The Headline - It's What Draws People In
Posted On: 2015-12-15
No matter how committed you are to getting things done, or how focused you want to be to get those things done, there are times when your brain just wants to do its own thing.
At least that's my excuse and of course I'm sticking to it. This has been one crazy year for us and my business and as we slowly draw closer to Christmas my brain is finding it harder and harder to focus on anything work related.
All it wants to think about is taking a whole week off.
It doesn't even ask me if I want to stay focused, it just wanders off and does its own thing. Maybe that's why I was working on a client's site a few minutes ago and then just found myself looking at a most improbably headline for someone's blog post.
'317 Power Words That Instantly Make You a Better Writer' ... wow I just had to stop and read that post. It drew me in, it resonated with me because I obviously do a lot of writing and I actually did read a couple of sentences before it dawned on me that power words don't make you a better writer.
Sure, power words can add impact to what you're writing and really encourage people to do things that you want them to do but there is no way they are going to make you a better writer. If you can't spell, if your grammar is atrocious and you don't know a paragraph from a pause then no amount of power words will help you get your message across.
But a headline like that sure does suck you in if you're a writer or someone who wants to learn the art of writing. Even after realizing that power words were not going to improve my writing I still had to have quick scan of the article to see which power words I was not using.
That's all well and good for writers but what does it have to do with webmasters who are trying to sell porn? It has a lot to do with anyone who is trying to sell anything online.
Most people don't read when they are online; instead they scan. They hit a web page and then let their eyes slide down the page looking for some cue that will resonate with where they are and what they are doing right now.
If nothing jumps off the page at them they don't stick around, they don't click the 'Enter' link, they just leave and there goes your chance to sell something to them. Some visitors don't even scan the first page ... if there is nothing in the first couple of lines that interests them they hit the back button and continue looking on some other website.
And that's where the headline comes in. The headline is the first line of text that they see when they arrive on your site and you have just seven to 11 words to engage them and encourage them to look a little closer at what you have to offer.
Think about it, seven to 11 words ... seven is the number of words from the start of this paragraph to the pause. Add four more words on and you've got 11 words. You might think that's not many and you would be right but you can say a heck of a lot in just 11 words.
In fact, if you're really in touch with your audience you can say a heck of a lot with just one word. I can think of two single-word headlines right now that would really engage with site visitors who are looking for porn.
Even a one-word headline can tell them that you have what they want and, when they know that, they'll spend a little more time looking for it.
But what if I am being too generous with the number of words that make up an attention grabbing headline? What if 11 words are too many?
Sadly, that may well be the case and some experts are suggesting that in today's mobile-screen world 11 words are too many and even seven is stretching the friendship.
So are you using headlines on your galleries and sites? Are you drawing people in with short bursts of text that make it impossible for people to leave without first looking to see what you have?
If you aren't using headlines, then now is the time to start. If you are using headlines then now is the time to craft better ones, headlines that excite, tease and invite.
Practice writing headlines, try shorter headlines, find those one-word headlines that are just irresistible and draw people into your websites.