Headlines are the most important part of article writing. It is the first thing that can grab the attention of your reader or web visitor. Your headlines, in effect, are your first real point of connection with your prospective customer, so you need to get it right. When one dresses they dress to gain attention and want people to notice them. It’s amazing what the right color clothes and the right jewelry or different styles of clothes can make anyone of any size shape appear.
A headline’s purpose is to quickly and briefly draw attention to the story. It is generally written by a copy editor, but may also be written by the writer, the page layout designer, or other editors sub-headlines that point us in a direction; that is to affirm the idea laid out in the headline.
According to Outbrain, 60-100 characters is the sweet spot for English headlines. Outbrain found that, as far as word count, 16–18 words was the headline length that brought about the most engagement for English language headlines. According to Outbrain, 16-18 words does the best. Many of you know we normally write as simple as possible and with a few words that described and enhance but mostly about 5 to six-word. We now see brevity is not best.
Most marketers talk about the best headlines and calls to action more than anything else. It’s because the best headlines and CTAs contribute more heavily to conversions than most entrepreneurs think. Think about how people used to — and still do, in some cases — browse magazine racks. Most of them didn’t pick up a magazine until a headline caused them to act. Today I want to leave something with you that will help you to see where your headline ranks and how you might improve it.
To Your Success,
John Gallardo
