The reader has to guess what happens next. After that he verifies his claim by reading the article. The article creates value because the reader gets a chance to get a reward—to be right. Good copywriters call this the curiosity gap. You make your reader curious in the headline by leaving a question open. This question is then answered in the actual text. And since curiosity is a strong driver of us humans you get a new reader. 5. Journalistic integrity doesn t matter If you are now wondering what the journalistic ideal is then all I can say is No idea. I m not a journalist Smart bloggers and journalists have little in common.
If you want to build a successful and high revenue blog then you have to put aside classic journalistic thinking. Especially with headings. Journalists are idealists. Smart bloggers are entrepreneurs. Nonetheless don t overdo it with your enticing headline. Why can t you overdo it Because too much of a good Russia phone number list thing is never good. “How you can earn €123 215 in your sleep tomorrow without lifting a finger” is simply too much. This headline is anything but enticing. Headlines. If you exaggerate too much your credibility will be weakened or lost entirely. But if you find the happy medium where it sounds enticing but not too over the top then you ve made it and turn a scanner into a reader.
Congratulations Enticing headlines will get your reader in the door. But in order for it to stay you also have to deliver in your actual text If you make a big promise you have to keep that promise. And the best way to do that is with an article of at least 1 000 words . This is exactly the problem with clickbait headlines. Unfortunately promises are often broken. As a smart blogger getting a click doesn t do you any good if that scanner doesn t convert to a reader...then converts to a subscriber. If you think too short term you won t get far. Conclusion Why do all enticing headlines sound “like they came from the same pulp bucket” Quite simply because they work.