Are your headlines generating the clickthroughs, engagement, and conversions you anticipated? If not, you could have a case of uninspired headlines or trite titles. Nooooo!
In the ever-changing world of marketing, sometimes it’s hard to know what’s effective and what isn’t anymore. That’s where some good ol’ fashioned research comes in. We’ve got the goods below.
A study conducted by Outbrain and HubSpot outlines the best practices for both organic and paid campaigns, so you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and what to avoid.
Let’s take a look:
1) Be authentic. Make sure your headlines never mislead readers and always accurately describe your content. You also want to make sure you’re not using words that were once traffic drivers but are now downright cringe-worthy. Here are several categories of terms that perform poorly in titles:
- Positive superlatives – always or best
- Words that imply urgency – now
- Words suggesting a shortcut – trick, hack, or simple
- Spammy words – magic, cure, credit, or free
2) Keep it simple and direct. Treat titles like microcontent: short, scannable phrasing that gives a clear idea of what your content is about.
3) Target your audience, but tread carefully. Titles that reference the reader using the words “you,” “your,” or “you’re” are a turnoff, performing 36% worse than titles that do not include these words, according to the study.
Think you got it nailed down? Put your headline to the test with CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, which grades headlines from 0-100. Super dope resource, right there!
While you’re at it, take a trip over to 7 Fixes for Common Writing Mistakes to make sure the body of your content is up to par, too.
Dang, we’re just full of hot writing tips today.
