It’s hard to overestimate the value of a good headline. People might complain about “clickbait”, and sometimes their complaints are justified. But let’s face it, without a compelling reason to click, there’s no way you would have ever found that amazing article that made you laugh, taught you an important lesson, or revealed an amazing fact.
Despite the objections, the fact remains that in a sea of samey-sounding content, a truly remarkable headline is the one chance you’ve got to reel people in and get them to dedicate five minutes of their lives to whatever it is you want to tell them.
There’s no excuse for writing misleading or unnecessarily outrageous headlines, but without a hook that inspires emotion, sparks intrigue, or delights and surprises, frankly, your content is dead in the water.
So what makes a compelling headline?
We now have numerous studies that tell us what works and what doesn’t. Data analyzed by sites like Buzzsumo and Moz have revealed some incredibly granular detail about the anatomy of a good headline.
Don’t be fooled into thinking there’s a simple formula–there isn’t. Crafting a click-worthy headline still takes skill and creativity. However, by analyzing the data behind the best performing headlines, you can increase your chances of success.
Here are a few handy science-backed tips.

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