Whether on a newspaper front page or Google’s first page of search results, headlines are pretty important. Think of them as the movie trailer to your piece of content. If the headline doesn’t grab the reader – prompting them to delve further into the copy – then they’re likely not going to read much more. There are a few tactics used by copywriters to make sure their headlines are the attention-grabbing nuggets of literary gold. We’re looking at four of these below:
1. Necessary numbers
Humans like predictability and certainty and David H Maister proved it with a fascinating study on the psychology of waiting in lines. He found that we gravitate towards things that we know; things that we have experienced and can depend on. The title 10 ways to pluck a chicken informs the reader of what they’re in for; there are a whopping TEN ways, and the reader can decide when they have the time to read all ten. A study by Conductor found that Internet users prefer number headlines to any other type (how to, question, audience referencing).
2. Audience referencing
If your copywriting doesn’t require a number headline, the next best is addressing the reader. This involves the use of words like you and your – with the copywriter speaking directly to the reader. A study in Norway looked into the effectiveness of headlines by promoting the new iPhone online. One headline read “For sale: Black iPhone4 16GB” (standard classifieds headline). The second read “Anyone needs a new iPhone4? (question without audience referencing). The third read “Is this your new iPhone4?” (question with audience referencing). Study participants preferred the third headline.
