Author: Su Xin. The author authorized the morning reading class reprint. My official account is Wumaxiaoman. Editor: Juvae
In the days of newspapers, magazines and television, consumers used to take blocks of time and immerse themselves in information. But in the age of mobile phones, with vast amounts of content available anytime, anywhere, consumers’ time and attention have been torn apart.
To win their attention, copy must grow from these tiny fragments. A bright headline is playing an increasingly important role in increasing click-through rates and thus increasing conversion rates. The ability to write headlines has become an important indicator of the strength of advertising copywriters and new media operators.
How to write a headline with high click-through rate and forwarding rate?
To write a headline that’s going to be a hit and a hit, you first need to figure out what’s the difference between a good headline and a bad headline?
There are two kinds of bad titles, one is flat and light, so that people do not want to click; Clickbait is a dangerous way to make users feel stupid and duped, their curiosity instantly turning into anger and a desire to have the person who wrote the headline executed.
A good headline is a clever distillation of the text, like a pinch of cumin sprinkled on a skewer of lamb by a barbequer, that draws passers-by to its front.
12 Tips for writing a Good headline
Disregarding content and distribution platforms, it is irresponsible to talk about titles separately. In this long article, you will see the headline tips for different types of content and what kind of headlines users prefer on different we-media platforms (wechat, Toutiao, etc.).
Next, I’ll break down the content into five vertical areas: emotion/chicken soup, fashion/entertainment, life/food, Technology/information, and knowledge, and share tips for writing good headlines.
I. Emotional and chicken soup content
The primary role of emotional content is to help users express their emotions, and the same is true of emotional titles. If you look at big emotional titles like Mimon and HUGO, you’ll see that they all do this very well.
To get emotional, headlines usually need to be clear, preferably in black and white.
Tip 1: User based
Here are some of the most read headlines:
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“The child is small, can’t you let go?” “No” (Mimong)
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“Are you a virgin?” “None of your business” (Mimong)
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“Why are you so rich? “Amazing” (Mimong)
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“Girls don’t work too hard?” “Are you supporting me?” (HOGO)
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“Aunt’s coming? Drink lots of water.” (Papi)
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Working women: Afraid to marry, afraid to give birth (Mimeng)
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Get to the point, don’t ask “Are you there?”
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Don’t push me! I don’t think anyone is good enough for me! (c)
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I don’t care what I post on Wechat! (Frog Brother Cartoon)
The similarities of these titles are fewer words, simple grammar, and many of them directly adopt conversational style. The trick is to speak from the user’s point of view, without packaging. The advantage is that when users see the title, there will be some people who want to @ in their hearts, and they will immediately feel a desire to attack, and this kind of psychology is very beneficial to the click rate, especially the forwarding rate.
Tip 2: Challenge common sense + create binary opposition
Common sense is “abnegation of self courtesy”, anti-common sense is “indulgence”, you say users are more likely to click on which headlines? Get a feel for it:
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But I’m not a bad woman (pink pear white)
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Be a difficult woman (HOGO)
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Who decreed that a woman must live a virtuous and virtuous life? (Woman with fragrance in her soul)
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A woman who loses is happier (Kava Weika)
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The wife must live like a mistress (Mimong)
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Unlucky girls don’t have too much luck (Mimo)
The titles above break people’s conventional cognition, no matter whether users agree with the point of view reflected in the title, it is hard to resist the impulse to find out. On the headline writing, need to construct a binary opposition deliberately factors, such as the title of “bad woman” (good woman), “difficult” get along (well), “ran” (not sent), (3) “huotang legally”, some opposition is implicit, some opposition are dominant, in any case, all need produce this kind of confrontation and conflict in the title.
Skill 3: suspense + interest points
Such popular titles, often with an elder’s tone, are heart-warming, revealing the truth about life and tips for happiness.
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A man who really loves you would do this to you.
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What little things a guy does on a date that a girl can’t stop wanting? (TO Shao-fei)
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What kind of woman is the easiest to turn on a man? (north)
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Here are the 8 things men find annoying about women when they’re in love
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Get the right posture (Papi Jiang)
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Will men cheat? Look at these two points (Women read more books)
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What are the little quirks of Aries that you can’t talk about? (Fellow uncle)
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How a girl of average appearance advances to “beauty” (Cicada Creativity)
This kind of title commonly used techniques, is often in the title of the interest point clear, let the user understand what kind of information can get after reading, at the same time to create suspense, attract the click. For example, in the title of “What kind of woman is the most likely to attract men”, the benefit point is “to attract men”, and the hidden information is “the trick to attract men”. If there is no clear interest point to attract people, it is no doubt futile to talk about the skills to create suspense.
Fashion and entertainment content
Entertainment, fashion content, is a kind of resistance to ordinary life.
What is the opposite of ordinary? The story.
The story has ups and downs, suspense, to satisfy people’s curiosity and curiosity, and these elements of the title, it is easy to be poked in the user’s finger.
