How to write a headline
In non-fiction writing, capturing your audience is a matter of getting the most interesting information in as quickly as possible. Knowing how to structure non-fiction writing can help here, but one of the best tools in your arsenal is knowing how to write a headline.
Writing a good headline
There are some questions you can ask yourself to speed up the process of writing a good headline. Knowing the answers to these questions is usually a lot easier if you’ve already written the article, which is why I always think it’s best to write the headline last. You’ll know which pieces of information are the most important, and therefore worth cramming into your limited headline space.
Does it ask the question your article has answered?
Have you frontloaded the headline, putting the spiciest details at the start?
Will it appeal to your target audience?
Can you cut any words it makes sense without?
To keep your bounce rate low, you’ll want to make sure that your headline isn’t false advertising. A reader doesn’t want to click on an article titled “How to build a bug hotel” only to find out it doesn’t have any practical tips and just speaks about the need for bug hotels.
Frontloading is crucial throughout digital articles, and you can see examples of this in: How to structure non-fiction writing. Use of language is also vital, so don’t use anything too colloquial if you’re writing for a global audience, and avoid filler words like “quite” and “slightly” that don’t add to the meaning of a sentence but take up space.
What makes a good headline
A good headline taps into two things: search engine optimisation (SEO) and pizazz. You can use tools like Google Trends and Ahrefs to identify key words and phrases that people are searching for around your topic. An example would be this piece I did on Is nutmeg a nut? Here are some other key ingredients for a good headline:
Avoid clickbait, people can and will see through it
Add intrigue, if you want people to read the full story it helps to hold some information back. That said…
Don’t be vague, specific headlines will help you reach the right audience
Be funny (when appropriate), entertaining headlines can go viral
Keep it concise, around 12 words or 70 characters is a good limit
How to write a good headline: the takeaways
· Identify the most important part of the story and target your headline at this
· Frontloading, the sexiest words go first
· Make it memorable
Now it’s time to get working on your structure.