A headline is basically the writing equivalent of a blind date, and first impressions stick.

So, what makes a reader skip over a headline?

One that is too pushy, irrelevant, boring, wordy or unclear.

You also have to keep in mind that people don’t read, they skim.

The reader is constantly thinking, “What’s in this for me?”

If something is all about the writer and not the audience, unless you’re a celebrity like Oprah or something, most people are going to likely pass it buy. The only main exception to this being a juicy story. We are all drawn to a story like a kid to candy. More on this here.

How To Create A Headline

The first thing to do is to spend some time with Google researching problems.

I recently pitched a post to a publication about how to think more clearly.

A great first step is to see what people are searching for on Google.

See all the options out there? These are the most popular searches for that topic.

I landed on a tentative headline of “3 Steps To Think More Clearly.”

Is it the greatest headline ever? No. But it is clear, and that’s really important. It also fits well with other articles at this publication. Context is really important.

What can you do for your next step?

Get To Know Your Audience Well

Go through some posts that you’ve saved or even a social media feed and pick out some headlines that stand out to you.

Here are a few headlines that hooked me lately:

• How to Write a Thrilling Chase Story. (Via The Write Practice)
• How Introverted Writers Transform Into Business Professionals. (Via Copyblogger)
• 9 Weird Ways To Beat Writer’s Block. (Via Writer’s Digest)
• The 13 Spookiest Cemeteries In The World (via Medium)

The headlines I like — the ones that stand out to me — say something about what is important (or interesting) to me. I have to say the word “weird” is definitely what made me interested enough to click on the Writer’s Digest article.

Go through some of the articles that have “hooked” you recently. Feedly is a great tool for this. Just add some of your favorite blogs and figure out what headlines really jump at you. Here is my Feedly. I pointed out headlines that made me want to read more.

Most of the headlines I pointed out are pretty clear. The second one “No Philosophy” is a short story. The first sentence hooked me with that one.

One More Example

Let’s say I mentioned this headline as one that stood out to me:

Here’s How To Grow The Perfect Mustache. (Via Men’s Health)

What kind of assumptions would you make about me? Clearly, I want to grow a mustache or I really like mustaches.

Or not.

What actually made this headline stand out to me was image and location of the headline on the Men’s Journal website.

Layout matters too. Our eyes lead where we go. The first article flat out looks more interesting to me than the others. For some reason, this article also looks easier to read than the others. When compared to 8 rules, 40 best mustaches, and 13 beard products, it’s no wonder I chose the first article. Again, context is important. It is important to not make tons of assumptions without further testing.

A Helpful Tool To Use

I really like using the Co-schedule Headline Analyzer. And it’s really simple. Just type the headline in the box (you might have to give some info first) and then hit analyze now.

Here’s what I get for the headline I mentioned at the beginning of the post that I was making.

The 0% for emotional really jumps out, doesn’t it. I forgot to put anything emotional in my headline. But remember, it’s just a tool. It’s fine if you’re just experimenting or starting out. But don’t lean on any score too heavily.

Asking yourself,”Would I actually click on this?’ is probably the most important question you can ask yourself.

A Final Word

You’re writing for humans, not search engines. You want to engage individuals and help them with their problems. Don’t ever lose focus of this.

Your brain knows a good headline when it sees one.

You automatically want to go that article, email, or other piece of content. That’s the real key. If you read a headline, and you don’t immediately want to click it, that’s a sign you need to keep working.