This article will help you do three things:
• Generate ideas for effective articles, social media posts, videos, or podcasts.
• Write headlines and titles that will capture your target audience’s attention.
• Provide specific value to your target audience.
Here’s how…
Every audience and niche is unique.
But…
Much of what they value is the same.
Following are a collection of fill-in-the-blank headlines you can use to create content that resonates with your target audience.
FYI, the headlines below are just guidelines:
Feel free to tweak the exact wording of them as you’ll see I’ve done in the examples I share.
1. “The Two Minutes It Takes To Read This Will Improve Your _______ Forever”
Give people quick, simple, actionable tips and they’ll love you for it.
For example, I used this headline format on my most read blog post of all time.
A million people have read it.
2. “Everyone Who Says You Should _______ Is Wrong”
Your content gets noticed by standing out, not fitting in.
Make a case against the conventional wisdom in your niche and back it up with proof.
This will be particularly effective if you take a stance that people WANT to believe is true.
For example, most people tell creators they need to do more to succeed so when I made a case that you may need to do less it resonated with people who want that to be true.
3. “The Five Most Important Questions To Answer If You Want To _______”
Pick a thing people in your niche want to accomplish and help them do so by giving them key questions to guide them.
For example, a version of this headline inspired my article featuring six questions to help you monetize your audience.
4. “Read This Before You Hire A _______”
Anyone who consumes a piece of content with this headline will at least be considering hiring someone in your niche.
The post shouldn’t specifically be about you, but it should highlight what differentiates you from others in your field and point out why your approach is more effective.
For example, my Read This Before You Hire A Social Media Expert article has landed me multiple clients over the years.
5. “This Is How _______ Got _______”
You don’t have to only share your own expertise – you can also deliver the expertise of others.
This headline is a case study format in which you break down how someone notable in your niche accomplished something others want to accomplish.
6. “Here’s A _______ Template You Can Use To Get _______”
Give people information and they’ll appreciate it, but give them a tool they can use and they’ll LOVE it.
Come up with something your audience can easily use over and over again to get a result.
For example, my article on how to use a “No” template to make it easier to say no includes a specific template readers can “steal.”
7. “I Did _______ For 30 Days And _______ Happened”
People love to read about experiments – even if they ultimately failed.
Test an approach to something in your niche and share what you learn from it.
This is also a great excuse to try something out and help yourself stick with it for a month.
For example, I shared what I learned from writing down 510 great things that happened to me in the last 34 days.
8. “10 Helpful _______ For _______”
Compiling a collection of resources for your target audience is not only a way to create value for them, but also for yourself and everyone whose resource you share.
This is a highly effective – and simple – content format you can use to showcase newsletters, podcasts, books, blogs, YouTube channels, courses, or just about anything you find that’s valuable.
And while it shouldn’t be a strictly self-promotional post, there’s nothing wrong with slipping one or two of your own resources into the list as well.
For example, my 30 helpful newsletters for creators article has been hugely successful.
9. “How To _______ Like _______”
Everyone’s trying to figure out their own process to accomplish their goals which means they’re also interested in learning how other successful people do it.
Use this format to showcase the approach of established people in your niche – either by interviewing them or simply researching their process.
The more desirable the thing they’ve accomplished and the more well-known the person you profile is, the more successful your piece of content is likely to be.
10. “10 _______ You Can Use To _______”
Let’s wrap this up with a meta one.
This article you just read? It’s an example of this headline format.
If you made it this far, I assume you found it valuable so…
I rest my case.
For more help with your writing check out my take on how to become a better writer.
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