While it’s tempting to think that “those headline formulas don’t work anymore,” research has shown they can still be incredibly effective. The key is always making sure there’s a benefit to the reader in your headline, something they will get out of reading your content. Numbers in headlines still work, list posts are popular for a reason, and questions (especially those beginning with what, where, why and how) also work well.
In fact, some of the best headlines are so good they are infectious — they make you want to click and read the full article. To help you create these types of headlines, we recommend that you take a look at what your audience’s favorite articles are, what headlines they share and how the headlines grab their attention. This will help you understand which emotions to target with your headlines.
Another thing to keep in mind is that people have short attention spans, especially online. So try to keep your headlines as short and snappy as possible. It’s also important to keep in mind that your headlines appear on story pages, search engine results and social media, so they need to be able to stand on their own. A good way to do this is to write the headline as if you were saying it out loud to someone. This will ensure the headline is clear and concise, and makes a promise that your content will provide value.