When you write a new blog article or press piece for your business, how much time do you spend on the headline, compared to the rest of the article?
A headline is the first, and sometimes the only thing a potential reader sees, and it could easily determine whether the rest of your content even gets a chance at success. In fact, one study concluded that 59% of articles are shared by people who haven’t even read the article – that is, their share was based solely on the headline of the article.
BuzzSumo recently released a new study that analyzed over 100 million different headlines, to determine just how much value a headline has (and how you can make them work for you). After reading it, I walked away with several key insights about headlines in my own line of work—and I feel they’re important enough to share with all of you.
Key Guidelines for Better Headlines
Here are the top seven insights I walked away with:
1. “Will make you” will make you click.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the phrase “will make you” is the biggest precipitator of engagement, resulting in an average of 8,961 engagements compared to the next-most-popular headline phrase, “this is why,” at 4,099. There are a few reasons for this; for starters, the phrase is a bit of a challenge to readers. It’s implying that the writers know how their readers will react, and readers want to know if it’s true. This is backed up by the fact that the phrase “can we guess” is also on the list. The phrase is also usually followed by some emotion, which as you’ll see, is another important factor in successful headline writing.
2. Appeals to emotion and curiosity also work.
Among other top performers were phrases like “too cute,” “tears of joy,” and the now-infamous “what happened next,” appealing to human beings’ natural curiosity. We’re deeply curious people, and whether we admit it or not, we like to be moved by strong emotions (positive or negative). Any headline that indicates that it’s interesting or surprising, or one that indicates we’ll feel something strongly, is worth clicking on.
3. Not all seemingly appealing headlines are appealing.
Among some of the worst performing headline phrases were things like “your own business,” “x simple tips,” and “on a budget.” Quite frankly, I’m sure I’ve used each of these phrases at least once in my own work, so to see them underperforming was fascinating. It’s worth noting that “lowest performers” here still refers to headline phrases that appeared for at least 100 domains, so there could be worse performers; they just aren’t as commonly used. These headlines might be underperformers because they sound too buzzword-y, and therefore turn away readers who are tired of content marketing being used as a sales tactic. It’s further reason to make your headlines more original (or at least more emotional or curiosity-provoking).
4. Popularity breeds popularity.
Indicating that something is popular instantly makes it more popular, and I’ve discussed this as a motivator for viral content developing in the past. In BuzzSumo’s study, we see that the phrase, “goes viral” is associated with 9,746 average engagements, making it one of the most popular two-word phrases in a headline. Accordingly, it seems the mere indication that your work is already popular is enough to drive people to want to read it. Sensationalism here is a fine line; building some excitement is important, but building too much can be a letdown.
5. Odd numbers still work, but…
You’ve likely heard that odd-numbered headlines always work better than even-numbered headlines, and for the most part this remains true. Numbers 5, 7, and 15 are all in the top 5 headline numbers, but the number 1 number is even—it’s number 10. And 20 rounds out the top 5. Despite our strange fascination with odd numbers, we’re still suckers for top 10 and top 20 lists, so don’t be afraid to get even for some extra engagements.
6. Longer headlines work better than you think.
I know for a fact some publishers have strict word limits on headlines because they believe, quite logically, that shorter headlines always perform better. I see where this line of thinking comes from; shorter headlinese are faster and easier to digest. However, what we actually see is a standard bell curve of engagement, with 15-word headlines getting the most engagement, and a fairly even number of engagements for 5-word and 25-word headlines. My guess is the limitations of mobile screens has something to do with this, but it’s still an effect I wouldn’t have expected to see.
7. Your audience matters.
BuzzSumo has separate sections discussing differently valued headlines for Twitter audiences and B2B audiences, and they shape up to be quite different than the overall norm. I’d be curious to see how headline preferences change across multiple demographics, and my suspicion is that they’re all very different. If you want to write a good headline, you can’t exclusively rely on what the data says about general trends; you have to know what your specific target audience wants to read.
This study submits further proof that headlines are the most important part of any article you write; it can easily be the difference between 25 engagements and upwards of 10,000, and can shape audience impressions of your brand permanently.
Spend lots of time learning how your audience reacts to your writing, and always spend extra time polishing your headlines before you publish or share your work. For more help creating great titles for your blog posts, see 101 Title Ideas For Your Next Blog Post. And by the way, how many of these guidelines does the title of this article abide by?
