is the most common and at the same time effective. The question in the title of the article suggests that this article solves a specific problem. The question in the title indicates that the article contains the answer and should be read.

Also, a question title arouses interest and curiosity in the reader, prompting them to look for the answer to it in the article. Example of a title: “How to come up with a title for an article?”, “Why do you need a title?”

Heading with numbers. Numeric headings are also quite common. The most effective of them are those indicating the number of steps that can be taken to solve the problem. Example of a title: “How to write a beautiful title in just 5 steps?”

The use of numbers in headings is not limited by the number of steps. You can also indicate the number of ways to solve the problem. Readers will like this because they can always choose an alternative. Header example: "10 the best ways write the title."

Whatever the wording, the numbers in the title have an attractive effect. But when indicated turn-based strategy solving the problem, the article becomes a kind of instruction. The same can be said about question headings. And it is articles written with such a title and style that are most popular.

Negative headline. Let's look at an example right away so you understand what we're talking about. Example of a headline: “How to avoid making mistakes when writing a headline?”, “10 critical mistakes when writing a headline.”

There is a fear factor in these headlines. The title voices some problem that the reader may encounter and immediately makes it clear that its solution is in the article. None of us want to face problems; we try to avoid them. That is why headlines that say they can help with this are very popular.

These are perhaps the most popular and effective types of news article headlines that most copywriters use. It can also be effective appeal to the reader in the title. An example of such a headline: “Do you want to learn how to write beautiful headlines?”

It is best to write the title in the present tense. This can create a sense of immediacy and is more likely to encourage the reader to read the entire article.

The headline can tell a success story, it doesn’t matter whether it’s yours or someone else’s, it can be equally effective. Moreover, good decision will use a first person title. Example headline: “My proven technique for writing headlines.”

Use the following words when writing in the title: best, effective, efficient, easy, fast and others. Such words will emphasize the peculiarity and usefulness of the information described in the article. Example of headings: “How to quickly come up with an article title?”, “The best and most effective types of headings”, “3 simple ways write the title."

It could also be efficient use the words "secret". It can create a little intrigue in the reader, arouse his curiosity and interest. Example headline: “Secrets of Writing Effective Headlines.”

As you can see, most of the ways of writing headings in the examples given are combined. I recommend that you experiment by coming up with headlines for articles, combining the methods described above. Using these headline writing techniques will provide you with buyers on any article exchange.

How to come up with a title (title) for an article?

How come up with an article title, if there is no idea? In fact, everything is very simple. Layouts of good headlines can be seen on many popular information sites. It’s even better if these sites are similar to the chosen topic for the article, but this is not necessary.

You can also take the idea of constructing a title from printed literature. To do this, just buy any information and entertainment newspaper or magazine and read it. Then you can easily come up with a title for the article.

I don’t suggest copying verbatim the text of other people’s headlines. To come good idea, sometimes just seeing something like this is enough. Moreover, if you are a beginner in writing articles, it will be difficult at first to come up with a title yourself. There is no need to try to invent a wheel at the beginning of your journey. It’s enough just to take a ready-made working model and rework it for your article.

How to write an SEO title?

SEO title- this is a title that is written taking into account keywords article and is aimed at improving its position in search results for the main query. If you came up with and wrote a title that is related in meaning to the text of the article, then it will already contain keywords. However, in some cases they need to be modified.

The first step is to choose the most important keywords for the topic of the article. It will be even better if you select a whole keyword phrase, but this is not necessary. Then go to the WordStat keyword research site. You can access it using this link: WordStat.

Then enter a keyword or phrase. Let's look at an example of using this service using the key phrase “write a title” as an example. Then we add the word “how” through the “+” sign. Now we have an example of question headings that don’t even need to be processed, since this is the form in which users were looking for information.

Use all the above methods and you will always succeed come up with and write headlines, which will blow all readers away. And if you are going to make money on articles by selling them, then they will definitely be popular on any article exchange.

And you will learn a lot more useful information for the work of a copywriter and for everyone who is engaged in typing.

Hello everyone, guys!

Do you think it's really important to know how to write headlines? Most likely, your answer will be positive. And I have no right to argue with this, because this part of the text is of great importance.

