If you spend a great deal of time writing great content but don’t commit effort into crafting the best magnetic headline, your post won’t convert as you expert. How much time do you spend focusing on crafting the perfect headline? Chances are not enough time.
By crafting a magnetic headline, you’ll increase the number of people that will actually read your content. In fact, your headline is arguably more important than the article itself. After all, who cares how great your blog post is if no one even reads it?
But be warned, people will soon become tired/wary of the usuals: emotional bait, list posts etc. If you have great content to share, there is nothing wrong with finding the best possible title for it. But if someone clicks on your headline and your content does not deliver as the headline did, will be losing readers instead of attracting them.
These are some of the most popular post headline words that are currently generating the most clicks online based on an analyses of nearly 1 million headlines by CoSchedule.
1. List Post
List posts get shared like crazy especially if the corresponding content is epic. More specifically 9, 15 or 25 are clear winners. Even numbers are less popular. Every reader wants a simple step by step list to accomplish their task. An immediate takeaway here is to start creating more list posts.
2. Free
If you actually have a free product or service to giveaway, don’t hesitate to use free in your headline. Use promising words to your readers, and that will make them more likely to share your content with others.
Start titles with actionable verbs like “Read,” “Download” or “Learn”. Actionable verbs can be visualized and acted upon easily.
3. You & Your
Posts that used words like ‘you and your’ in their headline performed extremely and were shared frequently. Obviously, readers like to see themselves in what they are reading.
4. How To
Howto websites like WikiHow and eHow are popular with lots of people. People often search online to educate themselves or learn more about a particular concept. Everybody wants to learn something new. Don’t write another common “howto” post. Focus on a niche and words less used.
5. The Most
This denotes an exception. It clearly arouses curiosity. Give a hint about what the reader is likely to get when he or she clicks your title. Posts that promises immediate benefit do better. This post: “Which birth dates are most common?” has been shared over 100 million times.
And guess what, it’s just an infographic . And it’s not even 6 months old yet. That’s the power of ‘most” in a headline among other things.
6. Reasons
Together with the numbers include words word’s like ‘thing, should, and reasons’. They seem to clearly indicate the use of a list. You can easily imagine the corresponding headlines like “5 Things You Should Do To Write Better Headlines”.
7. Easier
They want your business to make it easier for them. They seek an easier way out or an easier way to solve their pain.
8. Secrets
Every customer wants to learn the secret formula that not everyone else knows so they can benefit from it.
9. Worst
Unfortunately, people are more attracted to the negative, than the positive. This is the basis of the popularity of every reality TV show. Negative words tap into our insecurities.
10. Guarantee
This helps mitigate the risk a customer is taking in their purchase. If the results are “guaranteed,” they feel more comfortable to act.
11. What/Why/what/
Questions appeal to reader emotions like few others can. It promotes that ever-important conversational tone vital to a good blog post. It makes readers want to know more. These engaging, interrogative words are used to gather information.
12. Amazing
Posts with words like “Amazing”, “Interesting” and “Incredible” perform really well. People feel they are about to see something unique or better still content worth their attention. They leaves no room for doubt.
13. Latest
Many customers are addicted to the “shiny object syndrome” and always want the latest and greatest. Companies feed that desire.