Headlines are one of the most important aspects of content writing. A well-written headline is the easiest way to capture your prospective readers’ attention and compel them to read the body post. It is the means to communicate a complete message to the target audience. It also offers a promise to the reader to deliver content that is meaningful and interesting, content that is worthy spending their time upon. But how can you achieve so much through so little as a single sentence? Here are the 8 types of headlines for effective content writing that can grab the reader’s attention with immediate effect.
Straight to the point Headlines
Straight to the point headlines offers the reader a clear idea about the subject of the blog post. Presented in an interesting manner, such headlines can hit the bull’s eye. For instance, a straight headline like ‘Stylish Ladies Shoes – At 50 Percent Discount’ has all the elements to attract its target audience. This one line announces to the ladies that stylish footwear is available at a very lucrative price. This will compel the interested ladies to read the blog post to get the details of the sale. This fulfills the objective of the headline, i.e. to attract traffic and draw them towards the blog post.
Restrained or Indirect Headlines
Indirect headlines instill curiosity in the target readers and lure them to read the body text. This subtle approach often raises a query in the reader’s mind and offers the answer in the body of your blog post. For instance, an indirect headline like ‘The early bird catches the worm’ has nothing to do with waking up early and proceeding for work. It actually means realizing the needs of your reader and addressing them swiftly through your content writing.
News Headlines
A self-explanatory news headline presented in a clear and concise manner can do all the hard work for your content writing. The only condition is that it must clearly express the news that you are trying to present to your readers. For instance, news headline like ‘Introducing the sleek and smart iPhone 6’ can attract the attention of the target audience immediately.
How to Headlines
The ‘how to’ headlines are among the most favored ones. It is really simple to write a ‘how to’ headline if you know your target audience. For instance, a headline like ‘How to make pizza within 15 minutes’ can have a magnetic effect on those who are seeking ways to create easy snacks, on those who don’t want to spend much time on cooking and on those who are novices in the cooking department and yet want to try their hands at something simple but tasty.
Question Headlines
The question headline is a bit more tricky than the simple ‘how to’ headline. While creating a question headline the focus must be on the question. Select a question to which your potential reader would like to get an answer. For instance, a question headline like ‘Are you planning to increase your income’ will attract readers but a headline like ‘What are the ways to earn money online’ will be more attractive for the readers looking for ways to increase their income by online means.
Reason Why Headlines
The ‘reason why’ headline is ideally used when your content writing contains bullet points or numbered lists of tips or features of any product. For instance, a headline like ’5 Reasons Why You Must Not Skip Breakfast’ or ’50 Reasons Why Open Source Software Will Dominate the Future Market’ invites readers to go through the answers contained in the body of your content writing. Such a headline connects a writer to the content of the post immediately and the target audience is drawn towards your content writing in an easy manner.
Command Headlines
The command headline is used to attract the attention of the reader by strongly telling them what to do. In most cases, command headlines start with an action verb. For instance, a command headline like ‘Stop eating junk food before it is too late’ directs the readers to do a certain thing with a strong voice.
Teaser Headlines
The teaser headline, as the name indicates teases and raises the interest of the customer. This headline must be used with care as there may be a tendency to overdo the teasing. The teaser headline must be followed with substantiated content writing. For instance, a teaser headline like “India’s most cost efficient bike to be launched this weekend” must be substantiated with good research and data.
These are a few of the most effective types of headlines that succeed in drawing audience to your blog post. What are your ideas of writing a smart and interesting headline? Do share with our readers.