Absolutely all novice copywriters are very concerned about this issue. Today we will learn how to create great headlines for selling texts and informational articles.

What to do before writing a title?

Every action has a beginning. Writing a headline begins with a trivial analysis of the target audience. That is, before you start writing an article, and therefore a headline, you need to find out what the audience wants.

Everyone’s favorite Wordstat () will help you find out what the audience wants. Let's look at it with an example. Let's say I want to write an article about how to cook borscht. We enter this query into Wordstat and look at what else people are looking for for this query:

Pay attention to the queries that I highlighted in red: +how to cook delicious borscht and + how to cook borscht step by step recipe with photo. Having done such a small action, we have found what our target audience needs and can safely use it in the title, but more on that a little later.

Tip: Internet copywriting is primarily about sales and promotion in search engines. Therefore, use Wordstat keyword statistics to more accurately target your target audience, as well as for better promotion in search engines.

Writing a title

Great! We know what the target audience is interested in. Now you need to learn how to write a headline correctly.

Question. The title consists entirely of a question. In our case, the entire key phrase will serve as the title. Example: How to cook delicious red borscht? Step by step recipe;
Availability of numbers. Numbers make the headline more attractive, effective and specific. Example: 3 recipes for delicious red borscht;
Intrigue. For most members of the human race, especially female, it is important to know all the secrets. The interest in such things is just off the charts. Why not use this in headlines? Example: Secret way cook delicious red borscht;
Appeal. Reaching out to people also works well. Example: Do you know how to cook delicious borscht?;
Problem. It’s quite possible to put pressure on the readers’ sore point. Example: Not tasty borscht? Recipe for delicious red borscht;

You can also play with combinations of the above methods.

Selling headlines are text that attracts attention and makes the user make a purchase. next step: read a post, click on an ad, open a letter, etc. Selling headlines are used in e-mail newsletters, landing pages, content marketing, SMM, in advertisements and other marketing tools.

We have prepared a stunning selection of 100 examples of selling headlines that will help you integrate purchase triggers into your headlines.

100 selling headline templates

For landing pages

Titles with question and benefit:

“Do you want to lose weight in 20-25 days? Sign up for training from a leading expert at the Cual fitness club!”
“Do you know how to earn from 100,000 rubles a month on real estate without investing a penny?”
“Do you want to get even more done in a working day? The Gorty planning app will help you with this.”
“Do you dream of traveling around the world? With discount on trip around the world from Fiat it’s possible!”
“You still don’t know how to make your hair shiny and bouncy in one application? We’ll tell you for free.”
“Do you think it’s too late to start your own business? We’ll teach you how to make a million with an investment of 10,000 rubles.”

Benefit Heading Model- information about the product that is beneficial for the client:

“High-quality dental implantation from 20,000 rubles with a 7-year guarantee.”
“We will build a turnkey house from 800,000 rubles, we will give a guarantee for a period of 10 years”
"Repair household appliances: with free visit of the master, guarantee, low prices from 500 rubles.”
“Production equipment with a 15-year manufacturer’s warranty”
“Professional photo session for free, at a time convenient for you - portfolio required”
“Car repairs while maintaining the dealer warranty are 43% cheaper than from official dealers”
“Installation of gas equipment from leading manufacturers: from 20,000 rubles, with documents for the traffic police and a 3-year warranty.”
“Installation of video surveillance systems from 3,000 rubles, with certified cameras”
“Laptops for your store directly from manufacturers with discounts of up to 40%”

A model with intrigue that arouses interest:

“What cosmetics do all the stars of Russian show business use?”
“How many days should you do these exercises to lose 15–20 kilograms?”
“Who do they order the most design from? famous brands- Coca-Cola, Fanta, Pepsi and others?
“Hitinon has been proven to reduce scar formation due to its unique molecular formula.”
“Why does our equipment increase workshop productivity by 15–20%?”

Model “What is this and what result will I get?”It is also appropriate to use the benefits that the reader will receive:

“Complete the training and increase the company’s net profit by 2.5 times in six months.”
“Buy two original iPhone cases and get your choice of three more as a gift.”
“Order the construction of a house in our company and receive an individual project as a gift.”
“Download the game, build your empire and conquer disputed lands!”
“Order cleaning of a private house before 08/04/2018 and receive a 60% discount on the next call.”

