How many times have you flipped through a newspaper and read a headline that intrigued you so much that you immediately devoured the article?
Although with completely different rules, even on the web, the titles of posts and articles are decisive for doing content marketing and for all companies that want to turn into a media company Data Driven.
Beware though! To write an effective headline, one does not need to be a titlist because, through data, we can discover the words and tones to use to impress our potential customers. Read on to find out how!
(Hidden in the article is a useful trick to follow, find it and put it into practice now! 🎁)
How difficult is it to write catchy titles?
Did you know that every half-second a new article is published on a blog and 70 million pieces of content are posted every day on WordPress alone?
This means that in one month alone there are 409 million people viewing over 20 billion Web Pages!
Considering videos instead, at least 72 hours of videos are uploaded to Youtube every second, totaling 6 million hours per day!
We cannot deny that these are impressive numbers.
The very first step in writing headlines, to date, in fact, is to understand how difficult it is to stand out from the background noise.
To do this, try for a second to change your perspective and put yourself in the shoes of your target customer, who spends an average of more than 6 hours a day on the Internet and nearly 2 hours on social media (source: Global Digital Report 2022 ).
Just imagine how much content passes before his eyes! An infinity! And why would he stop and look at yours specifically?
🎁 So here is a little trick to write not only headlines but also your copy effectively! When you have to create your content, imagine that your potential client is asking you the following questions, and you need to immediately give them convincing answers:
- Why are you writing to me now?
- Pe what reason should I listen to you?
- Why do I have to believe you?
- Why should I do what you are asking?
- Why should I do what you are asking now?
Back to the headlines, however! By now it is clear that being able to stand out with your content in this competitive landscape is a feat.
Hence precisely, the importance of your headlines!
Immerse yourself again in your customer: bombarded with a thousand advertisements, information, articles, videos, podcasts etc. and with a very low attention span, how do you think I choose content to watch until the end?
Obviously reading the headline! He thinks that 8 out of 10 people stop at the headline and only 2 continue reading.
If the headline attracts him, it is effective and allows him to understand the topic of the content. If he is intrigued, if he can identify with that title, then, believe us, the chances of him continuing to read increase exponentially!
Not surprisingly, the right title can increase the effectiveness of your content by up to 500%!
The million-dollar question at this point is, “But how do I create titles that work?”
We want to be clear: Creating the perfect headline is not just a matter of creativity. The key is to have, first and foremost, a Data Driven approach, i.e., data-driven. Let’s find out how!
How to write catchy headlines in 4 easy steps using data
As we mentioned earlier, the absolute first step is to understand the importance of the headline. Only after you understand that the effectiveness of your content and the ability to reach your target customer depends on your title, then you can follow the 4 Data Driven steps. Let’s look at them below.
Step 1: Study your target audience
The basis of a headline that works stems precisely from the study of the market, particularly of one’s target customer for whom the content is made. Thanks to Big Data online you can find out, in fact:
- what your ideal customer searches for on the Web and what doubts they have,
- What content is already available to answer these questions, and
- which of these were read the most
This allows you to identify what words are most commonly used by your online customers and what sparks their curiosity on the Web.
Also read“Target analysis: what it is and why it is central if you intend to acquire new customers“
Step 2: Analyze your competitors’ headlines
In this second step you need to analyze which headlines on the topic you want to cover are getting the most interactions and try to figure out why.
Warning. This does not mean that you have to copy the effective headline as soon as you find it!
Then, to complete this step, you can take advantage of the Market Intelligence tools . In fact, thanks to this software, you can monitor both your competitors and other content creators in general, even in complementary industries, to identify which articles and videos are getting the most interest and have gone viral the fastest.
At this stage, it is also important to study the words used in the title and formulas to draw attention. You are sure to find best practices and winning ideas for your headlines, while avoiding using headlines that are the same as others that already exist.
Step 3: Monitor the results of your titles
Penultimate very important step: it is not enough just to create the headlines, but you must, also constantly monitor the results of the headlines you have already published. By doing this you will be able to tell which ones worked best and which ones worked worst.
Be sure not to look only at total views because these depend on how well known your blog or channel is.
The key metric, however, is the Click Through Rate (CTR), which is the percentage of users who clicked on your content after making what is known as an “impression,” that is, after previewing it, reading at least the headline.
Based on where you posted the content you need to figure out how to view “impressions”: for your blog, for example, you can use Google Search Console by analyzing results by page; on social media you can find the “coverage” of each post; and on YouTube you can look at total impressions in advanced analytics.
In this regard, remember: the more effective a headline is, the more likely it is that users who intercept your content will click on it to read more. The headlines with the highest ctr then are the most effective ones!
Of course, then you also have to consider how many made it to the end of the reading/viewing … but that’s another story, which no longer depends on the title!
Step 4: Do the A/B test
The last element to consider in developing a catchy, Data Driven title is to do what is known as A/B testing. In some channels, such as for emails or on your blog, you can test two headlines that are completely different from each other in length, tone and content elements. The goal is to figure out which one performs better.
If you use Active Campaign to send out your newsletters, for example, just go to “create campaign” and then select the “split test” option.
Please note: to test which headline works best for your newsletter, you will need to keep the message the same for both emails and only change the title! Only then will you be able to compare the results!
Conclusions
By the time you reach the end of this article, you will surely be clear about the importance of the title. In fact, as we said before, the headline is the element, on which all the likelihood that your customers will consider your content is based.
At the same time, however, you will have realized that to build catchy titles, creativity, unfortunately, plays a marginal role. On the contrary, data is the key element in making your headlines the perfect bait to attract your customers’ attention.
Once you have collected and analyzed the necessary data, then yes you can create a truly effective headline.
Unfortunately, however, analyzing Big Data online is by no means a walk in the park. Indeed! Studying one’s target audience thoroughly, analyzing the results of one’s competitors, and monitoring the results of tests conducted are extremely complex activities.
To carry them out you not only need financial resources but also time and expertise. In short, if you’ve never done it, it’s certainly not a process you put on overnight.
For this reason, many entrepreneurs rely on the Big Data experts at Central Marketing Intelligence, who, thanks to the Market Intelligence tool manage to provide useful information that is directly applicable to their business thus supporting them in creating catchy headlines (which, as we mentioned earlier, are the hook with which to capture new customers)!
So what are you waiting for?
If you too find yourself in this situation, if your headlines can’t wait any longer and you too have needs to attract new customers with your content, don’t waste any more time. Contact us and we will help you!
