How to write compelling article titles

In some of my previous articles you learned how to write search engine optimized articles. Now we are going to divert our attention from SEO articles and instead talk a bit about writing compelling articles in general. Specifically, we will talk about the most important part of your article: the title.

You see, if your title doesn’t grab their attention, if it doesn’t make your reader dig deeper into the article, then the rest of your article might not even exist. Your title can literally make or break the success of your article.

Let’s do it…

Write attractive titles. Your headline has one job: to grab the reader’s attention (and her interest) so they start reading your article. That means, whenever possible, you should include these two factors in your title:

A great benefit or promise. This is the most important factor to include in your title. That’s because your prospective reader always has one question in the back of their mind: “What’s in it for me?” And if your headline doesn’t answer that question, if your headline doesn’t give the reader a good reason to keep reading, they’ll click the back button and be gone in an instant.

In fact, sometimes your reader will skim through a long list of titles, as might be the case when your article title is listed in an article directory, blog archive, search engine results, and more. places. Your title should jump at him by hitting him between the eyes with a huge buff.

So how do you do this? Entering her prospect’s head. Think about what hurts the most and what you want the most. Think about his problems. Then create a title that suggests that you can solve at least part of their biggest problem.

I’ll give you some examples in a moment. But first, let me offer you another piece of advice: your prospects are looking for a quick and easy solution. Therefore, your title, where applicable, should suggest the easiest solution you know of.

For example:

• Three Simple Ways to Burn Fat Fast
• How to train a dog in just three days
• How to buy a house with no money down
• The quick and easy way to earn more money

Look at those examples. Words like “simple” and “only three days” and “quick and easy” suggest that the solution is really easy. And you will notice that all the titles also promise the reader a great benefit.

Now let’s look at the other factor…

A little curious. Whenever possible, your headline should arouse curiosity. However, the key is to arouse the relevant curiosity. For example, you may be curious about the “great benefit” you promise in your headline.

An easy way to do this is to include a word like “secrets” or “revealed.” It makes the reader curious about what he doesn’t already know. For example:

• The secret of training a dog in just three days
• Revealed: How to buy a house with no money down!

Another good word to use if you want to pique curiosity is the word “amazing.” For example: “The surprising truth about burning fat.”

Another way to spark curiosity is to offer a benefit, but tell the reader what the article is NOT about. For example: “How to lose weight without diet, exercise or pills!” That title will make the reader wonder how to get the benefit without using those three common methods. And you will have to read the article to satisfy this curiosity.