A 9-Step Formula to Write Highly Clickable (But Not Clickbait) Blog Headlines
Blog headlines are one of the most overlooked areas of writing online.
I often see incredible writing getting so little attention just because the title hasn’t maxed out its potential. And vice versa, sometimes I see some pretty mediocre content go viral just because it has a catchy headline.
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It’s hard to get it right. You have to convey what your story is about, in what style it’s written, and why it’s worth reading in roughly 8–12 words!
The good news? It takes just a few tweaks to turn your headline into a highly clickable eyeball magnet. When I started making these tweaks, I doubled my monthly views. Rest assured, working on your headlines pays off.
This is my 9-step formula for writing titles that grab attention, get the right people to click, and make them come back.
(If you prefer to watch, you can catch the video right here.)
Let’s break it down.
1. Draft your ‘draft headline.’
I’ve just amped you up on the importance of headlines. And now I’m going to de-amp you. Stick a very vague, poorly, thought-out headline as a placeholder. It could be something like “My thoughts on XYZ.” Don’t overthink it.
Screenshot of this article’s draft title. Text reads: “A Story About Writing Good Blog Headlines”
It’s important to start easy. Free yourself of the responsibility to write a great title before you’ve finished your blog post. As you write, your main idea and nuances will change, and your title should reflect that.
For now, think of your draft title as a placeholder. We’ll come back to it.
2. Write your post.
This is the shortest tip because I’ve created a lot of content on how to write an article, so I’ll keep this simple here: Write good stuff that you care about. Write about what you love!
3. Identify your reader.
This is where it gets a little psychological. To get a person to click on a headline, you want to get into your reader’s head.
Boil down your target audience to a single person. Who is that person? What are their struggles? How can you serve them? The more you understand your target reader, the more you’ll be able to deliver clickable value in your title.
Example: this post’s “reader” is a subscriber named Paul. Paul loves to write about important environmental issues. He has heard he should be writing better titles but doesn’t know how. He’s also a little afraid of veering into clickbait, which is bad. So he’s gone in the opposite direction, with slightly milky headlines like “On Environmentalism” or “Green is Good.”
I know Paul. I know writing better headlines will get his work more notice. I’m writing this for Paul.
4. Call to pain.
Now you can actually start working on your headline. Use your insights from step three to call to your reader’s pain. I hate to sound Machiavellian but it’s good for you to know that calling to pain works better than calling to pleasure. People are reading to solve a problem. Figure out that problem and put it in the title, either explicitly or implicitly.
For example, when writing this post’s title, I knew that my target reader (Paul, if you’ve been paying attention!) is someone who loves writing but struggles with the intricate details, like crafting better titles. The mechanics are annoying; he just wants to focus on his writing. So I promise to soothe his pain.
5. Introduce value.
Now we need to follow up with some real value. Take the pain point from step four. How can you show the reader your valuable solution to that pain?
In my headline, I promise a step-by-step formula or a how-to guide. The value I’m offering here is education. But you can also create value with entertainment, empathy, or perspective shifts. Or a mixture of these!
For example, here’s how my title could change if I were angling for a different value proposition:
Entertaining rant: “90% of Headlines Suck, and It’s Actually Hilarious.” The value here is offering a bit of a laugh and maybe some funny examples.
Empathic essay: “My Headlines Were Holding Me Back From Reaching My True Potential.” Here I commiserate with people in similar positions.
Perspective shift: “The Algorithm Isn’t Your Problem. Your Headlines Are.” This one’s more about trying to change someone’s mind. It’s a little antagonistic, or maybe even controversial. These articles tend to do the best because they challenge a reader’s assumptions. But they’re also the hardest to do.
6. Rely on authority.
If you have an existing relationship with your readers, this doesn’t matter as much because they already see you as an authority. When Barack Obama writes a blog post about leadership, he doesn’t need to say “9 Political Experts Agree”.
But if you’re a new writer, this is a critical step. Readers who don’t know you have no reason to trust you, so give them a reason.
You can either talk about your own experience or refer to an authority figure. Example: “I’ve written 1000 blog titles. Here’s what I learned.” Or: “17 Veteran bloggers say these are the secrets to writing great titles.”
7. Get spicy.
This is a fun step because you can really flex your writing muscles. Your goal is to spice up some words in your title to make it stand out in a sea of content.
My original blog headline at this point might be something like “How to Write a Good Title in 9 Steps.” I have spiced that up with “formula” and “highly clickable.” Which is, admittedly, only like a 5/10 on the spice scale. But that’s because there’s a fine line between spice and simplicity.
Note: avoid too jargony words that are hard to read. We want spicy, not indigestible.
8. Experiment.
There are lots of factors deciding whether your post will perform well. That’s why I encourage you to shop around your headlines. Try them out with your friends. Your mom. Your cats!
Astrid is unimpressed with my blog headline suggestion.
And repeat that with every post you write. It’s much easier to learn lessons from multiple titles you’ve tried out on multiple people than relying on a single data point.
9. Deliver on your promise.
Now that you’ve crafted a highly clickable title, make sure your article delivers on any claims in that title. If you’re using authority, explain your credentials in the introduction. If you promise a how-to, check if you included practical instructions.
Your article should meet — if not exceed — the expectations your title sets. Avoid breaking the trust of your readers at all costs. Think long-term.
These are the nine steps I use to write highly clickable blog titles. Hopefully, you’ve learned how to create your own highly clickable headline, and you’re now excited to get to work!
Do you agree with these steps? Do you disagree? What makes a great title for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
