{"id":2094,"date":"2013-01-29T13:59:01","date_gmt":"2013-01-29T17:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/?p=2094"},"modified":"2025-07-01T13:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:01:10","slug":"7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html","title":{"rendered":"7 Step SHAPE UP to Writing Great Headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Great headlines are a must. People read headlines 80% of the time, but only 20% will read the rest of your content. Not fantastic odds for a copywriter.<\/p>\n<p>If people only read the headline and move on, you\u2019re sunk. If people don\u2019t read and buy what you\u2019re selling, your reputation is compromised. Your clients will probably fire you.<\/p>\n<p>Some facts<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ordinary titles don\u2019t get click throughs<\/li>\n<li>Cutesy headlines don\u2019t tell readers what\u2019s in it for them<\/li>\n<li>Great headlines sell your content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are some copywriters that write great headlines, day after day, time after time. Those are the folks that you follow, always read when you get up in the morning, or check their tweets on an hourly basis. Have you ever wondered why they\u2019re so good?<\/p>\n<p>Exceptional copywriters work hard at their profession. They are originals, not copycats. They study headlines that work and have a razor-sharp grasp of why and how certain titles work. Not to mention they have a keen understanding of their audience\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>Great headlines adroitly tap into what people want. You can count on people wanting to know something that will give them some kind of advantage. It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s knowledge for solving a problem or being let in on a great secret very few people know about.<\/p>\n<p>If you count on the similarities of human nature, writing compelling headlines and titles is relatively easy. Just remember <strong>SHAPE UP<\/strong>. <strong>SHAPE UP <\/strong>is your 7 steps to writing great headlines.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>S imple. Simplicity is a must. Concisely communicate a circumstance, fact, or effect. Keeping a title or headline short and sweet carries 2 major benefits. First, you only have 60 characters or less for the entire headline to show up in the search engine results page. Secondly, it will look better on your Twitter or Facebook feed.<\/li>\n<li>H ow to. People surf the net for information. They either want to know how to do something or are searching for the best price on a product. Using short words like \u201chow\u201d, \u201cwhy\u201d, \u201cnew\u201d, and \u201cyour\u201d cash in on your audience\u2019s need to know.<\/li>\n<li>A dvantage. You must give your audience a distinct advantage. It\u2019s the \u201cwhat I will get out of acting on this\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>P romise. Your promise must be intriguing and irresistible. Your title must convey what\u2019s in it for the reader, but make sure that the content will deliver. Don\u2019t mislead your audience with the title. Nothing destroys your credibility like deluding your reader.<\/li>\n<li>E xciting. Your headline or title must be eye catching and head turning. Something that is &#8220;novel&#8221;, &#8220;new&#8221;, a &#8220;secret&#8221;. Antonyms such as &#8220;worst&#8221; and &#8220;don\u2019t&#8221; also work well in headlines.<\/li>\n<li>U seful. Convey something that a reader will find useful in the headline, then deliver on your promise by giving information that can be put into practical application.<\/li>\n<li>P roclaim. This is your call to action. Your \u201cread me\u201d, \u201cbuy me\u201d. I want you to do this because it\u2019s the best.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you remember <strong>SHAPE UP<\/strong>, you will be well on your way to writing great headlines and titles that sell. After all, if you made it this far, you read this entire blog post. And if you\u2019re still stumped, give <a href=\"http:\/\/www.directoryone.com\">Directory One<\/a> a call. Their expert copywriters will be glad to help out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Great headlines are a must. People read headlines 80% of the time, but only 20% will read the rest of your content. Not fantastic odds for a copywriter. If people only read the headline and move on, you\u2019re sunk. If people don\u2019t read and buy what you\u2019re selling, your reputation is compromised. Your clients will probably fire you. Some facts Ordinary titles don\u2019t get click throughs Cutesy headlines don\u2019t tell readers what\u2019s in it for them Great headlines sell your content There are some copywriters that write great headlines, day after day, time after time. Those are the folks that you follow, always read when you get up in the morning, or check their tweets on an hourly basis. Have you ever wondered why they\u2019re so good? Exceptional copywriters work hard at their profession. They are originals, not copycats. They study headlines that work and have a razor-sharp grasp of why and how certain titles work. Not to mention they have a keen understanding of their audience\u2019s needs. Great headlines adroitly tap into what people want. You can count on people wanting to know something that will give them some kind of advantage. It doesn\u2019t matter whether it\u2019s knowledge for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[943,1135,1136,1134],"class_list":["post-2094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo-copywriting","tag-content-writing-tips","tag-copywriting-headlines","tag-powerful-headlines-for-content","tag-writing-effective-headlines"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>7 Steps to Writing Great Headlines That Get Clicks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn 7 proven steps to craft compelling headlines that grab attention, drive traffic, and boost engagement across blogs, ads, and social media.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Steps to Writing Great Headlines That Get Clicks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn 7 proven steps to craft compelling headlines that grab attention, drive traffic, and boost engagement across blogs, ads, and social media.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Search Engine Marketing &amp; Optimization Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-29T17:59:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T18:01:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1734975752554.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1278\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip O&#039;Hara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip O&#039;Hara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philip O'Hara\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2c12d79fe6de0228be0c8b1a5f638e8\"},\"headline\":\"7 Step SHAPE UP to Writing Great Headlines\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-29T17:59:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T18:01:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\"},\"wordCount\":566,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1734975752554.png\",\"keywords\":[\"content writing tips\",\"copywriting headlines\",\"powerful headlines for content\",\"writing effective headlines\"],\"articleSection\":[\"SEO Content Writing |SEO Copywriting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\",\"name\":\"7 Steps to Writing Great Headlines That Get Clicks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1734975752554.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-29T17:59:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T18:01:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2c12d79fe6de0228be0c8b1a5f638e8\"},\"description\":\"Learn 7 proven steps to craft compelling headlines that grab attention, drive traffic, and boost engagement across blogs, ads, and social media.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1734975752554.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1734975752554.png\",\"width\":1278,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/7-step-shape-up-to-writing-great-headlines.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"7 Step SHAPE UP to Writing Great Headlines\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Search Engine Marketing &amp; 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