Learn How To Write Compelling Blog Headlines For Your eCommerce Store

The aim of this guide is to help your writers learn the ‘art’ of headline writing. The examples are mainly of a more sensational nature, but they have been proven over and over again to work quite well in getting readers to click.

Whether we like it or not, headlines are the first thing that people see when they come to the site and often they are the first thing that people will see on sites like Twitter and Facebook when they decide to click through to read your story.

Increasingly, studies show that headlines completely dominate the chances that somebody will make the decision to read your story further than the headline itself. That means we need to put some effort into getting them right.

Your headline is the first thing you should worry yourself about. When you write an engaging and descriptive headline first, often it makes the process of writing the article far more straight forward. Your headline tells readers what they will get in exchange for their time.

Now if you write your article first, you need to go back and think of how to present it to a new reader. On the other hand, if you make a promise in the headline, you can write to fulfil the commitment made in it. This is massively helpful for a writer in keeping their articles to-the-point and easy to read.

Fortunately for us, there are a heap of things we can do to improve our headline writing.

Advertising people have been studying headlines and their effects on readership for over 70 years and there are a lot of ways we can incorporate their knowledge into our own work. Luckily, the findings aren’t really too difficult to understand or implement.

Often times it’s simply a matter of adapting one of the many “headline formulas” that have been proven to work for other people.

In general, if your headline encompasses the following elements, then it will probably be quite successful in drawing user engagement.

Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?

Here are a few of those formulas or templates. Just replace [blank] with whatever topic you want to write about.

If You Don’t [blank] Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
The Lazy [blank’s] Way to [blank]
Do You Recognize the [number] Early Warning Signs of [blank]?
See How Easily You Can [desirable result]
You Don’t Have to Be [something challenging] to be [desired result]
Do You Make These Mistakes?
Who Else Wants [blank]?
The Secret of [blank]
Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
Little Known Ways to [blank]
Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]
[Do something] like [world-class example]
Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]
Warning: [blank]How [blank] Made Me [blank]
Are You [blank]?
[Blank] Ways to [blank]If You’re [blank], You Can [blank]

Here are some examples of solid headlines based on these formulas for a photography-oriented website:

Give Me 3 Hours and I’ll Give You Professional Level Off-Camera Flash Skills
If You Don’t Shoot It Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
The Lazy Photographer’s Way to Post Process
Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of Photography Addiction?
See How Easily You Can Make Your Portraits Pop
You Don’t Have to Be a Pro to Get Amazing Landscapes
Do You Make These Mistakes in Wedding Photography?
Who Else Wants Powerful Black and Whites?

You get the idea. Now don’t feel it’s necessary to stick to these exact formulas for everything you write, but remember that they have been tried and proven and it’s a great way to almost force readers onto your articles.

A Note About “Keywords” and Headlines

Keywords are the currency of search engines and it certainly helps to know a little bit about them.

Many stores ONLY go after search engine traffic, but we are a little different. But that doesn’t mean that we want to totally ignore the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) effects of keywords

Now, we don’t want to get carried away here and we certainly aren’t as technical about this process as many websites. We want your articles to be readable for people, not search engines and that is where you should concentrate.

However, a few things to remember:

Think about what people might type into Google to find your story
Try to include your keywords in your headline (preferably towards the beginning)

Please read this blog post about keywords to get a better understanding of using keywords, but just remember that for our stores we will favour the headlines that appeal to humans over the headlines that appeal to search engines most of the time – if you can strike a headline that does both then that is fantastic!

Writing Headlines That Get Clicked

Double the Ritz!

A very simple strategy to use in writing hugely popular “how to” articles is to teach people how to do two things instead of one.

The classic example of this is “How to Win Friends and Influence People” which we are sure you have heard of.

The power of that headline really came from the fact that the second benefit (influencing people) followed on logically from the first (winning friends).

There are many potential articles that use this exact formula that could be written about photography, just to use it as an example:

How to Impress Photo Editors and Get Your Work Published
How to Print Your Photographs Professionally and Get Them Hung in Galleries
How to Photograph Frogs and Help Save a Species
The possibilities for this type of “how to” article are exciting and up to your imagination.

Add An Extra Benefit

Another common and very effective tool for writing “how to” articles is to add an extra benefit to the headline (and then fulfil the promise of the headline in the content of course). The general formula for this is:

How to [Mundane Task] That [Rewarding Benefit]

Again, this exact formula has many possibilities:

How to Take Photos That Will Win Photography Competitions
How to Shoot Headshots That Will Get You Repeat Business
How to Make Landscape Photographs That Will Wow Your Peers

You get the idea.

