Nov 20, 20224 min read

112022-The Secret of How You Can Write Great Headlines

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If you know why a soap opera is successful, you already know how to write a great headline

What makes for a great soap opera

Suspense is the heart of any soap opera. Megan Collins, author of The Winter Sister and Behind the Red Door, agrees and shares that after spending five hours a week on The Days of Our Lives for over two decades, she firmly believes that its pace is ingrained in her, dictating her instinct as a storyteller! [Source: 11]

Normal people, with normal lives and real jobs, watch soap operas and reality shows. The sources at the end of this paragraph detail some of the news released on Soap Central during 2020 that focuses on the young and restless artist or the Y&R artist of the past and present. There are many headlines and headlines that seem common but can still grab the attention of your readers. The sources provide examples of catchy headlines aimed at the logical brain of the reader. [Sources: 9, 12, 13]

It makes sense that this type of headline is meant to be used when you’re legitimately talking about a recent development or new way of doing business in your industry that could change the lives of your audience. Writing great headlines takes practice, but it works when you get the hang of it. The more you practice and write, the easier it is for you to create headlines that will appeal to your specific audience. If you create blog posts all the time, it can be difficult for you to find interesting headlines that grab the attention of your audience and encourage them to read the rest of your blog. [Sources: 0, 4]

A suspenseful headline is an attention-grabbing headline

If you don’t have an attention-grabbing headline, people won’t keep reading you information below the headline. The lack of a compelling headline reduces the effectiveness of the article.

There are many ways to create an eye-catching headline. You need an attractive headline to attract attention because you only have a few seconds to attract the attention of your readers. Keep in mind that most Medium readers simply scan the posts that are published! Seconds count! [Sources: 0, 12]

The great thing is that you can use these catchy headlines without any call-to-action words. To add flavor to your blog titles, tell your readers how they’ll benefit from the content of your posts.

Write catchy headlines that promise readers effective solutions to their problems. Use them to add variety to the titles of your blog posts and inspire future posts. [Sources: 4, 12]

Movie stars, rap artists, TV shows, and other pop culture elements make titles more interesting because readers are related to them. Blog posts (like this one) appeal to readers because they make simple and straightforward promises. By far, the easiest way to tell great stories and create great products from them is to use blog posts. [Sources: 3, 4]

But with the increase in the number of channels, the consistent release of great content has become overwhelming for most people. People are trying to create more and more content every year. Unfortunately, the tsunami of good, mediocre, and bad blog posts, videos, and infographics increasingly disrupt the online environment. In an ideal world, content marketing strategies would be able to clearly guide people in an unambiguous way to quality content and the content that is of the bad variety. Unfortunately, all too often, the reader is left with no clear-cut way of identifying the good from the bad. [Sources: 3, 5]

The headline should have an aura of suspense, enticing the reader to “read on”

If you ever lose sight of what it all means or how to do it, watch any soap opera and see how at the end of each segment and episode they always give you a reason to stay on top of what’s coming next. One of the things you’ll notice about soap operas is how hard the writers work so you know the best is yet to come. [Sources: 10, 11]

Dissecting a soap opera vis-a-vis an attention-grabbing headline

First, they try to create a fun and engaging drama. Second, and just as important, they work hard to ensure that the viewer doesn’t either stop watching the episode after commercial breaks or worse, drop out of the show entirely, between episodes. [Sources: 3, 10]

Building a strong connection with your reader

Tell your story, your product story, or your customers’ story in a compelling and human way. The closer you get to the tone of your readers’ feelings and the zeitgeist, the stronger the connection will be.

As you tell the story of your latest product or write your next post, make sure your characters are vibrant, bold, and easily recognizable. [Source: 8]

Use catchy and engaging marketing words that sizzle

Use catchy and engaging marketing words that show the purpose of the article. If you really want to learn how to create eye-catching headlines to grab attention, read on for the best adjectives you can use.

It might be a little obvious, but you only have a few seconds to grab your readers’ attention, so if you can start your headline with attention-grabbing words such as top, best, free, sale, and others, you will position yourself to be one of the top “most viewed” Medium writers. No guarantee, but it is a start! [Sources: 0, 12]

One tip is to use a keyword or number in catchy headlines. But also, you can name them in a more powerful way by referring to them based on their qualities and making them a headline.

By asking a question in headlines, people automatically find the answer. They use these catchy titles and eye-catching blog title templates. [Sources: 0, 12]

@Nick Usborne thinks writing great titles is like making a soap opera. I could not agree more with him!

Let me know how my article may have helped you to write more attention-grabbing headlines now and in your future writing on Medium. [Sources: 7, 8]