Category Archives: Lists

11 Effective Headlines For Online Content

The following list of 11 effective headlines for online content comes from Online Content Marketing In 30 Minutes, by author Derek Slater. The book describes an eight-step process that you can use to leverage online content to promote your business or website. Order the paperback, Kindle, iPad, and PDF versions here.

11 Effective Headlines For Online

  1. The top 10 _____
  2. _____: Myths and misconceptions
  3. The 7 deadly sins of _____
  4. How to win at _____ every time
  5. How to do _____ in half the time/for half the money
  6. 10 bad _____ habits you should kick NOW
  7. _____’s secret plan for world domination
  8. The real truth about _____
  9. 5 simple steps to do _____
  10. How to spot a fake _____
  11. Everything you really need to know about _____

In 2009 Chris Garrett of authorityblogger.com published a handy PDF of “102 proven headline formulas”, which has been widely pirated on other websites. One of the strangest pieces of advice in his e-book:

“Headlines that contained odd numbers had a 20% higher click-through rate than headlines with even numbers.”

The source of this information was a 2011 study performed by the Content Marketing Institute.
At any rate, yes, you still have to back up a good headline with good content. But a great headline really sells the story for you. A favorite on our website was “8 Dirty Tricks: Social Engineers’ Favorite Pickup Lines”. We knew it would be popular before we had written the first word.