What About Just “How” Articles?

Learing Style Cheatsheet — **Download your free cheatsheet of Learning Style**

It’s true that just “how” (rather than “how to”) articles can also work very well. Something about the word “how” has a deep connection to people’s desire to know about things. A couple of famous headlines are these:

How I Improved My Memory in One Evening
How I Made a Fortune With a “Fool Idea”

Now the important part about writing these type of articles, as we mentioned before, is to fulfil the promise that you made in the title. There is no use having a great and compelling title if you don’t actually teach people what you promised.

With a bit of sculpting though, it is possible to craft a story that will have people referring to it for years.

Full List of Headline Examples

Some blog headlines are more effective than others. Following is a list that shows effective blog/article headlines. Use these as inspiration and a guideline to generate new ideas for store products and blog articles

Do You Recognize the 7 Early Warning Signs of High Blood Pressure?
10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Living
Five Familiar Skin Troubles
Six Types of Investor — Which Group Are You In?
How to Give Your Children Extra Iron — These 3 Delicious Ways
Free Book Tells You 12 Secrets of Better Lawn Care
76 Reasons Why It Would Have Paid You to Answer Our Ad a Few Months Ago
Who Else Wants [blank]?
The Secret of [blank]
Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
Little Known Ways to [blank]
Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]
[Do something] like [world-class example]
Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]
Give Me [short time period] and I’ll Give You [blank].
If You Don’t [blank] Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.
The Lazy [blank’s] Way to [blank].
Do You Recognize the [number] Early Warning Signs of [blank]?
See How Easily You Can [desirable result].
You Don’t Have to Be [something challenging] to be [desired result].
Do You Make These Mistakes?
Warning: [blank].
How [blank] Made Me [blank].
Are You [blank]?
[Blank] Ways to [blank].
If You’re [blank], You Can [blank].
Who Else Is Lying To Us About XXXXXXXXX?
Life, Death and XXXXXXXXX
What You Don’t Know About XXXXXXXXX May Shock You
The Dirty Truth on XXXXXXXXX
The XXXXXXXXX Trap
The Low Down on XXXXXXXXX Exposed
Dirty Facts About XXXXXXXXX Revealed
The Undeniable Truth About XXXXXXXXX That No One Is Telling You
What Everybody Else Does When It Comes To XXXXXXXXX And What You Should Do Different
The Idiot’s Guide To XXXXXXXXX Explained
Unknown Facts About XXXXXXXXX Revealed By The Experts
The Hidden Truth on XXXXXXXXX Exposed
The Secret of XXXXXXXXX That No One is Talking About
The Unexposed Secret of XXXXXXXXX
The XXXXXXXXX Diaries
XXXXXXXXX – An Overview
The Ugly Side of XXXXXXXXX
An Unbiased View of XXXXXXXXX
What’s Really Happening With XXXXXXXXX
The Ultimate Guide To XXXXXXXXX
Simple Facts About XXXXXXXXX Explained
What To Do About XXXXXXXXX Before It’s Too Late
The Secret For XXXXXXXXX Revealed in Simple Steps
The Ultimate Solution For XXXXXXXXX That You Can Learn About Today
Be The First To Read What The Experts Are Saying About XXXXXXXXX
The Truth About XXXXXXXXX
Find Out Who’s Talking About XXXXXXXXX And Why You Should Be Concerned
Odd-Ball Tips on XXXXXXXXX
The XXXXXXXXX Chronicles
Kids, Work and XXXXXXXXX
Shocking Facts About XXXXXXXXX Told By An Expert
The Insider Secret on XXXXXXXXX Uncovered
What Everyone is Saying About XXXXXXXXX Is Dead Wrong And Why
The Insider Secrets of XXXXXXXXX Discovered
The Unexplained Mystery Into XXXXXXXXX Uncovered
The Insider Secrets For XXXXXXXXX Exposed
Effective Strategies For XXXXXXXXX That You Can Use Starting Today
What You Need To Know About XXXXXXXXX And Why
