Web readers are on an inevitable rise. Print publications are transferring their decades-old names to their respective .com sites faster than the daily news. Let’s face it: the web is our favorite source for instant information.

The impact? Today’s readers essentially don’t have time to read. They need persuasion and need it fast. While your marketing objective has a dozen things to say, you’ll need to do it in about ¼ of the bullet points AND in about ¼ of the time. Good headlines entice the users to read on, click through and of course, increase conversion rates. Here are a few hints to the game of interactive headlines:

• You’re directing users, so be direct. Lead in your healthy headlines with verbs. Instead of “The Greatest Marketing Tool on the Planet”, try something like “Discover the Greatest Marketing Tool on the Planet.” Once you combine verb-savvy copy with design, you’ll find a page that speaks loud and clear.
• Questions make curious. Swift, conversational copy can be executed with loaded questions, ex: “How’s the Agency Newsletter?” Stimulate the reader’s interest with a short, condensed question. Remember Got Milk? Probably one of the slickest conversational headlines you could ask for (no pun intended).
• Make it believable. Advertising guru David Ogilvy will have your back on this one. Don’t fluff up your headline with over-inflated hype. Too much noise and shock-value can make a person feel spammed or turned-off. Make it sound tangible and informative. Isn’t that why the audience landed on your site in the first place?
• 10-word rule. Probably more like 7 or 8. As stated earlier, readers have a short appetite for words, but a hearty need for information. If your headline is too verbose, you’ll find it not only trumps your design layout, but also takes too long to read. Zzzz…
• Get your keywords in. Headlines are the 1’s and 2’s of anchoring your audience, or to your development maestros, H1s and H2s — just check out my Insight article on writing for SEO. Throw in a few keywords while still being creative with your messaging, and you’ll add some perks to your SEO, since 9 times out of 10 your headline will be coded as an H1 or H2 tag.
  

Have fun with your headlines, but keep in mind the time it takes to create them can take about as long as the body copy. It’s quality over quantity. Take time to make a few versions and run them by your editor to see what sticks. Remember, it may grab your attention when you’re cruising through the web, but not others. Happy writing….