How to write headlines readers will love

You may have written the most captivating story ever, but without the right headline — one that screams open me! — your story may never reach its full audience potential.

That’s why understanding what makes a successful headline and the tactics to use to get them seen across different platforms — your website, social media and newsletters — is incredibly important for those who suggest, edit and optimize them.

I’m going to cover how to write great headlines with a few tips and tricks to ensure you are creating headlines that are a home run with your readers.

But before we get to any of that, I want to share that I will be leading a webinar on this exact topic on May 1, 2025, with my friends at Stacker. The free webinar will focus on all of the things that you need to take into consideration when it comes to getting readers to open your story — without doing clickbait. You can register here.

Now, let’s jump into those headline tips:

Write headlines like people speak

Great web headlines strike a balance between providing every detail in the story and creating some level of curiosity.

Readers really respond well to content and headlines that are relatable and conversational. When I’m writing a headline, I often ask myself if it’s written in a way that’s similar to how I would say that exact same thing to my wife. If it’s not, I will rewrite it.

We don’t speak like government officials — and neither do most of our readers — so our language should be in line with how actual people communicate with each other.

Here are a few tips:

• Read your headline out loud. If it sounds like something a person would never say, rewrite it.
• Start your headline off with the most relatable part of the story. That’s often a person or place.
• Make sure your headlines include an active voice. Say “Council Approves Ban” not “Ban Approved by Council.”
• Find the emotional connection in your story. Maybe that’s happiness, grief or surprise. Build your headline around that.

Keep these SEO things in mind

Your headline is competing not just on social media, but in search results too. So use terms people are actually typing into Google.

Here are some basic tips:

• Include the full names of people, towns, schools, or organizations if they’re relevant and don’t use acronyms unless they’re widely known.
• Identify the best keywords to be in your story by using tools like Google’s autocomplete, Google Search Trends or platforms like Answer The Public, Ahref or SemRush. Or, simply think about what you’d search if you were trying to find the story and use those words.
• Your subhead is important, so use it to include additional keywords or provide more detail about the story, especially if the headline is more conversational.

Create a sense of curiosity and FOMO

The best web headlines make you want to click now. You are asking readers to stop their scrolling and open your story, so you have to think about how you create a sense of urgency that the information is helpful or important.

Here are a few ways you can do that:

• Research has shown that starting with words that are conversational can lead to more engagement. Think about using words like: “How,” “Why,” “This” and “That.”

Example: Why Tampa’s strawberry festival is such a family favorite

• Use certain words to create urgency: “Today,” “Right now” and “This week.”

Example: Avoid Interstate 45 this morning as lane-switch planned for downtown Houston

• Show how your story affects someone by using words like “you” or “your” in the headline.

Example: This is what Chicago’s City Council vote means for your tax bill

We can help you

We are experts in helping media companies write engaging headlines that drive audience growth. Reach me at david@davidarkinconsulting.com or call me at 832 407 0188.