Attention spans are shorter than ever, and many writers may struggle to find ways to get their audience to read their articles.
The headline is often the first place readers go to get information. A bland, dull, or otherwise generic headline can push readers away or fail to grasp their attention and lead them to the body of the text.
The design and content can boost the quality of your headlines, but you’ll need to do more when earning money from home as a freelance writer. Continue reading to discover practical tips you can use to begin writing catchy and effective headlines today!
Use numbers in the headline
Placing numbers in your headlines is an effective and proven way to get your audience to read your writing. Look no further than blog posts online and magazines in the store to see what grabs attention. Focus less on which numbers work best, and ensure that you don’t arbitrarily throw numbers in the headline.
The numbers in the headline demonstrate the key takeaways from the piece and give the audience an idea of what they will learn if they read through the piece’s body. You will notice your readership increasing when you use numbers in the headline.
Add emotional adjectives
Connecting with your audience is an excellent way to gain readers and encourage them to read what you have written. Emotional adjectives are a bridge that can span that gap and help your readers feel an emotional connection with you and your ideas or thoughts.
Adjectives that evoke emotions, like incredible, strange, and free, can catch the eye and resonate with the reader’s values or goals. For the best results, consider pairing the emotional adjectives with an active voice in the text. Active voice will help you be clear and concise when sharing your points and the key takeaways of the article.
Create urgency
Time is of the essence in today’s world, and creating a sense of urgency with your readers is an effective way to create a catchy headline and help the reader transition from the big block letters to the text where the real information resides. You can create urgency by providing a teaser of the article’s content to get the reader’s appetite for knowledge and information going.
You can also promote urgency when you use active voice. Active voice delivers information directly to provide a pleasant and to-the-point reading experience, allowing readers to get pertinent information quickly.
Start using trigger words
When you ask a question, you make your audience think, which promotes a higher likelihood of them becoming engrossed in the thoughts of the information you’re sharing with them. Adding words like why, what, how, and when can create excitement while also creating the ideal environment for persuasion or learning.
View trigger words as a viable alternative to using numbers in your headlines when you begin your future writing jobs. Both work by grabbing attention and giving readers a small sample of what is to come.
Conduct keyword research
Creating catchy and effective headlines is only half the battle for freelance writers who want to gain more readers and build success. Finding the best keywords to use in the headline will also help bring readers to the page.
Search engine optimization tools can provide insights into the keywords and push your pieces up the search engine results page. It is the path toward helping your potential readers find the piece, with the catchy headline then taking over and leading the readers into the body of the text.
Consider your audience
An overlooked aspect of creating a catchy headline is considering and understanding your audience. Knowing what your audience wants to learn and what message will resonate with them is vital. A headline that does not feel relatable to their lives or experiences will push them away, while a headline that catches their attention and feels relevant will increase the odds of gaining a new reader who may share your work with others.
Tailor your headlines to suit your intended audience. It is a small step toward growing your reader base and finding long-term success at your writing jobs.
Take your headlines to a new level today
Success with freelance writing can take many forms, and one of the most essential skills to gain is creating catchy headlines. Consider your audience and conduct keyword research to make your pieces easier to discover. Use trigger words and numbers to create a sense of curiosity and urgency with the audience and grow as a writer.
Freelance writing is a world filled with new opportunities. Apply here to start your writing journey today.