Headlines in any form of copy writing, be it newsletters, articles, blogs or other are not only important, they are fundamental!
If you choose a striking headline your readers will want to read on and you will have achieved half of your objective that is you have caught the readers’ attention. Consider that a headline has the same force of attraction as a photo does.
Anyone will want to read an article with an attractive photo next to it, the same is true with headlines. Neglect the headline, your readers will most likely move on without giving your article as much as a second glance!
People are looking for information, something that can help them solve a problem they have for example, or that can make them profit from something useful, be it money or a helpful service.
This is why your headline must also be informative, must tell them what the article is actually about. It’s no use having a title such as ‘How can I earn money by copy writing‘ then not telling them how, they will soon find out it’s a scam. Keep the headline brief; remember it’s a headline not an article!
Avoid writing smart or witty headlines, these are only good in newspapers, they are not effective on line, people must be able to relate to your headline and find what they expected in the copy writing, if they don’t, they will stop reading after the first paragraph.
Insert the main keywords in the headline, the words that will recur more frequently in your article, for example have you noticed how many times I’ve used ‘headlines‘ and ‘copy writing‘? There you are, I’ve used them again! These two keywords are also in the title. This will be useful when people are researching subjects related to your article.
When thinking out your headline, keep in mind that active voices, such as verbs, especially in the present tense have a powerful effect on readers, these headlines in your copy writing will always turn out to be the best choice.
A copywriter who knows how to choose his or her headlines will not only be a popular writer, but also an excellent businessperson.
