How to Write a Compelling Headline That Isn’t Clickbait
Your headline is your first impression. Here’s how to write a great one.
Headlines (also known as titles) are entertaining. They’re helpful. They’re surprising. They’re evocative. They’re often assertive. And they just sound cool when you say them out loud. Today, we led a free creator workshop on finding the best headline for your story — and here’s the recording. Below, you’ll find some key takeaways, along with examples of effective headlines.
I. Principles of Effective Headlines
- Your headline is your first impression.
- Your headline represents your voice.
- Your headline convinces the reader to dive in.
- Your headline is a service to the reader.
- Your headline will help readers find your story.
Why do headlines matter? Well, a headline is your first impression. It sets the mood of the reading experience and suggest the tone of your story. A headline is also often readers’ first impression of you. It sets the tone for your reader’s relationship with you. It represents your voice.
Headlines suggest value to the reader. Good headlines say: “This will be worth your time.” Bad headlines allow readers to move on and choose something else to read.
Overall, a good headline is a service to the reader: It help the reader decide how to spend their time.
General guidelines
- Don’t make the reader work. Or even think, really. Headlines should deliver all the information a reader needs for deciding whether they should dive into your story.
- Use the right language for your audience. If you’re writing for a general audience, no jargon! Pick three friends: Would each of them know what your story is about based on the headline? If so, you have a great headline.
- Focus on what’s interesting. Your headline doesn’t need to address everything that’s in your story. It just needs to focus on the most interesting part of your story in a way that represents the overall truth of your story.
- Answer: So what? Why now? Why does your story matter? Why does it matter to a reader right now?
Here’s a handy checklist of questions to ask yourself as you’re writing (or revising) a headline. We suggest asking yourself these questions for every headline you write:
- Is it true?
- Is it interesting?
- Is it concise?
- Is it assertive?
- Would my really smart friend click on it?
An important disclaimer: A great story with an ineffective headline can still find its audience… it just has to work a little harder.
II. How to Write a Headline, in 5 Steps
Step 1: Make it true
The first step is to just write what your story is about. Don’t try to make it great or even compelling, really. Just say what it is. Say it in a complete sentence. Take a look at this example. This is a simple, true headline.
It was likely the first thing that came to the writer’s mind: “This Terrifying Chart Helps Me Get Things Done.” This a headline appeared in Medium’s self-improvement publication Forge. It’s simple and honest. But it’s also inherently funny and weird and intriguing. And it makes a story about a chart seem cool!
So, sometimes, the first thing that comes to mind just happens to work great. But not usually! Often, a first-draft headline needs to be made more interesting. Which leads us to step two…
Step 2: Make it interesting
Now is the time to take the truth of your story and focus on certain aspects above others. Try to relate to the reader’s life. Be a salesperson. Market your story.
Ask yourself: Would you click on this? Think about how it would appear in various platforms, not just in your Medium profile. What would it look like as a Tweet? An email subject line? If you say it out loud, is it irresistible? If not, change it. Look for words that feel kind of like a drag and swap them out for more evocative words. Let’s take a look at this example.
The initial headline on the left is true, but so is the final headline on the right. Which is more interesting? Which do you relate to more?
This story is about a concept called “deep acting,” but the writer chose to swap that out for the term “fake it til you make it,” which is more relatable. It references an idea many readers have heard before, and something readers may have caught themselves doing. It places the story right in the reader’s life and addresses some anxiety the reader likely has. And it makes a clear promise of an alternative, a solution to the problem. That’s a full package.
Step 3: Make it concise (but not too concise)
“Omit unnecessary words,” as an old writing guide put it. Make your headline tight and efficient. This is especially helpful for headlines that are true and interesting but also too long and get cut off on social media feeds.
So, how do you make a headline concise?
By eliminating filler words. Are there any words that are just kind of… sitting there and not working very hard? Can you eliminate them or change them? Here are some examples of tight, succinct headlines:
These headlines are as concise as they can be and still be compelling. They’re all straightforward. Every word is doing an important job — and each headline fits on one line.
