How to Write Catchy and Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Headlines play a very crucial role in the success of every article. It is the very first thing your readers will see when they go to your website or if they search article submission sites. Headlines will open the door for your readers to come inside an read your article.

If your headline is not catchy enough, then you will not be able to convince a single person to read your article or blog post. Remember that the internet is home to millions of articles competing for people’s attention. The competition is HUGE. There are tons of articles with the same topic and if you’re not clever enough to write an attention-grabbing headline, then don’t expect your post to get a lot of views.

So the bottom line here is to write effective headlines.

How do you do it? Here are some of the tips I’ve picked up along the way:

1. Use the active voice

Example: Police Finds Long-Lost Kidnap Victim

2. Use numbers

Example: 8 Steps to Create a Good Web Design

3. Use questions to pique the readers’ curiosity

Example: Do You Want to Know How to Get Your Ex Back Right Now?

4. Mention numbers/statistics

Example: 100 People Found Eligible for Government Claims

5. Use How-to headlines

Example: How to Write Effective Headlines

6. Command your readers to take action

Example: Buy XXX Now While Supplies Last!

7. Mention the benefits of your service/product

Example: Get Slim in 5 Days with XXX

8. Mention benefits/reasons

Example: Why You Should Start Saving Up for Your Future

One of the most common mistakes new writers make is to write the entire article first before composing the headline (I was guilty of this). This is a very bad mistake. Why?

Reason number 1: Headlines serve as your guide. When you write the headline first, you will have an outline as to how you will write your article. If your article is 8 Steps to Create a Good Web Design, then you will not find it difficult to think about the stuff you’ll write about.

Reason number 2: You will be wasting time if you start with the body of the article because you don’t have a clear vision of what your post is all about. Since you don’t have a guide, you may find yourself revising your work several times to make sure all the words come together to have a complete thought.

Reason number 3: The whole article will not be coherent.

So remember, before you start composing the first sentence of your article, spend an ample amount of time writing your headlines.

Really Helpful Resource for Freelancers!

As a freelancer, you’d need all the help you can get. No freelancer has made it big without the help of others. No man is an island. When you make the decision to go freelance and set your own pace, you’ll benefit a lot from tips and help from other people who’ve been there for a longer time.

I was fortunate to have a really good mentor prior to my freelancing gig. If you’re reading, J. Thank you You’ve helped make freelancing a lot easier for me.

I am aware that there are tons of newcomers out there who are walking in the dark because they don’t have any idea where to start, how to find clients, how to build their portfolio, how much to charge, how to get paid, when to say ‘no’ to an unrealistic client, how to invoice a client–these and a lot of other stuff. This can really be a burden. And if you don’t have someone to turn to for help, you may decide to dump freelancing even before you get your hands wet.

So if you’re unlike me, who have always turned to J and other freelancer friends for help whenever there are things I can’t understand, then here is something for you: FreelanceFolder.

I’ve come across this really cool site in Facebook and I have used it ever since. This is among the best resources for freelancers, both newbies and experienced. Don’t know how much to charge for a particular job? Having problems writing? Don’t know how to set your working hours? Want to take a vacation? All of these topics are discussed here. Plus, the members are really helpful. You can post comments after each post–they can be questions or insights–and you can expect the others to give their five cents worth of advice.

Happy reading!

How to Write Effective Articles for Ezinearticles

As a web writer and online marketer, one of the things required by my clients is to write and submit highly optimized articles to Ezinearticles.com.

What is Ezinearticles?

It is important for aspiring web writers and marketers to get to know what Ezinearticles is because you can count on your clients to ask you to do this for them. You will definitely not want to wait until your client asks you about it before you familiarize yourself with it. By this time, there will already be a lot of more experienced people in article marketing, and you don’t want to be left behind, eating their dust.

Ezinearticles.com is one of the best–if not the best–article submission sites out there. Anyone who wants to get their site ranked really well on Google needs to include Ezine submissions to their marketing plans. I noticed that this helped most of my clients a lot in getting traffic and ranking in the first page of Google’s SERPs. So there’s no doubt in my mind that if I wanted to start my own internet marketing campaigns, Ezine submissions have to be a priority.

How do you write content for Ezinearticles?

Quality matters a lot for Ezines. It is very strict with quality and duplicate content. If your article is already posted on another site, then it will not publish it. The same thing goes with low-quality articles. Ezinearticles can detect works that have grammar mistakes and misspellings, so make sure that you proof-read your work carefully.

One thing I learned from years of writing is that, first, you need to be conversational in your writing. Write as if you are talking to a friend. When you write for the web, it’s better to keep aspirations of winning a Pulitzer away because it’s not going to help you. The only thing you have to think about when writing is your audience.

Always remember that people surf the net because they are looking for something. They want to find answers to their questions; solutions to their daily dilemmas. It’s your job to enlighten them. To write effective articles, you have to give what your audience wants.

Ask this question: what is my audience looking for? Once you know what that is, then writing the article will come very easily. Then the next step is to write a catchy headline; one that will grab hold of your reader by the collar and force them to read the rest of the articles. You can learn how to come up with headlines that work here.

Once you’ve managed to make readers get past the headline and start reading your first paragraph, your next job is to ensure that they read the next paragraphs. How do you do that? Give them valuable information. Be straight-to-the-point and list down all the answers to your readers’ problems. Use bullets to list down all pertinent information clearly. Readers will appreciate this because they want to get to the answers right away.

Don’t forget to use a friendly tone. Write as if you’re talking to a friend. While it’s nice to read something an expert author wrote, a too formal tone and the use of technical jargons can intimidate readers. Even though you are very well-versed in the topic you are writing about, do your best to avoid using technical terms and sounding like a college professor. Be the straight-A student that knows how to teach his classmates how to solve the difficult algebra assignment.

Now that you’ve a great-looking article, it’s time to close effectively and convince your readers to visit your site. Compose a really good resource box. An effective resource box would make your readers really interested in what you’re offering. Your call-to-action should persuade them to click on your link. Take time in composing your resource box. Find your voice. It will help you a lot.

Freelancing Rocks and Sucks

More than 2 years in the freelancing business yet here I am again, fighting to stay awake at 1:00 a.m. because I’m still missing one article. As much as I try to get it done very quickly, fresh ideas elude me at the moment. I should be perky by now. I’ve downed more than a glass of Coke, but my eyes, oh my eyes, they are begging to take a rest.

I should’ve known better. I’ve been here before and know what happens when things don’t get done earlier in the day: clients email first thing in the morning and workload becomes too much of a challenge you can think of them as burdens.

I’ve said this before: I will make more relevant use of my time. No unnecessary activities during “work hours.” And for the most part, I’ve done just that. But I’ve returned to my old ways more than I care to admit. Thankfully, I still managed to produce quality articles that are also properly optimized. And that’s what I am trying to do right now. I’m trying to think of how one can make the person they desire want them. I think I’m becoming a hooker coach. Who cares? This niche helps pay the bills, and I get to explore things outside my comfort zone.

So what am I saying exactly? I don’t know. I’m too groggy to care. Maybe in the morning I’ll be able to look back on this post and edit it.

Good night. Freelancing rocks. And during times like these, it SUCKS,

Oh, well. It’s time to hit the sack. The articles are done, finally.

By the way, welcome to me.