Information Headers- suitable for letters with some useful information, cases, tips, selections:

"The 28 Best Selling Products on Sirius and How to Make Money Reselling Them."
“They showed how to attract subscribers to new group in the car repair niche for 15 rubles per person.”
“We tell you how to do complex things cool and quickly: draw a layout, think through a prototype, do corporate design.”
“5 good reasons to give up office work in favor of freelancing.”
“Rating of the most visited countries and which of them are most profitable for tour operators.”
“How to use seaside holidays for business benefit.”
“How many goods need to be sold for a turnover of 1 million rubles and a net profit of 214 thousand: the case of our client.”
“10 cheap building materials for your home that are not inferior in quality to branded products.”
“How to save on trips to service stations: tips for novice drivers.”
“The best books of the 21st century: they received more than 100 reviews on Litpres.”
“We show you how to make a good bench from the fiftieth board in a day, with the tools at hand.”
“We lift the veil of secrecy: we tell you how we solve conflict situations with clients."
“The main reason to use our service is that it reduces costs by 1.5 times and speeds up work by 3 times.”

The Promise of Benefit Model:

“Find out how to pay 40-50% less in stores for the same products.”
“Order a vacuum cleaner and receive a coupon up to 10,000 rubles for your next purchase at Vivat.”
“We’ll show you how to save up to 500,000 rubles on building a cottage.”
“A month of amazing promotions: we are offering up to 90% discount on skirts, trousers and vests.”
“The letter contains coupons with discounts of up to 30,000 rubles on goods in partner stores.”
“We are holding a competition. Grand Prize- Renault car. The condition for participation is a repost from the site.”

Call to action model:

“Open the letter and get a working passive income scheme.”
“Make an order in our online store for an amount of 5,000 rubles and more and receive a loyalty card.”
“Tell your friends about our service and get a discount of up to 50% on an annual subscription.”
"Buy school supplies at the appropriate time on Fiktin."
“Open the email - we’ll tell you how to increase your email conversion by 10–15%.”
“Tell us about your target audience and get a free site analysis.”

For posts

The “personal experience” model. It is well suited for social networks because they are primarily designed for communication:

“I’m telling you how I created my own marketing agency and what difficulties I had to face.”
“I explain in personal experience“how to create an individual entrepreneur and not lose a lot of money on taxes.”
“We give examples of the most unsuccessful clients - something always went wrong with them.”
“I’ll show you the settings advertising campaign, which brought the client 100,000 rubles on the first day.”
“How I bought a used car, repaired it and earned 30,000 rubles from the sale.”
“I'm tired of repeating the same things in dialogues. Today I’ll tell you what colors I use to paint pictures.”
“I’ll show you step by step how I made a snakeskin belt and tell you what they said at the factory.”

Yellow press type headline. It will attract attention, the main thing is to keep it in the first paragraph. You also need to provide confirmation of your words - a title just for the sake of a title will cause negativity:

"The shocking truth about poultry: They don't fly."
"Shock content: 29 films with bed scenes, which were not allowed to be shown on big screens.”
“We know when the next end of the world will come - experts talked about it.”
"CAREFULLY! Never buy goods from a Hiot store - it is life-threatening."
"Sensation! British scientists have proven that we descended from fish."
"Attention! Last sale of the month - there won't be any more discounts like this."

The Promise of Benefit Model:

"Get 26 Working Calming Techniques in the Community."
"Tell me how you taught English language, and receive a 20% discount on the consolidation course.”
“We invite new customers to use promo code FO48GB and get a discount.”
“We are reducing prices for organizers joint purchases until the end of August."
“Upload your photo to the competition album for a chance to win the latest iPhone.”
“Listen to music for free for the first three months on the Music.Time app.”
“We give each registered user 3 books for free.”

Information Headers. Reflect the essence of the post or briefly retell it:

"26 photos that will make you smile."
"7 Facts You Didn't Know About Pets."
“An amazing selection of working techniques for writing selling headlines.”
“The number of clients does not matter: what is life cycle client and how it affects revenue.”
"The most funny dialogues with our failed clients."

