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
- The top 10 _____
- _____: Myths and misconceptions
- The 7 deadly sins of _____
- How to win at _____ every time
- How to do _____ in half the time/for half the money
- 10 bad _____ habits you should kick NOW
- _____’s secret plan for world domination
- The real truth about _____
- 5 simple steps to do _____
- How to spot a fake _____
- 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.