Skip To Main Content

7 simple tips for writing better headlines and subject lines

June 20, 2024

https://ragan.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iStock-1934937440.jpg

If your headline or email subject line is bad, the rest of what you write doesn’t matter.

If no one is willing to take the time out of their busy day to click your link or open your email, the time and effort you spent on the longer email or story is utterly invisible.

Earning that click can feel overwhelming, but there are a few easy tips that can boost your open and clickthrough rates if you’re willing to take the time to be as thoughtful with your headline as you are every other line in your story.

Keisha-Gaye Anderson, former VP of communications for The Jed Foundation, laid out seven ways to tune up your headlines and get folks reading.

  1. Use active voice and be specific.

Passive voice sounds weak, flabby and uninteresting. Simply by flipping a sentence around, you can inject life into a story. For instance:

  • Boy’s sight healed by doctor
  • Michigan doctor’s new technique restores sight of 10-year-old boy

The first sentence doesn’t offer much for a reader to latch onto. It’s vague and just floats by. But the second sentence has active verbs and details that are more likely to draw someone in.

  1. Convey a clear benefit or solve a problem.

Everyone is busy. Before we take the time to commit to reading something, we want to know what’s in it for us. For instance, this story’s headline told you exactly what you’d get upon opening it: a list of ways to write better headlines. That’s conveying a benefit that solves a problem (i.e., weak headlines). Ensure your piece tells people what they’ll gain if they click or open.

  1. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity.

Embrace the success of the high-end sneakerhead market: “Act now,” “limited tickets available” and similar terms signal to people that they might miss out if they come back to your email later. While you don’t want to exaggerate or mislead, emphasizing scarcity or a timeline can be beneficial.

  1. Use power words that evoke emotion.

“Power words,” as Anderson defines them, are words that will grab your attention and draw you in. Her examples include “revolutionary,” “amazing” and “effortless.”

  1. Keep it short and sweet (6-10 words).

Headlines should be snappy and to the point. Keep them short and make every word count, lest readers lose interest halfway through.

  1. Personalize where possible.

The advent of AI is making it easier than ever to customize email subject lines to each person who receives your missives. This is more likely to make people feel special and invited into your story. But even in the case of a traditional headline, take the time to understand your audience and what details will speak to them: maybe it’s including the name of their city, the industry they’re in or other information that’s specifically appeals to their needs and interests.

  1. Test and optimize.

Finally, don’t expect to get it right the first time. A/B testing can help you determine which subject lines or headlines get the responses you want most. Don’t be afraid to try a new headline if the first one doesn’t work— there’s always room for improvement.

Watch Anderson’s full presentation below.


/_next/static/media/person.b33c4f30.png

Related