Clickbait or Damn Good Headline?

Clickbait or Damn Good Headline?

Reader Comments (13)

  1. Click-bait is so attractive in my niche; i blog about movies. But I do avoid it at all cost and with daily content like this from Copyblogger, I am mastering the art of writing dope headlines and even better first paragraph/introduction.

  2. I used to write great headlines when I first started blogging, but when it became clear that whoever was gonna read was already reading and I wasn’t getting any new traffic, I started getting pretty lazy with it. I guess that is a cycle that will guarantee no new traffic though.

    • You could always work on improving your headlines as an exercise for your own development as a writer … even if your traffic in the short-term doesn’t go up, those headlines could open the door to more social shares, search traffic, or other opportunities down the line.

  3. I often feel stuck with my headlines, and often feel like I’m trying too much with them. I don’t want them to be click-baity, but not too generic either.

    I try to become a better writer, and often got great ideas and visions for posts but when they come out of my head they arenät that impressive I hoped they would be. I guess strategic learning and exercise will do the trick.

    Copyblogger’s free articles have helped me a lot already, and this piece was spot on, Stefanie. So next time you’ll open the doors, I might be ready for the Certified Content Marketeting program.

    • We all have ideas that don’t turn out as great as they seemed in our heads — so definitely don’t get discouraged, Rickard!

      Practice makes the process easier. 🙂

      Stay tuned for more details about how to join the Certification program!

  4. Hey Stefanie,

    It’s believed that more than 80% of the people decide whether they want to read the article or not just after having a glance at the headline.

    Before anyone starts crafting the heading, there are many questions to be asked. I always wonder as if what’s the best possible way to make people think.

    Glad to read this article.
    Thanks for sharing.
    ~Ravi

  5. The paradox with suggesting that if your content delivers on the headline’s promise, it’s not clickbait, is that if a reader perceives it as clickbait, it may never get read.

    Overuse of headlines that begin with “How to…?” and “Why…” have massively weakened their appeal.

    It’s much harder, but so much more effective, to come up with fresh angles.

    • Very interesting paradox … If something is perceived as clickbait, then it could actually backfire and do the opposite of what clickbait intends to do: turn away readers.

      But fresh or creative angles aren’t necessarily persuasive, and if the headline doesn’t show why an article is worth sometime’s time, the article won’t get read either.

      I’m not endorsing clickbait-style headlines that deliver on their promises. I’m endorsing compelling headlines that deliver on their promises. 🙂

    • People will always click on headlines that promise “how to” or “why” if what follows is compelling and relevant to them. There are no fresh angles when it comes to that.

  6. I’ve found I’m less inclined to click on a headline that sounds like click bait (they’ve tried too hard to be controversial or elicit a response), even if it does deliver on the goods (I don’t take the time to find out).

    Not that any of your headlines ever scream click bait, Stefanie 🙂

    I agree with you, though, that if the gist of the article is in the headline (in other words, you’ve told me what you’re delivering) I’ll definitely have a read…

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