For advertisements

Model “information + benefit”:

“Comb for animals starting from 100 rubles.”
“Cleaning of premises from 30 rubles per m².”
“Used cars with dealer guarantees, installments or credit.”
“The best films in HD quality without advertising for 20 rubles.”

Model “question of the target audience”:

“Do you want to stay young for another 15 years?”
“Do you want to increase your advertising revenue by 150%?”
“Do you want to be guaranteed to attract up to 20 buyers per month?”

Emotion based headlines:

“High-quality and balanced food for your pet.”
“Beautiful, small and cute iPhone cases for true fashionistas.”
“Tender care for your beauty: Adelaida cosmetics line.”
“Quick savings on buying real estate - how to reduce the price at auction with the seller.”
“Original replica watches at prices starting from 2,000 rubles.”
“Metropolitan chic - a set of gold jewelry like businesswomen and socialites.”

Product characteristics model:

"Motors up to 5 kW."
“Construction of a private house with an area of 80 m² with turnkey finishing in 45 days.”
“New generation of smartphones: 24 MP camera, 128 GB internal memory, price - 20,000 rubles.”
“Feeding for day-old ducklings with a survival rate of 99%.”
“Fire doors with fire resistance up to 90 minutes, opening cycles up to 200,000 thousand.”
"Car tire repair kit for beginners."
“3 in 1 transformable baby stroller.”

Call to action model:

“Buy a silver bracelet with a discount of up to 45% from the supplier.”
“Call and get a free legal consultation on any issue you are interested in.”
“Place your order on the website and take part in the prize draw.”
“Download the application and earn money from simple actions.”
“Listen to the music on the site and get a chance to win a million.”

Attention! All company names are fictitious; any resemblance to real names is purely coincidental.

Look for a suitable title, adapt it to your business and launch effective texts. What techniques do you use to write headlines? Share your opinion in the comments!

Denis Savelyev

Before publishing an article, review, slideshow, or video, be sure to take a few minutes to make sure you choose the best headline. A good headline is a matter of life and death in content marketing. As the internet becomes more and more of a seething cauldron of chaos, you have less and less time to capture the attention of your audience.

By choosing a good title for the material, you instantly get a response from the reader. A headline helps your readers quickly determine whether they need your article or presentation, why they should buy, download, or open a page of your content, and what benefits they receive by clicking on the relevant link.

By choosing a bad title, you make your article, presentation, or other content invisible to most of your audience. The title is the most important element of Internet pages, advertisements, video materials. It draws the audience's attention to the content. Content goes unnoticed if you use a dull and unattractive title.

This article will introduce you to the main characteristics good headlines. It includes 10 questions, by answering which you will learn how to create high-quality and “catchy” headlines. You can also use the title rating table, which is a handy tool quick definition their qualities.

The examples discussed below are primarily related to books. The names of the authors of most of them have become brands, and the books remain bestsellers, thanks in part to successful titles. However, these examples remain valid for content of any type - and, above all, for web content.

1. Does your headline promise the audience a benefit?

Choose a title that clearly communicates to readers the benefits and benefits they will receive from your product or service. The best headline solves a problem or helps the audience achieve a desired goal.

Compare the following titles:

Graphic design tools and techniques.
Master Your Design: A Guide to Basic Tools and Techniques.

The first heading tells the reader about the content of the article. The second title describes the benefits that the reader will receive after reading the article.

2. Does your headline contain specific details that highlight its relevance and value?

Specific details in the headline, such as exact numbers, draw extra attention to your content. Numbers structure information, as can be seen in the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Imagine the title of this book without the numbers: Habits of Highly Effective People. Doesn't sound very convincing, right?

The numbers in the title also help you “eat the elephant one piece at a time.” It's about about the step-by-step achievement of any complex goal. For example, pay attention to the title of Terry Orbach's book "6 Steps to ideal marriage" Another example is Damir Khalilov’s article “100 main skills of an SMM specialist” (although, in our opinion, the round number sounds a little forced, as if the author adjusted the results to a “round” number; it would be much better to title the article “97 or 102 skills... ").

