How to Write Headlines That Stop the Scroll

80% of people read headlines and only 20% read the entire article.

Quality content is not enough to get people to engage with your content; you need a catchy headline, too. Headlines are usually the first thing your audience sees so it must be catchy enough to make them stop and read your content.

Creating a great headline can sometimes be hard because you want to create something unique and also align with what you are writing. Your headline should be attractive and yet engaging so that you can gain more traffic on your page/site.

At the end of this article, you’ll know what makes a headline catchy and how to create a catchy headline.

Why is a Stop Scroll Headline Important?

The digital space is filled with content, both relevant and irrelevant; a good headline helps you sieve through the noise to touch the real deal.

A good headline plays an important role in capturing the attention of your audience and also serves as a clickbait for the right audience; it makes readers anticipate learning something new, while bad headlines make readers lose interest.

A good headline can help you;

• It helps to catch the audience’s attention
• It helps your content to be unique
• It helps to drive traffic to your page
• It helps to increase conversion

Components of a Scroll-Stopping Headline

Here are some essential parts of a headline that makes it catchy:

• Be Clear, No Puzzles: Headlines are the first thing your audience catches on to, so you must be as clear as possible in your delivery. Don’t leave them guessing what you are trying to convey because if they don’t get the message, they will move on so quickly, e.g., “The Importance of Digital Marketing”.
• The magic trick called Curiosity: Your headline should have a spark that keeps your audience intrigued and wanting more, don’t give everything away.E.g., “This hack will help your life, I tried it, and it worked for me”. Your readers will feel drawn to your content more. Curiosity adds spice that inspires clicks.
• Emotion-evoking: Your audience will always respond to feelings above facts, and how your headline and content are structured to hit the core of emotions like humor, awe, inspiration, or a sense of urgency. Headlines that begin with “The Key Facts That Turned My Business Around”.
• Power Words: Words that hinge on showcasing power can grab your audience’s attention because they give off an authoritative and alluring outlook. Words like “Ultimate,” “Secret,” and “Proven” are powerful words that can signal a certain kind of authority and intrigue.

Types of Catchy Headlines That Stop The Scroll

Headlines are so powerful, they are like bait for the right audience; each type of headline has its own audience.

Here are some headlines you can count on to grab attention:

1. Listicles

We all love headlines that have a fast and comprehensible list. Headlines that begin like this: “10 Tricks that every content writing beginner must know” captivate audiences that love clarity and a good structure, and the use of numbers makes the reading straightforward and a well-rounded guide, which is catchy.

2. Question Headlines

Headlines that are structured in a question format, e.g., “Are You Making These Mistakes Common In Your SEO Content?” ignite retrospection and allure. They make readers have a strong desire to know more about the topic.

3. How-To Headlines

Headlines that focus on actions are loved by the audience. “How to Write Headlines That Stop The Scroll” is a wonderful example of such kinds of headlines; it leaves the audience with new insights, skills, and experience.

4. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Headlines

Headlines like “Why Is Digital Marketing Important/Crucial?” present an urgent and trendy outlook to your audience. Your audience is interested to know why it is in vogue and what they could be missing.

5. Numbers Headlines

This type of headline focuses on boosting credibility. A headline that begins like this, “5 Proven Ways To Increase Visibility by 50%,” makes the reader believe that your content is tested, trusted, and backed up by accurate data.

How to Write Headlines That Stop The Scroll

Here are strategies you must take note of while writing a headline that can grab the attention of your audience effectively.

1. Short and concise

Your headline must be short and straight to the point; nobody wants to spend time reading a headline that seems not to be given what it should give if you get the point.

Your headline should carry at least 6-7 words maximum, anything more than that could get you a very low engagement from your audience. Research has shown that blog post headlines that carry 6-7 words often do well more than the others.

2. Accurate and Clear

A clear headline will help your audience properly anticipate the right pieces of information. It helps your readers know what you are offering them or what they stand to gain.

This builds a level of trust between your content and your audience. Research has shown that an inaccurate headline could greatly impede the ability of readers to remember the details of the content they read.

Here are a few ways to make your headline clear;

• Be definite – “10 Content Writing Tips You Should Never Forget” is clearer than ”Tips on Content Writing”
• Avoid the use of click-bait or inaccurate headline
• Use definite numbers and percentages in your headline
• Only use words that are applicable and easily understandable.

3. Powerful Headlines

You can go through other headlines to get more ideas for writing your headline.If you don’t have any, then you can consider doing the following.

Picking and presenting your value goal. Find out what value is your content trying to communicate and talk about that instead. Use powerful words to evoke emotions; words like ease, power, and status touch our human desires so well.

Use words like You not Us or We in your headlines to keep the focus of your audience on themselves and not you.

4. Use Urgency In Your Headline

There should be a sense of urgency attached to your headlines so that your audience will be compelled to click or read the whole content. Use time languages, use time-bound words like “Limited offers only or Offer ends in 2 days”.

5. Unique Headline

Your headline must stand out, it has to contain something different from what others would write. Add some intrigue and surprise.

Also, use interesting language or trendy words to catch the attention of your audience and give them a taste of something new and extraordinary. You can use your headline to mark out unique things that people must know about your brand/services.

Conclusion

The most important part of any content or article is its headline; it is the first thing your audience comes across, and you have just a few seconds to convince them to read the whole piece.

A good headline can cause your audience to read through the content, so for every different audience you can try different unique styles of headline to blend in.