1.      Headlines that arouse curiosity (and gives a sense of awe)

• “Great minds like a think” –The Economist
• “If it costs an arm and a leg, don’t buy two” – Citibank
•  “Calling it transportation is like calling sex reproduction” – Porsche

When you read those headlines, you can’t help but feel curious.

The need to satisfy our curiosity is a natural driving force that pulls our attention.

If you can find away to arouse curiosity in the headline of your blog, ad copy, or subject line in an email, people will be drawn to it. They can’t help but open the email, read your blog, or investigate the product you’re advertising.

2.      News Headlines

When humans first discovered fire, they sat around at night and shared experiences with each other.

One might’ve shared the successful hunting tactic that worked. Another shared how to escape an attack from a bear. What makes us different as a species, is our ability to share information.

We are wired to pay attention to “new” information. And that’s exactly what news headlines do.

Use news headlines when:

• You have a new product to announce
• You have a new way of applying your product
• You have decided to take a stance on a social cause
• You recently had an interesting customer testimonial
• You have a new product to announce
• You have a new way of applying your product
• You have decided to take a stance on a social cause
• You recently had an interesting customer testimonial

Here are some examples:

• “Rolex boycotts Russia”
•  “Amazon Fashion Introduces a More Convenient Way to Shop with Virtual Try-On for Shoes”
•  “Apple unveils all-new MacBook Air, supercharged by the new M2 chip”
•  “Nordstrom By Cristina Martinez Collection Launches, Celebrates The Convergence Of Art + Style”

3.      How-to Headlines

This one may seem obvious to you.

If I want to learn how to do something, I simply search “how to” in Google or YouTube and usually find exactly what I’m looking for in 60 seconds.

This headline is effective when you’re offering a solution to a frequent problem people experience.

Generally, the more specific the headline the better. Why?

• It’ll give the reader a hint about the solution, drawing them even closer
• It’ll speak directly to someone experiencing a specific problem
• It’ll help you rank higher in search engine results            

Examples:

• How to make extra money while you have a full-time job VS How to make extra money
• How to ask for a raise without it backfiring VS how to ask for a raise
• How to lose weight in one month VS how to lose weight

4.      Question Headlines

One common mistake people make when using these headlines is they focus too much on themselves or the company. For example, “Want to know what Ash is up to these days?” I’m guessing you really don’t care about what I’m up to. If I was Kim Kardashian or Elon Musk, you might be curious, but for most people, this won’t work.

3 rules of thumb for good question headlines:

1. Make them provocative
2.  Make them want to answer no
3. Make them appeal to the reader’s interest, not yours

Some good examples of question headlines (I’m just making these up BTW):

• Are you too old to start a business?
• Most of us believe in aliens, do you?
• Will picking this stock make you rich?
  

5.      Why… Headlines

These headlines are effective because people ask themselves… “hmm, I wonder why that is, I need to find out.” Or they think “I think I know why… let me see if I’m right.”

I bet you’re noticing a pattern.

The more you appeal to our curiosity, the better.

We just can’t help but want to find out.

• Why most weight-loss programs no longer work.
• Why gas prices are going way up.
• Why you shouldn’t eat bread.

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