Have you ever wondered why we click into certain articles based on their headlines alone?

Or why some headlines sound more interesting than others despite both covering the same subject matter?

This should come as no surprise considering how we are constantly bombarded with new content to read every day. There is simply not enough time to read everything on print and digital mediums, and cherry-picking articles through their headlines seems like the easiest way to filter the noise.

If you want your piece to stand out from other content creators, use these 3 nifty techniques to get headlines that attract attention:

1. Ask questions – “Do You Know How to Write a Press Release?”

Headlines that are phrased as questions are great because they get people to stop and think for a brief moment.

Sure, your target reader may already know how to write a press release, but he or she is likely to click into the article anyway, just to confirm that premise.

2. Get your readers curious – “10 Secrets Great Writers Won’t Tell You. Number 9 Will Surprise You!”

Notice how many viral content pieces share this same title structure?

The headline starts by giving the reader some context about what the article is about. But the headline continues with the kicker sentence: “then this happened”, or “this particular thing in the story stands out from the rest!”

Suddenly, our curiosity has been piqued.

We start to wonder what makes secret number 9 so special in that article, and will not stop wondering until we click into it and scroll all the way down the list.

And if your content is interesting or valuable enough, you might just get your reader to read the whole article.

3. Make it about your audience – “A Message for Those Who Think They Are Not Creative”

Let’s face it: reading isn’t always fun. And that’s because many articles do nothing to involve their target audience.

To make your content more relatable to your readers, use simple, easy-to-understand words. Don’t be afraid use analogies to help them relate better to an unfamiliar topic. If you want to talk numbers to your audience, use visual aids like graphs or pie charts to illustrate your point.

Surely as readers ourselves, we are more inclined to read articles from sources that have our interest at heart?

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