Did you know a shocking 80 percent of readers never make it past the headline? According to CopyBlogger, eight out of ten people will read headline copy, but only two will move on and read the rest.
If you want to make coaching and consulting your full-time job, unlock your creative potential to craft headlines that will keep your audience learning from you.
Having honed my craft as a certified conversion rate optimization specialist, I’m well aware of the immense power certain words can have – power to inspire change. When used strategically and with intentionality, these transformative phrases help you stand out from the crowd and spark action in your audience that can lead to higher conversion rates.
Coaches and consultants struggle with writing engaging headlines to draw attention. Crafting the perfect headline requires condensing complex ideas into a few words while incorporating powerful keywords and phrases that will attract your target audience.
Help yourself strike a balance between creativity and clarity with these 5 steps.
Step 1: Identify Your “Who”
Before plunging in, take a moment to identify your target audience with laser-like precision. For instance, if you help businesses improve productivity, narrow your audience down to the key roles within a business that you serve, i.e. middle managers, remote workers, CEO’s.
Secondly, define a specific problem they cannot overcome that you can solve. A problem-centric headline is the first step to standing out and drawing attention.
Step 2: Know the Pain Behind the Problem
Describing a problem won’t be enough to get readers past your headline. What many coaches and consultants miss is empathy. Demonstrating empathy shows your audience that you understand them. It means relating to the pain behind the problem.
Start by asking yourself about the frustrations they could be feeling. How is this impacting their work or even lifestyle? What additional difficulties could they be experiencing because of this problem? What else could they be feeling?
Step 3: Lean into Negativity
Data shows that readers tend to respond more strongly to fear in headlines than they do to joy or happiness. That doesn’t mean you have to be pessimistic, but rather that you should recognize that negativity plays a key role in motivating people. Humans naturally pay more attention when something threatens their security or well-being. By leading with the insecurity of your readers, you can better connect with them and get them to take action.
Step 4: Explain Complex Content in Simple Terms
One of the biggest challenges to writing powerful headlines is taking big ideas and turning them into the fewest possible words. Unfortunately, many of these headlines tend to be too general and lack powerful keywords or phrases that can draw in potential clients.
Make a list of every sentence in your story that has meaning, cutting back until only your most important sentences remain. Think about the impactful emotions that drive the story; does one stand out? Use this word as the cornerstone for your headline.
Step 5: Aim for 5 – 9 Words
According the studies, headlines written with 8 words performed better by 21% compared to all other headlines. Boiling down a headline involves finding the essence of what you are conveying and cutting everything else away.
Using the word from Step 4 as your cornerstone, begin brainstorming headlines. The more headlines you have, the better – but if you still find it challenging, turn to helpful AI-powered tools like ChatGPT or Jasper.ai for guidance.
Creating the perfect headline is about understanding who you’re speaking to, what their problem is, and how best to empathize with them. By using a scalpel rather than a broad brushstroke when it comes to articulating problems, you can help move people past the headline and into taking decisive action.
With these steps in mind, go out there and craft headlines that will get your readers hooked on learning more from you.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: iStock