Moreover, numbers can make your content more relevant by giving the reader a specific deadline or timeline for achieving a goal. What do you think of the title of the book, Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, used by authors Jay Conrad Levinson and Al Lautenslager? But the title, Lose 21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha Vineyard Detox Diet, sounds even better. The title of this book shows the reader exactly how many pounds excess weight it will reset and for what period. Buyers of books about diet and other methods of weight correction probably want to know the exact results of using the described methods.

Another example on the topic of numbers is designer Yana Frank’s diary book “365 days of a very creative person.” But, as you already understand, there are a lot of examples of successful headlines using numbers. The main thing is the ability to beat these numbers.

3. Does your title take into account the target audience the content is intended for?

Identify the target consumers of your content using the title where possible. This makes your content personalized. You can identify your target readers by naming them directly or by highlighting their key characteristics. The more obvious this is made, the better.

C.J. Hayden's book, Attract Customers: A 28-Day Marketing Course for Professionals, Trainers, and Consultants, defines the audience by occupation. Heidi Muroff and Sharon Maisel use the title "What to Expect When You're Expecting" to point out the book's target buyers by describing the circumstances in which they find themselves. A similar technique is used by the author of the book “Survival Guide for Single Moms,” Patrice Karst.

Jay Conrad Levinson remains a recognized master of targeting specific market segments. It was he who published the book “Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days.” Levinson then adapted his ideas for consumers in different niches. This is how the publications “Guerrilla Marketing for Writers”, “... for Financial Advisors”, etc. appeared. In addition, Levinson wrote a separate book describing the use of his approach in the online sphere - “Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet.”

Some authors manage to determine target audience, communicating who the readers are not. For example, Robin Williams created the guide “Design for Non-Designers” (English: The Non-Designer's Design Book, literally “Book about design for non-designers”).

4. Does your title help position your content?

The series of books “... for dummies” is one of the successful examples of positioning content using a title. For example, the book “Red Wine for Dummies” is unlikely to interest experts and fine connoisseurs of this drink. However, if you want to get basic knowledge about red wine, the said title will quickly grab your attention.

The title can position your content by directly indicating the method used to solve the problem. “Cancer prevention through natural means” is an example of this approach.

5. Are you trying to arouse curiosity among potential readers with your headline?

As we are told by all kinds of books on literary analysis and nature literary creativity, interest in the text (it is clear that the word “interest” here is very conditional - it is a set of feelings that are evoked in the reader by the text) is born when the text exceeds our internal expectations from it. And this happens thanks to certain techniques that “break” the general paradigm of the text, the familiar picture of the world.

There are three such methods:

Metaphors. They make names more understandable and memorable. They create images that remain in the reader's memory. Metaphor is a transfer of meaning, the use of a word in figurative meaning. Examples of metaphorical titles: “How I ate a dog” by Evgeny Grishkovets (I didn’t eat it!), “I’m burning Paris” by Bruno Yasensky (I didn’t burn it!), etc. Coming up with a metaphorical title is very easy. But it is important not only to come up with it, it is much more important to play it out in the text. The headline is the bait, the hook. If you disappoint the reader's expectations by not "acting out" the headline in the text, you will lose confidence in your next headlines.
Alliteration is another way to make the name memorable. It involves the repetition of homogeneous or identical consonants in the words of the title. Alliteration is a technique more characteristic of poetic speech. But composing headings, believe me, is closer to versification than it might seem at first glance. As an example, we can name examples of books “ M Aster and M argarita" Bulgakov, " N very n Ezhna" by Fitzgerald, etc.
Contradictions or unexpected expressions also arouse the curiosity of readers. They remain winning against the backdrop of trivial headlines. Pay attention to the title of the fairy tale, “How Ivan the Fool Outwitted the Devil.” The emerging contradiction between “fool” and “outwitted” makes the reader wonder how Ivan outwitted the devil. The title of Tim Ferriss's book, The Four Hour work week" is an example of using an unexpected phrase. Many buyers do not believe that it is possible to work only four hours a week, so they are interested in the book. Another example: “Goal: A Process of Continuous Improvement” (a goal is not a finishing point, but a process over time) by Elia Goldratt and Jeff Cox. Well, the most eloquent example of a contradiction is “The Man Who Was Thursday” by Gilbert Chesterton.

