7 Types of Headlines To Get Your Audience Hooked With Your Article

What’s Behind Your Headlines?

Words carry intention. You have to be aware of what’s happening in between lines.

These few words should reflect your purpose: do you want to convey an emotional state, position yourself as an educator, or poke your reader with a controversial statement?

Here are the types of headlines you’ll most probably write.

1. The Know-It-All

These headlines offer practical advice or tips to your reader.

Your intention is to share knowledge that is useful and that’s backed up by data, personal experience, or a combination of both.

You sound confident and what you say feels like the truth.

Examples:

• Where to Sell Your iPhone 3G: Gazelle vs. NextWorth
• Social Media Use Cases: Arcade Fire
• How the Old Spice Videos Are Being Made

2. The Teacher

In this case, you’re trying to teach something that the reader doesn’t know.

You assume that your audience hasn’t come across this information and you want to be helpful. Your tone is more like an educator, and less like an almighty god that expects you to follow blindly.

You empathize with your reader and think about ways to make the information more accessible and easy to digest.

Examples:

• Why Too Much Money is Worse Than Too Little
• The Responsibility Revolution for Companies
• Seven Leadership Traits that the Gurus Don’t Tell You

3. The Gossip

Your goal is to provoke your audience.

Spice things up!

You want to sound controversial and make the reader highly engaged with the topic at hand. Think of them as mumbling to themselves once every now and then while reading your article.

They’ll be eager to keep reading, asking themselves what comes next, and absorb it in one sitting. You won’t leave them indifferent.

Now, expect some strong responses in the comment section.

Examples:

• And the Winner for Best Film About Design Is…
• Apple Hater Seeks Roommate in the Big Apple Via Craig’s List
• Seven Puppies Die Following American Airlines Flight

4. The Instigator

These headlines feel like clickbait.

You’re making bold statements without caring if they’re true or not. Usually, you’ll just leave it out there and see if it holds on its own.

You’ll make readers want to click on it and found out more about it. But if they don’t find anything of value, they’ll leave soon enough.

Expect a lot of views and few reads.

Examples:

• How Porn Will Keep Me in Business
• Google Wave is Dead
• Are Most VCs Dinosaurs Who Need to Hurry Up and Die?

5. The Nay-Sayer

These headlines try to convince you that what you don’t know will hurt you.

You’ll be focusing on people’s fears: fear of missing out, fear of being ignorant, fear of being out of control.

It can be very persuasive but use it carefully. You may end up being too clickbait-ish if you make it too loud and outlandish.

Examples:

• Do you Pass the Leadership Test?
• 15% Changes Everything
• Do You Know What’s in Your Mutual Funds?

6. The Campaigner

Here you have headlines that appeal to a shared interest between you and your readers.

You engage with your audience by writing about their problems. You have similar issues you want to share with them.

Your goal is to connect with like-minded people, and what better than talking about topics you both have a strong visceral opinion of.

Examples:

• Dear Car Dealerships: Stop Sucking
• Who Wants to Be the Mayor of Pizza Hut
• 3 Ways to Dress Like a Millennial Woman

7. The Connector

These headlines are reserved for very creative (or funny) people.

In these types of articles, you’re able to find a connection between two seemingly unrelated things.

Your audience might be confused in the beginning after reading your title, but they’ll make sense of it once they go through your article.

Examples:

• Social Media Marketing Lessons from Justin Bieber
• What Hugo Chavez Teaches Us About Twitter
• Dan Pickett: Find Your Founder: Five Romantic Tips from a New Technical Cofounder