Nicolas Cole breaks down five components of a headline that actually gets clicked: a number, what you're getting, who it's for, why it matters, and one more hook to seal the deal. Write the headline first, he says, because it forces you to know what you're actually saying.
A headline is not a bow you put on the top of your writing. So if you're writing your headlines last, I'm telling you, you're doing it wrong. You should spend the majority of your time on the headline before you start writing. Because if you can't figure out what you're trying to say in 10 words, there's no way you're going to figure out what you're trying to say in a thousand words or ten thousand words. So how do you write a really great, irresistible headline? Well, you need these five pieces first. How many, how many things are we talking about? This is very common in listicles, right? 7 ways, 6 mistakes, 5 tip. Second is the what so literally, what are you giving me? Are you giving me strategies? Are you giving me podcasts to listen to? The third is the who? Who is this for? Is this for project managers? Is this for first time developers? Fourth piece is the why? So why does this matter? What do I get as a reader in exchange for reading it? And then fifth is a little copywriting technique called twisting the knife, which is how do I make more promises to the reader? How do I make this even more valuable for them? If you don't have those five pieces in your headline, it's no wonder no one's clicking and reading your writing.
What Every Writer Gets Wrong About Their Audience #writing #creator #writingtips