Why Nobody is Talking About XXXXXXXXX And What You Should Do Today
The Death of XXXXXXXXX
The Birth of XXXXXXXXX
Rumors, Lies and XXXXXXXXX
The Most Overlooked Fact About XXXXXXXXX Revealed
The Forbidden Truth About XXXXXXXXX Revealed By An Old Pro
A Simple Trick For XXXXXXXXX Revealed
Simple Tactics For XXXXXXXXX Uncovered
What You Can Do About XXXXXXXXX Starting In The Next Minutes
What The Experts Aren’t Saying About XXXXXXXXX And How It Affects You
Tips on XXXXXXXXX You Can Use Today
Why Everyone Is Dead Wrong About XXXXXXXXX And Why You Must Rea This Report
The Ultimate Strategy For XXXXXXXXX
Tips For XXXXXXXXX You Can Use Today
How To Find Out Everything There Is To Know About XXXXXXXXX In Simple Steps
Shocking Information About XXXXXXXXX Exposed
What Everyone Is Saying About XXXXXXXXX And What You Should Do
The Single Best Strategy To Use For XXXXXXXXX Revealed
The Unadvertised Details Into XXXXXXXXX That Most People Don’t Know About
The Leaked Secret to XXXXXXXXX Discovered
Warning Signs on XXXXXXXXX You Should Know
The Most Overlooked Solution For XXXXXXXXX
Unknown Facts About XXXXXXXXX Made Known
Unanswered Questions Into XXXXXXXXX Revealed
Rumored Buzz on XXXXXXXXX Exposed
Detailed Notes on XXXXXXXXX In Step by Step Order
The Untold Story on XXXXXXXXX That You Must Read or Be Left Out
Hidden Answers To XXXXXXXXX Revealed
Instant Solutions To XXXXXXXXX In Step by Step Detail
Unanswered Questions on XXXXXXXXX That You Should Know About
Confidential Information on XXXXXXXXX That Only The Experts Know Exist
Shortcuts To XXXXXXXXX That Only A Few Know About
The History of XXXXXXXXX Refuted
The Basics of XXXXXXXXX That You Can Benefit From Starting Today
The True Story About XXXXXXXXX That The Experts Don’t Want You To Know
Why Everybody Is Talking About XXXXXXXXX…The Simple Truth Revealed
New Questions About XXXXXXXXX Answered And Why You Must Read Every Word of This Report
Brief Article Teaches You The Ins and Outs of XXXXXXXXX And What You Should Do Today
New Article Reveals The Low Down on XXXXXXXXX And Why You Must Take Action Today
Why Almost Everything You’ve Learned About XXXXXXXXX Is Wrong And What You Should Know
Unbiased Article Reveals New Things About XXXXXXXXX That Nobody Is Talking About
Short Article Reveals The Undeniable Facts About XXXXXXXXX And How It Can Affect You
New Ideas Into XXXXXXXXX Never Before Revealed
What You Should Do To Find Out About XXXXXXXXX Before You’re Left Behind
Unusual Article Uncovers The Deceptive Practices of XXXXXXXXX
Up In Arms About XXXXXXXXX?
Get The Scoop on XXXXXXXXX Before You’re Too Late
If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on XXXXXXXXX
Uncommon Article Gives You The Facts on XXXXXXXXX That Only A Few People Know Exist
What You Don’t Know About XXXXXXXXX
Fraud, Deceptions, And Downright Lies About XXXXXXXXX Exposed
Unbiased Report Exposes The Unanswerd Questions on XXXXXXXXX
Lies You’ve Been Told About XXXXXXXXX
The Secret To XXXXXXXXX
Essential Elements For XXXXXXXXX
Ideas, Formulas And Shortcuts For XXXXXXXXX
All About XXXXXXXXX
New Step by Step Roadmap For XXXXXXXXX
The New Angle On XXXXXXXXX Just Released
A Deadly Mistake Uncovered on XXXXXXXXX And How to Avoid It
The -Second Trick For XXXXXXXXX
The Good, The Bad and XXXXXXXXX
The -Minute Rule for XXXXXXXXX
The Biggest Myth About XXXXXXXXX Exposed
The Do’s and Don’ts Of XXXXXXXXX
A Review Of XXXXXXXXX
The Little-Known Secrets To XXXXXXXXX
The Fundamentals Of XXXXXXXXX Revealed
The One Thing To Do For XXXXXXXXX
The Do This, Get That Guide On XXXXXXXXX
What The In-Crowd Won’t Tell You About XXXXXXXXX
The Lost Secret Of XXXXXXXXX
Whispered XXXXXXXXX Secrets
A Secret Weapon For XXXXXXXXX
The Argument About XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX Fundamentals Explained
