A headline is not just a combination of words, rather a reflection of what your article actually offers. It’s the critical first impression: 80 percent of visitors will read your headline, but only 20 percent will go on to read the piece itself. There must always be something magical in the headline to which the reader could connect. As it is rightly said, “First impression is the last impression”. You could make a good first impression in the following ways:

1. Trust

The key to a successful bond between the writer and a reader is nothing but Trust. Your goal should be to inform, help and inspire the audience. Never overplay or underplay your headline. It would make your audience feel misled and skeptical for what you have to offer in the future. Be resourceful to the audience and make them have faith in you.

2. Context

Tell your readers what’s in it for them. For example “Degree you can pursue before becoming an entrepreneur” sounds boring and uninspiring, whereas “6 offbeat college degrees” captivates. This would make the readers interested about what the headline actually holds. All the questions of the readers must be answered.

3. Curiosity

There’s a sweet spot in headlines: It’s called the “curiosity gap,” when you’ve made the a reader curious enough to click and read.But don’t toy with readers. A headline that says “This One Simple Trick Saved My Business” might as well say “I’m Desperate For You To Click.”

4. Clarity

Be direct, simple and tight. Your headline should have fewer than 70 characters — half a tweet. Longer headlines may get truncated in search results and social shares. There should not be any ambiguity and it should be understandable to the target audience.

 

5. Connect

The headline should try to form a connection with its audience. It should not be very unusual, but something that your readers can easily relate to. If the headline fails to form a connection with the viewer then it is likely that the trailing content would also not impress the reader.

6. Target Audience

The headline should always target a specific genre of audience. “You can’t be all things to all the people”. Targeting the audience would result in eliminating the bottom-feeders and those people who will simply not value what you offer.

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