Notice, too, that all three of these headlines use “be” verbs like “is” and “are.” In high school (and certainly in journalism school), we’re taught to replace be verbs with action verbs in our writing. But verbs like is and are can be effective in headlines. First of all, they’re short. Second of all, they force you to state a truth. This IS true. These ARE fantastic. Be verbs force you to express truths. And great headlines always involve simple truths. Plus, headlines that use is and are headlines will often be assertions. Which brings us to our next step…
Step 4: Make it assertive (if that makes sense for your story)
Make a claim. Say something arguable, or something you have to defend. People don’t always read stories to agree with viewpoints. Often, they read stories so they can disagree with your viewpoint. Assertions commit your story and make it highly compelling. Here are some examples of strong assertions:
To make your headline into an assertion:
- Start with an is headline.
- Be provocative.
- Commit to a position you have to defend.
Then, you’re ready for the final step…
Step 5: Workshop it
Ask someone you trust to read it. Give them a few options and tell them to make a choice. Don’t tell them what the story is about (after all, your reader won’t have that context either). And don’t always give them your best headlines. Sometimes, headlines that you think are weak are the headlines people will actually click on.
Some don’ts
And now, a few things to avoid. These aren’t hard and fast rules, of course. There are plenty of exceptions to these guidelines. But, in general, here are things that make people not click on a story…
- Don’t ask a question unless you know the answer. Statements are almost always better than questions. Questions make it seem like you don’t know the answer. And readers are looking to writers for answers.
- Don’t write a headline like you would a book title (avoid one-word or two-word headlines). Book titles are meant to feel timeless and often elegant. Headlines are workhorses. They’re a little messy, a little longer. They’re competing with many, many other headlines. Booky headlines like “The Calling” (which is too vague) or “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Online” (also too vague and somehow also too broad) just don’t work as well as more specific headlines.
- Easy on the gerunds (-ing words). Gerunds (-ing verbs) tend to feel passive. In 2016, the New York Times tested two gerund headlines against nongerund headlines. For instance, one group saw this headline: “$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Trump.” While another saw this: “Measuring Trump’s Media Dominance.” People were 70% more likely to click on the nongerund headlines.
III. A Few Great Headlines, and Why They Work
Direct headlines
The following two headlines are direct. They use active language and have a straightforward structure (both use how, a tried-and-true headline starter — though it’s often overused). They’re not clever; they’re clear.
Personal headlines
Above are two headlines for the same story: on the left is the original headline, and on the right is a revised headline. The original headline on the left has an instructional tone — but this is not a problem most people realize is happening, and the fact that it happened to the person telling the story is what makes this story noteworthy. The edited headline on the right leans into what makes the story compelling — the fact that a black man living in the U.S., today, had to leave his home because of the KKK. That personal story is the draw for readers.
Headlines that validate readers’ feelings
Here, the original headline on the left is a bit confusing, but it also misses the emotional hook of this story. The revised headline, on the right, is concise and validates feelings people have. Most people do not like working out, and they would love an excuse not to push themselves to run for an hour at breakneck speed on a treadmill. The article validates that feeling, but you wouldn’t have known it from the original headline.
Headlines that make clear promises
These headlines make clear promises and suggest real value. They entice the reader. The example on the left has the classic “what you’ll learn” framing, but the story on the right also works because you don’t immediately know how or why an embarrassing story could be a secret weapon at work. You have to read the story if you want to find out. (Often, making enticing promises like this can be conflated with writing clickbait headlines — but if your story delivers on its promise, it’s not clickbait; it’s just a good headline.)
Assertive headlines
Here, the original headline on the left is not a question people are asking. People don’t know or assume that their Fitbit could predict the flu, so framing this as a question misses what’s interesting about the story — the news that your Fitbit might be able to predict the flu. Which is cool. And weird. The edit on the right reframes this as a statement and taps into what makes this story novel, interesting, and noteworthy now. And it isn’t hyperbolic. It’s a clear, relatable (and responsible) assertion.
Effective uses of “you”
Headlines that speak directly to the reader can be extremely effective. They feel personal and urgent, and they tap into our endless desire to understand ourselves. These kinds of headlines work best when you want the reader to clearly see how the story relates to them (“You Might Be Losing Your Hearing”), or when you want to give them a directive (“Pitch a 4-Day Workweek to Your Boss”).
Effective use of “I”
First-person headlines are most effective when someone is telling a personal story that’s very specific to them. These are the curiosity-driven stories where you don’t expect to have the same experience, but you want to understand theirs. The specificity of the biker gang story above is a perfect example of that.
Want more examples of great headlines, and tips for writing them? We recommend these resources in Creators Hub:
