How To Write A Catchy Headline

A catchy headline is a part of any great copy strategy included on sales pages, email sequences, website copy, social media captions, ads — and any other piece of copy you can think of. 

Headlines are there to grab a reader’s attention and convince them to keep reading. It’s the hook that gives your reader a promise and then convinces them to invest their precious time to read the rest of what you have to say. All the content below your headline is the deliverable of the promise your headline gave.

Headlines can make or break your strategy. Seriously. It’s the first thing you’re reader sees when they land on your page or open their inbox, and if it doesn’t make them curious enough to click the email or scroll and keep reading, then you’ve wasted time crafting the rest of your copy —because they aren’t going to even read it. 

This might all sound harsh, but that shows how important your headlines are and why you need to spend time crafting one that works. You should know how to write a catchy headline that captures your reader’s attention, keeps them reading, and eventually convinces them to take action.  

How To Write A Catchy Headline

There are few headline formulas that I’ve used in my client’s copy that work every single time. Feel free to change yours up and don’t forget to test, test, test! 

Keep Your Headline Short & Sweet

Get straight to the point with a clear headline that highlights the benefits of your offer. Your headline should answer the question, “what’s in it for me?” 

Don’t try to be clever, make a joke, or play on words in your headline. That’s what the rest of your copy is for! 

Announce News Your Audience Will Care About

Announce exciting news! But make sure your audience cares about the news.

You might be excited that you just bought a new car with the money you’ve earned as a savvy business owner, but unless you can tie it back into how it helps your audience, this information isn’t that exciting for your audience. So don’t put it in your headline.

Now, if you’re having a sale on your products, launching a new service, or adding a new feature on a popular evergreen course and you know your list is interested in (because you polled them last month asking if they wanted it), then that news can be made into a catchy headline! 

Ask Questions

Asking your audience a question is a simple way to intrigue them enough to learn more. Try to ask them a question that they will care about. Do a little market research and see what your people are struggling with so you can answer the exact question they’ve been wondering about.

• How Do You Write A Catchy Headline That Keeps People Reading?

• Are You Ready To Scale To Six-Figures Without Working More Hours?

Just remember that if you’re asking the question in the headline, don’t forget to answer it in the copy.

Highlight The Main Benefit

Don’t confuse features with benefits here. A feature is something specific that your product or service has. For example, you might offer a package that includes one 30 minute strategy call and an actionable PDF. Those are features. 

Benefits are the outcome or results that your audience will get after hopping on and implementing the valuable information you give them in the actionable PDF and 30-minute strategy call. 

Now, choose one benefit (preferably the biggest one) that specifically relates to your target audience and highlight that in your headline. Then, use your headline to tell your people exactly what they’ll get after implementing your offer.

Command Your Audience To Take Action

This sounds harsher than it actually is. Just write a headline that demands action. Ultimately, you’re the expert. So if you tell them to do something, they might just do it. You’re commanding your audience in your CTA (Call To Actions), so why not in your headlines? 

Join Now. Subscribe Here. Download Now.

When you add your command to a headline, you need to tell them to act in a certain way, but leave enough unknown for them to ask “why,” so they will click through (or keep scrolling) to find out.

Here are some examples of headlines that demand action. 

• Join Now To Get X For Free!

• Stop Making These X Mistakes In Your Launches

• Throw Out What You Know About Instagram Strategy and Try This Instead

Add Symbols or Numbers

We’re reading words all day, every day. So when you throw in some unusual characters or numbers, you can catch your audience’s attention that much more. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to make a sale.

Adding symbols or numbers can be as simple as:

• Swapping out five for 5 – 5 Mistakes You’re Making On Your Sales Page.

• Tacking on a bonus to your headline and putting it in parenthesis. Beginners Guide To Sales Pages [Infographic Inside]

Now that you have a few pointers for writing a catchy headline check out your content and see if you can spruce up some of your headlines today. If you need a little help, Coschedule has a pretty nifty tool that helps you perfect your headline for free called Headline Analyzer

Just remember, if you promise value in your headline, your content needs to back that up and deliver on it when they click through.

If you need some help with your headlines, send me a message or contact me here! I’d love to help you create catchy headlines that convince your audience to find out more.