Whatever They Told You About XXXXXXXXX Is Dead Wrong…And Here’s Why
The Nuiances Of XXXXXXXXX
The XXXXXXXXX Cover Up
Facts, Fiction and XXXXXXXXX
The Pain of XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX for Dummies
The XXXXXXXXX Game
The Upside to XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX No Longer a Mystery
The New Fuss About XXXXXXXXX
Questions and Answers to XXXXXXXXX
The Downside Risk of XXXXXXXXX That No One is Talking About
The Top Most Asked Questions About XXXXXXXXX
What Everybody Dislikes About XXXXXXXXX And Why
XXXXXXXXX – An In Depth Anaylsis on What Works and What Doesn’t
What XXXXXXXXX Is – And What it is Not
Want to Know More About XXXXXXXXX?
Here’s What I Know About XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX – The Conspriracy
Outrageous XXXXXXXXX Tips
Ruthless XXXXXXXXX Strategies Exploited
Closely-Guarded XXXXXXXXX Secrets Explained in Explicit Detail
XXXXXXXXX Exposed
XXXXXXXXX – Is it a Scam?
The Debate Over XXXXXXXXX
Life After XXXXXXXXX
The Fight Against XXXXXXXXX
The War Against XXXXXXXXX
Ways to Guard Against XXXXXXXXX
The Battle Over XXXXXXXXX And How To Win It
A Startling Fact about XXXXXXXXX Uncovered
The Foolproof XXXXXXXXX Strategy
Things You Won’t Like About XXXXXXXXX And Things You Will
The Ulitmate XXXXXXXXX Trick
The Tried and True Method for XXXXXXXX In Step by Step Detail
The Honest to Goodness Truth on XXXXXXXXX
The Number One Question You Must Ask For XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX – Dead or Alive?
Who Else Wants To Learn About XXXXXXXXX?
The Number One Article on XXXXXXXXX
The Chronicles of XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX Secrets That No One Else Knows About
Winning Strategies To Use For XXXXXXXXX
What You Don’t Know About XXXXXXXXX Could Be Costing To More Than You Think
Cut-Throat XXXXXXXXX Tactics That Never Fails
How XXXXXXXXX changed our lives in
Most Amazing XXXXXXXXX Changing How We See The World
I Didn’t know that!: Top XXXXXXXXX of the decade
Five Predictions on XXXXXXXXX in
Things You Should Know About XXXXXXXXX
Type Of XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX – Overview
XXXXXXXXX – The Story
XXXXXXXXX At A Glance
XXXXXXXXX Explained
XXXXXXXXX Guide
XXXXXXXXX Reviews & Tips
XXXXXXXXX Tips
XXXXXXXXX Tips & Guide
A Guide To XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX – What Is It?
The Basic Facts Of XXXXXXXXX
What Is XXXXXXXXX?
Most Noticeable XXXXXXXXX
Understanding XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX Help!
Discover What XXXXXXXXX Is
Choosing Good XXXXXXXXX
Choosing XXXXXXXXX
Choosing XXXXXXXXX Is Simple
Finding The Best XXXXXXXXX
How To Choose XXXXXXXXX
Introducing XXXXXXXXX
The Most Popular XXXXXXXXX
Top Choices Of XXXXXXXXX
Top Guide Of XXXXXXXXX
Top XXXXXXXXX Reviews!
Top XXXXXXXXX Tips!
XXXXXXXXX Reviews & Guide
Where To Find XXXXXXXXX
The Benefits Of XXXXXXXXX
What To Expect From XXXXXXXXX?
Using XXXXXXXXX
The Advantages Of XXXXXXXXX
Key Pieces Of XXXXXXXXX
Getting The Best XXXXXXXXX
Vital Pieces Of XXXXXXXXX
Details Of XXXXXXXXX
How Does XXXXXXXXX Work?
The Importance Of XXXXXXXXX
What Does XXXXXXXXX Do?
Top XXXXXXXXX Guide!
The Key To Successful XXXXXXXXX
What Makes A XXXXXXXXX?
Buying XXXXXXXXX
How To Get A XXXXXXXXX?
Purchasing XXXXXXXXX
What Is So Fascinating About XXXXXXXXX?
Top XXXXXXXXX Choices
Finding XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX : The Ultimate Convenience!
XXXXXXXXX Features
The Basic Of XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX Ideas
Characteristics Of XXXXXXXXX
Definitions Of XXXXXXXXX
How To Find XXXXXXXXX Online
The Appeal Of XXXXXXXXX
The Hidden Gem Of XXXXXXXXX
The Meaning Of XXXXXXXXX
Top Tips Of XXXXXXXXX
Top XXXXXXXXX Secrets
XXXXXXXXX Can Be Fun For Everyone
XXXXXXXXX Options
XXXXXXXXX Secrets
What Does XXXXXXXXX Mean?