Compelling Headlines That Get Your Articles Read

You've served up your best work, by writing an article that is interesting, instructive, compelling and quite frankly ranks among the best works in your industry. Much time, research, evaluating, writing and editing went into your work, but there is one big problem: your article is not getting read. 

Your hard work should result in a corresponding strong interest in what your wrote, right? Yes, but the problem is not with your content, rather it lies with your headline. Quite frankly, your headline was a miss which means that your article was also missed. The following are some of the problems writers have with headlines along with the solutions that can easily be put in place. 

Headlines are too long. The ideal length for headlines is 65 to 70 characters including spaces. Most headlines are longer than that -- spanning 100, 200 and even 300 characters or longer. Longer headlines are tedious and not very interesting. Word economy is essential here -- rewrite your headlines to have the greatest impact with the least number of words. You are not writing a sentence or a paragraph here, rather a pithy title that says what it means.

Keyword stuffed headlines. Awkward! That is what readers of your keyword stuffed headlines are finding when they come to your article. You can use keywords, but these must be used carefully and with precision. The wrong: SEO tips for SEM marketers and SEO experts. The right: 7 SEO Tips for Marketing Experts. The first choice is too drawn out; the second choice sets a number, in this case seven, explains what is being offered and to whom. SEO experts will assume that they are tied in with SEM marketers.

Hype is apparent. Copywriters are often given to hype, but that is part of the sales effort or what customers expect to find. Your readers, however, are not looking for an overt sales pitch -- save that pitch and practice your conversion techniques for the end of the article. Or better yet for your sales copy. Instead, announce your news, but only in such a way that your readers truly will want to read on.

Truth is missing. One certain way to chase away your readers is to not tell the truth. These days, people are terribly untrusting, but who can blame them? The news is slanted, it seems like everyone has a product to sell and many online reviews are suspect. You need to build trust with your readers and one important way to do that is to offer persuasive headlines that truthfully tell what you are trying to convey.  

The wrong: 90 Percent off on Clearance Items! The right: Clearance Items Marked Down: Savings of 30 to 90 Percent. With the latter, you still mention the 90 percent discount, but you also show that deals as low as 30 percent off are included.

No compelling reason given. When readers find your article, the headline should give then reason to keep reading. You can go that in a number of ways including posing a question, explaining a process, making use of a declarative or serving up a list. 

Some examples:

Question: Are your itchy, burning feet driving you crazy? Such a title would be great for a health article about athlete’s foot.

Explanation: How to keep your children’s shoes tied. With this step by step example you outline the problem parents face and explain exactly how to tackle it.

Declarative: Why Diabetes Can be Overcome With Sensible Diet Changes. Here, you are addressing a specific health problem and have made a statement that diet changes can beat diabetes.

List: 7 Ways to Leave Your Lover; 8 Tips on How to Decorate Your Home at Christmas; 12 Tax-Saving Strategies for Small Businesses. You get the picture here: you’re preparing the reader to review a numbered list, an article that will serve up meat that they can easily digest.

Headline Considerations

No headline should be drab, but that is exactly what you find on newspaper headlines, across websites and throughout blogs. You are, however, looking for an edge and that advantage can only come if you are willing to put into practice the types of compelling headlines that will get your articles read.

Jason Bayless is a professional blogger that gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice. He writes for BestSEOCompanies.com, a nationally recognized comparison website of the top SEO companies in the United States.