Tip 1: Personal pronoun + timeline + inversion
These titles usually start with the first-person pronoun “he/she” and tell the story of a person’s life in unbroken chronological order. This is the kind of headline that basically gives the user a synopsis of the content, but the only thing they don’t know is who it is. Such as:
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She was one of the four most beautiful women in the Republic of China. She became a movie queen at the age of 17, and committed suicide at the age of 25 under the indifference of her ex-husband and lover. 300,000 people saw her off (Financial Gossip Girl)
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He is Liang Qichao’s favorite. The US gets his PhD by washing dishes. Chinese students build missiles to attack China, he builds missiles to defend the motherland.
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She is the male god harvester, the appearance level is high clothing product is higher, married to love after being pet into a small public, 29 years old still live like an 18 year old girl! (Business style)
Above, in accordance with the premise of the facts, the more dog blood, the more inverted, the more inspirational, the better.
Tip 2: Suspense + information ladder
Under the premise of content quality clearance, the title that can arouse the user’s curiosity and prying desire is a good title, such as:
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Reveal a game financing 400 million offshore platform, Ma Yun, Ma Huateng, Shi Yuzhu and other bigshots are investing (Entertainment Capital)
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Facts that marketers will never tell you: After three months of testing 15 sweeping robots… (list)
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And Zhang Lanxin was photographed, Yin Zheng exposed the true height! I can’t help but study the height of male stars around Yun Zheng (serious gossip)
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In addition to “here we come”, there is a spell that will make you buy a bunch of junk.
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What kind of bag really stands the test of time (Rebecca’s Fantastical World)
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Follow the trend and buy these lipsticks, you will only get uglier.
This kind of headline successfully creates “information ladder” through suspense, that is, the writer holds the secret that the readers don’t know, and the person who reposts the message holds the truth that the readers who read the headline don’t know, thus increasing the click-through rate and forwarding rate of the headline.
Three, life, food content
Life, food content title, the primary responsibility is how to use the text vividly describe the taste, vision, touch, smell, create a sensory attraction.
Tip 1: Satisfy multi-modal perception
Human beings have a cultural tendency to associate visual images with verbal messages, which is the nature of multimodal perception. Psychological research has repeatedly shown that concepts inspired by words are most memorable when they produce clear visual images in the mind.
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Magical Nougat rice cake with scallion, 54 layers in one bite (Gourmet Station)
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How to eat 9 roses and 15 jasmines in one bite (Food Station)
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Thin jinhua ham with time in every bite (one slice)
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1.5kg of fresh cane condensed into a single sugar: It knows what you can’t say (ENJOY food)
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With three flavors of apple, pear and date, the fruit is a bit fresh (next kitchen)
The titles above all talk about the flavor of food, but they don’t use adjectives to describe flavor, instead, they use concrete nouns to inspire the picture and impress people. For example, to describe scallion rice cake, it is not “thin and crisp”, but “bite down 54 layers”; to describe flower cake, it is not “fragrant”, but “eat rose and jasmine”, so that the vision and taste have linkage.
Tip 2: Look for endorsements
People are more interested in things that have a history, and they are more willing to find out. That’s the power of endorsements. Such as:
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This year, the first pick of the West Lake Longjing, Empress Dowager Cixi drink tea is this house (one)
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This is the one that won the 2016 Red Dot award: Cat Toilet (one)
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There is a red rope in the Forbidden City. Yao Chen, Jing Tian and Nicky Wu are all wearing it.
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From Silicon Valley to China, one is sold every three seconds. After using this juicer, you don’t want to touch the others.
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We’ve asked the country’s most famous sommelier to pick out a bottle of port for you.
Historical stories, awards, celebrities, sales, and professionals are all ways to add weight to the title.
Tip 3: Metaphysical refinement
For many people, the key to what to eat and use lies not only in the food and utensils themselves, but also in the living atmosphere they can create, commonly known as “XX represents XX’s attitude towards life”. Such as:
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Eat a good crayfish and you’ve caught summer in Nanjing (Penguin Eating guide)
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After a long winter, the old man’s heart was awakened by the sweet water (Penguin’s Guide to Eating and Drinking)
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As long as the pot is rumbling, the mood won’t be blueblue.
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A lazy egg to save your winter anxiety (ENJOY food)
There are so many diseases we need to cure: insomnia, anxiety, depression, loss, social phobia, embarrassment cancer… Modern people have too many psychological needs to be satisfied: artistic heart, glass heart, escape heart, girl heart, princess heart, queen heart…… With a related word in the headline, the click-through rate is more guaranteed.
Skill 4: Comparative method
Comparison is a technique that saves words and works better than hype:
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After this pineapple puff, the rest is a compromise (Iger is full)
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It’s sweeter than 99% of the fruits in the world, and it tastes like mousse. (Kitchen)
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“Hermes” in chocolate, put yourself at the top of the valentine’s Day ticket circle this year (Chengdu cuisine)
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Use these 10 little things during menstruation, 100 times more than brown sugar hose (IF)
In the title, through comparison, magnify the characteristics of a certain aspect of the description object, which seems to be a little exaggerated but does not feel grandiose, so that users have more desire to click for further understanding.
