Time for me to be honest, I sometimes get hung up on what to blog about for my own business. I think it is something that many business professionals struggle with. In an attempt to come up with something unique, fresh and thought-provoking, the feature topic is often times over analyzed.

We all know that most people read blogs because they are looking for tips, opinions, or answers to a problem they are up against. They want to read something that is written by someone that has experience and passion about the topic.

But we also know that people are participating in blogs and other forms of social media because they are looking for interaction, engagement and ways of sharing their own expertise.

So the next time you get hit with writer’s block, why not turn your questions into topics.

If you come across a business problem and have difficulty finding resolution, you can do 1 of 2 things.

1. Turn your experience of finding the answer into a blog post.
2. Or simply post that you have a question and are interested in other professional’s expertise and opinion.

Either way, it may prompt dialog between you and colleagues, as well as potential clients, resulting in great networking potential. Not to mention some traffic for your site!

This double-whammy headline does two things: it asks a question, and it creates curiosity. As a copywriter, you’re probably thinking, “Of course I don’t throw my best copy away. My best copy goes to my clients for their websites and promotional materials. Why would anyone throw away their best copy?”

Now that I’ve got your attention, I can tell you that if you aren’t writing compelling headlines, you are effectively throwing all the rest of your copy into the trash. If no one is interested in your headline, they’ve already decided they won’t be interested in what follows the headline. That means that no matter how good your copy is, it’s wasted. It’s gone straight into the trash. No copywriter wants that.

Put a Monkey on Your Head

Be a little crazy. Stay relevant, but use word play, alliteration, and interesting points from your main content to create a funny, intriguing, and yeah, slightly strange headline. That kookiness may not make sense at first, but that’s what’s going to make your reader keep reading. They figure your copy will make the headline make sense, and they want to know what that crazy statement was all about.

Once you’ve got them, don’t let them down. You have to deliver on kookiness, or you’ve disappointed your reader and lost the reason they’d want to keep reading. I’m going to explain that putting a monkey on your head is a metaphor for putting something offbeat (a monkey) on your head(line).

Now you know. That’s why you kept reading. So give it a shot.

In the last few posts we discussed the use of action words and perfect headlines in your copywriting.

You know, action oriented, not BORING copywriting.

And in my opinion, John Carlton couldn’t have said it better.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Good headlines are hard to write, but you cannot survive without them. It’s a little brutal, but it’s just that simple. Without a good headline, your reader won’t want to keep reading your article, your web copy, or your blog post. That means that without the headline, nothing you write will ever be read, and your copywriting will never compel a new customer to buy a product, visit a web page, or even be interested in what you have to say.

It Is For That Reason That Good Headlines Make Money

A solid statement of benefit is often a very effective headline. If you write good headlines, your readers will continue to read the features and benefits of the product or service you’re writing for. That means they’re more likely to become customers, and that means the company who makes the product or service will make money. It’s as simple as that.

Without a benefit in the headline, readers don’t know why they care. If that headline just read “Good Headlines,” maybe some people would keep reading, but they wouldn’t have a reason to. For all they know, it’s about how good headlines are very nice. Almost as nice as puppies. It could be about anything. When they know that it’s about making money with good headlines, those who want to make money (which is most people) will want to read on.

Short is Good

Long headlines can be effective in certain situations, but by and large, shorter is better. A headline is only supposed to entice your readers to keep reading, it’s not meant to explain the entire topic on its own. Otherwise, what do you need the rest of the copy for? A headline sets up the next paragraph to make an impact; it’s up to you to knock it down with great, compelling copy.

5 Headline Tricks That Work

1. Ask a question.
2. Make a powerful statement.
3. Use the words “How to”
4. Use a number (like we did in this headline)
5. Rock it out with strong verbs