Writing headlines is another area of blogging – writing in general actually – that I tend to struggle my way through. I’ve tried writing a headline first and then creating content around that. I’ve tried creating content first and then crafting a headline around the content. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do, writing a headline that grabs attention, creates intrigue and makes a person want to read the rest of the content isn’t easy for me.
Even this article on HubSpot agrees with me that they’re difficult to write:
Headlines are a special breed of difficulty because they have to accomplish so many things in such a small amount of space. In just a few characters, you’ve got to instill intrigue, yet answer questions. You’ve got to make it work for Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn and Pinterest and Google and Bing and any other network you hope to be found on. Oh, and if you make it too intriguing, you could turn your whole post into clickbait — and your readers won’t appreciate the bait and switch.
But what I loved about this post of theirs is that they shared an infographic that not only shows what makes a good headline, but a simple formula for creating better headlines.
Check out How to Write Better Headlines to see for yourself.
I feel your pain! Headlines are tough. Like you, I waver between writing the headline first or last, and generally change it several times in the course of creating a single article. And most of the time, I’m still not happy with the results!
Thanks for sharing this. HubSpot always has great advice, so I’ll be saving this one for sure.
Hi Cindy. Thanks for commenting. Glad I’m not alone in my headline woes LOL