Tip 5: Play around
The world is cruel to white flowers. Undecontaminated headlines are often eye-catching. Such as:
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1000 Photos of his little Brother (Cicada Creative)
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Every morning and night, I just wanna pop it in my mouth
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I’ll treat you to sleep (one)
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Boyfriend that is very straight what experience (frog brother cartoon)
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Every thing a man wears, a woman eats on Valentine’s Night (Duffy)
Above, speculation is risky, operation must be cautious.
Science and technology, information content
Some of these contents have strong news attributes, such as the new speech of a big boss or the new action of a big factory, etc. The title of this kind of content is enough to attract eyeballs as long as relevant keywords are put on it. In addition to this kind of content, there are some tricks to adding color to the content with the title.
Tip: List numbers
These headings often contain one or more groups of numbers, such as:
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After tracking 783 startups for five months and analyzing 647,000 pieces of data, we found 10 interesting things (Tiger Sniff.com)
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After the decline of the news business, these 11 charts show what three old portals do for a living today (Curiosity Daily)
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Overseas stories of YY: How can you imagine a live broadcasting platform with 30 million monthly lives in a year and an estimated value of 400 million DOLLARS (36Kr)
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Escape from applets: 60% of users return to apps, 70% of developers want to give up development (Titanium Media)
Because numbers are the opposite of vagueness, they tend to convey a sense of professionalism and authority.
V. Knowledge content
Knowledge content must be informative in order to be valuable, and the title of such content must make this clear.
Tip: Simplify
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How does an article explode in your circle of friends? 8 Rules of Content Communication behind users’ active forwarding (Steamed Bread Business School)
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A long article, to understand the whole set of “100,000 +” title (Uma Xiaoman)
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10 minutes to understand the logic and common patterns of online advertising (three lessons)
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22 conclusions from meeting 21 We-media leaders with 500 million followers (new list)
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4 Soul Questions that Will Solve 80% of Your Dilemmas (LinkedIn)
See above this group title, you have not seen content, about to restrain the mood that wants to collect and forward? Their common feature is that the knowledge contained in the content is very simplified and refined, which makes the user seem to have a small psychological burden at a glance. For example, “8 rules”, “a long article”, “10 minutes”, “22 conclusions” and “4 questions” all embody very clear interest points with figures.
What else do you need to know once you’ve mastered the headline writing technique?
In addition to the micro tips above, it is also helpful to know some macro trends when writing a good headline.
1. Headlines are getting longer
In the age of print, a good headline has an important ingredient: short. Because of the high cost of paper printing, space is limited. In the digital age, titles no longer have to worry about this constraint. Now, wechat subscription accounts allow headlines of 64 characters, while headlines allow headlines of 30 characters.
Content entrepreneurship service platform “Xinbang” through the analysis of more than 2,000 popular articles of 100,000 +, also found that the number of title words of popular articles on wechat presents an increasing trend:
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On February 16, 2015, the average headline length was 18.02 characters;
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On February 16, 2016, the average headline length was 19.29 characters;
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On February 16, 2017, the average headline length was 21.66 characters.
Liu Chen, an expert on new media, believes that the longer information is written in the new media environment, which is a phenomenon of “information preposition”. The fundamental reason is that information explosion leads to increasingly scarce attention resources. “Instead of folding information into the text and waiting passively for users to open it, it is better to directly display information on the entrance for people to see”.
This requires content creators to think about titles from the user’s point of view, and to think about what titles people want to click on most without knowing anything about the content.
2. Different we-media platforms welcome different titles
Multi-platform distribution has become an inevitable trend in content creation. So, the same title, released to the wechat public number, toutiao number and other large flow platforms, will have the same effect? Let’s compare ergeng’s title on wechat’s official account with that of toutiao.
The above picture is the title of “Er Geng” in the wechat public account, which reflects the characteristics of: fewer words, abstract meaning, at first glance, it is difficult to know the specific content of the title. Take a look at the headline of “Er More” :
From the list of “best articles” on the right side of the figure above, it can be seen that “Er Geng” reads hundreds of thousands of article titles on the headline number, with more words and specific meaning. Basically, users know what the content is about when they see the title.
Why do “Er More” use different titles on different we-media platforms? Because it understands that the distribution mechanism of wechat official accounts and toutiao accounts is different. Wechat is a social platform that distributes content based on social relationships, so content and titles with the attributes of social topics (such as romance, zodiac signs, etc.) are more popular.
Toutiao, on the other hand, is an information platform that uses machine algorithms to distribute specific words that are more easily recognized by machines and then push them to users who like to read these “tags” and who prefer to click on the headlines with a sense of story.
conclusion
If you want your content to get good traffic on different platforms, in addition to mastering the common skills of writing a popular title, you need to think more about how the accounts with good traffic on the major platforms are creating the title, I believe you will have more harvest.
Email: [email protected]
This article is published by the author authorized by morning Reading class. Please contact the author for reprinting.
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