Read time: 6 mins

You know when you’re mindlessly scrolling online and stop at a headline that calls you tf out or brings immediate attention to something that piques your interest? Those specific, enticing, but straight-to-the-point headlines are the juicy acorns that stop squirrels (or readers) right in their tracks and get CLICKS. 

And headlines without these characteristics? 

Welp, all they end up getting is crickets…😬 

Powerful headlines get results and results mean conversions, boo! 

Now that we’re settled in, drink in hand, and feet on the coffee table, time to say see ya to the age old struggle of how to write a high-converting headline. 

Where should you be using high-converting headlines?

Here’s where you should be including “headlines” in your copy and content: 

• Email (think of your subject line as your headline and the first paragraph of your email as your hook!)
• Blog posts and article titles
• Captions (the first line)
• Sales pages and landing pages (this should be the first thing on the page)
• Website (one per individual page) 

The ultimate objective of your headlines should be to call in your reader, getting her/him focused on *this* ONE task in front of them—reading your sh*t. We simply want to get our reader to the next sentence. 

Why we give sooo many f*cks about our headlines 

Attention isn’t cheap these days. In fact, according to Transformation Marketing, you only get between 8-12 seconds before your audience’s attention is taken elsewhere. So time is money, honey.

I mean, think about it—you know how much sh*t brands are promoting all the freaking time. Even if we wanted to, there’s no way we’d have enough hours in the day to read every single thing being tossed at in front of us.

Take this insane Forbes stat for instance: Digital marketing experts estimate that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 muthaf*ckin’ ads each day. 

And another fact for ya: 59% of people share content without even reading it first! (Lol, me being one of them, for sure) 

It all comes back to how strategically that headline (the first thing your reader sees) is crafted.  

Hacks for writing high-converting headlines

FACT: No matter how valuable, entertaining, or persuasive your content is…if your headline doesn’t successfully capture your reader’s attention, you’ve wasted your time writing it all in the first place!

But we’re all optimists here! So let’s talk about how we can get you writing some high-converting headlines on the reg. 

A quality headline (and one that converts) will check each of the following boxes: 

• It grabs attention (engage and intrigue, capture interest, etc.) 
• It’s specific to the intended audience 
• It sets the tone for the piece 
• It draws the reader into the rest of the copy.

The most powerful headlines are written with intention and use these best practices to really get the job done:

1. Start with odd numbers

Use digits or numerals in your headline, and make them odd. These tend to perform better than even numbers because they’re easier for our brains to process. 

Here’s a few examples: 

• 3 Ways to Inject Your Brand Personality into Your Copywriting
• 5 Pieces of copy for a foolproof launch formula
• 3 Types of Launch Emails You Need to Sell

2. Try a headline formula 

Cheat codes aren’t exclusively for video games—let’s put some headline formulas to the test for the next time the writer’s block bug hits ya: 

1. Verb + Numeral + Noun
   EXAMPLE: Join [verb] + 1000 [numeral] + satisfied clients [non] who’ve xyz…. 

2. [Do something challenging] in [time frame]
   EXAMPLE: Write website copy that drives conversions [do something challenging] in 5 days [time frame]. 

3. [Desired outcome] by [how to get it]
   EXAMPLE: Become a trusted expert in your industry [desired outcome] by securing your spot in my 1:1 coaching intensive [how to do it]. 

Who doesn’t love a good plug and play?

3. Get madddd specific  

The more precise you can be, the more authority you’ll command and the easier you’ll find it is to build a strong connection with your readers. Remember, when it comes to good copy, it’s always specific af. 

A good way to put this into practice is by flagging your reader.

Who will benefit from this piece of copy/content? Call them tf out! 

For instance, take this caption headline from one of our sales posts on Instagram:

“ATTENTION COACHES: If you have an email list in any capacity (no matter how big or small)…⁠”

Pro tip: Be specific while also keeping your headline straight to the point. Give the reader a sense of what they should expect from the content and who it’s for, but don’t give it all away or get too wordy.

4. Leave your reader with relevant questions (that only get answered by reading more) 

Leave your reader with some questions to encourage them to actually make it through reading the rest of your email/blog/sales page/caption/etc. 

Be a tease, but leave them with enough to want more 😉

But be careful—what you don’t want to do is to focus these questions solely around yourself or your product. Keep it specific to the content piece in front of them and what they’ll gain from actually reading it.

Pro tip: Don’t forget to consider what’s in it for them (even if that thing is just a juicy story). 

Something like… 

“I can’t believe this is the one that made me $4k in one day…” 

Not… 

“I can’t believe my boyfriend said this was how he cooked dinner…” 

People are inherently nosey if it sounds like something beneficial or juicy is involved, so build up the tea like you’re about to spill some hot gossip. 

5. Use power words

No one likes vague or vanilla copy. That’s why, when you throw power words into the mix, your conversions are sure to start rolling in. 

Here’s a few power words you can start using to transform boring headlines into high-converting headlines:

• Premier
• Improve
• Compete
• Trust
• Discover
• Profit
• Learn
• Create
• Know
• Understand 

Want a whole-ass list of different types of power words you can use in various situations? Grab the FREE 95 High-Converting Words & Phrases List!

6. Make a surprising statement 

And no, do not just give us a description. Write something that you would be down to read. 

Pro tip: Make your headline easy to understand by using common words and phrases. 

This could be..

“Top 10 quick recipes for mid-day snacks when you’re hungry on the go”

Not… 

“Top 10 quick recipes for mid-day snacks when you’re famished on the go” 

See the difference? You may know what “famished” means, but that’s not a guarantee for your reader. 

Pro tip: Use a shocking statistic or quote. 

Say something shocking or seemingly outrageous enough for people to hit the pause button and say “wait, what?!” They’ll be ripping through your content in no time. 

— 

Having high-converting headlines are on the must-have list if you want your people to stop and read your carefully crafted copy. 

Next time you’re writing a headline, make sure it covers everything on this rapid fire headline hacks checklist:

• Use digits
  • Pro tip: start with an odd number (they’re seen as more authentic) 
  • Pro tip: small numbers are better 
• Set the tone for the piece
• Address the reader as “you” 
• Use emotional words or “power words”
  • Grab the list of power words to transform your headlines!
• Try a headline formula 
• Ask a question: get your reader thinking 

And my biggest pro tip of all for high-converting headlines: clarity over clever or cute sh*t is always the way to go. 

You can be as cute and cool as you want, but if your message gets lost in translation, your moola gets lost along with it.