6. Does your headline engage in dialogue with your audience?

Pack the title of your book or article with a promise made simple and in clear words. Best Headlines retain an almost naive obviousness characteristic of everyday dialogues ordinary people. Please note the following examples:

“How to Finish What You Start” by David Allen.
« The easy way Quit Smoking by Allen Carr.
“I don’t know how to lose weight” by Pierre Dukan (the dialogue then easily continues: - do you know how? - no, unfortunately, I don’t know how either...).
"Before your teenager drives you crazy" by Nigel Latta, etc.

Choose regular verbs, creating headers. Also use verbal nouns. They form the attitude you need towards the product on the part of the reader.

Incentive verbs are one of the most successful forms for a title. They direct readers to a specific action. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill is one example of the use of motivating verbs in the title.
The verbal nouns used in the title describe ongoing actions. The book “Walking through torment” by A.N. Tolstoy demonstrates the possibility of using verbal nouns in the title.

7. How short is your title?

Let's say the obvious: short headlines attract more attention from your audience. Remember than less words you use in the title, the more each of them is remembered by the potential reader.

Author Malcolm Gladwell is considered the master of the short headline. Pay attention, for example, to the title of his book “Geniuses and Outsiders” (English: The Outliers) - succinct and short.

8. Do you use subheadings?

A subheading is a reinforcement of your headline. Combine short headings with longer subheadings that provide some detail. Here's an example of a bestseller with a two-word title and a 14-word subtitle: "Skinny Bitch: The Powerful Guide for Smart Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Junk and Look Hot." English version The subtitle consists of 17 words and contains profanity.

Garr Reynolds uses a multi-word title to draw attention to his book. And the subtitle gives readers Additional information. Reynolds' piece is called "The Zen Presentation: Design, Development, Delivery, and Examples."

Well, another example that we could not ignore. The book by Michael Stelzner, which is translated into Russian as “Content Marketing: New Methods of Attracting Customers in the Internet Age,” and in the original the title is even shorter and the subtitle is even longer - Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition.

9. SEO: Does your title include popular search terms?

Naturally, we could not ignore this issue. Web content needs to think about driving traffic. The most important traffic generators are search engines. But here you need to find a middle ground and not follow the lead of “bare SEO”. The main thing is relevance to the content, and then “tailoring” it to search engines. Let's illustrate with the example of this article. We wrote the article itself, we already had a title in our heads - simple and succinct. The only thing we did was check which query was more frequent: “How to write a title” or “How to create a title.” Although I personally prefer the verb “create” in this context (it is closer to the nature of the action of coming up with headlines than the verb “write”), nevertheless, the final version of the title was coordinated.

In general, all of us, working with content and hand in hand with specialists in optimization and promotion of websites on the Internet, must keep in mind the frequency and competition for those requests that somehow coincide with our headlines. It is clear that not every request can be “pulled” to the top of search results only thanks to content. But if the page does not have textual relevance to the intended query, then the query will never make it to the top.

But the authors printed books You should also remember about Yandex and Google. Your works will be found faster on the “shelves” of online stores Ozon.ru, Books.ru, Amazon.com if their titles and subtitles contain popular queries.

10. Mixed Approach: Do you use more than one of the techniques listed above when creating your headlines?

Authors use two or more of the techniques described above to come up with compelling and popular headlines. For example, alliteration and metaphors can be combined well with subheadings that detail information.

Thank you for reading this far. As a thank you, we want to tell you this. Actually nature good text– and the title as part of it – is very contradictory. You can create a great headline that completely rejects all of our recommendations above. The geniuses of the pen will do it. And even talented copywriters with a “full” hand. But we are talking about the mechanics of creating texts, and not about the nature of talent. High-quality copywriting is the sum of the technologies that the author uses, learning from his own and others’ mistakes. And in this article we talked specifically about technologies, trying to analyze successful, in our opinion, headlines and generalizing their properties, leading these generalizations to some conclusions.

Speaking about the technological effectiveness of creating headlines, we can also recommend using the following technique.

Use the rating chart to determine the quality of titles for articles, books, blog posts, and in social networks and other content marketing products. Consider the best quality option, dialing greatest number points.