Quickly Turn (Even The Dumbest) Prospect Questions Into Headlines That Get Clicked

When it comes to helping your prospects and addressing their pain there probably aren't really any dumb questions, but that using that word in the headline is just an example of what this article is covering.  

People see the headline before anything else. It will do one of two things...get their attention...or it won't.   Site visitors will either stay and read or move on to something else.

In fact, according to Brian Clark of Copyblogger, as many as 80% of people will read the average headline when they come across it, but only 20% of people will actually read the entire blog post.

That’s why it's so critical you get it right. 

The most important element of a headline is that it addresses a real problem the reader is experiencing.  But you also have to make your headline as intriguing as possible.

I'm going to walk you through a simple headline formula that can turn any prospect questions into headlines that will get more visitors to your site.

I touched on this in the post on creating a simple lead funnel, and since it's such a critical piece of this puzzle, I'll include it here too.

You can use Quora and Reddit to go inside the mind of your potential customers and reveal what issues they need help with the most.

Quora is a question-and-answer website where questions are asked, answered, edited, and organized by its community of users. You can research your market here and find their most common questions.

Reddit is a massive collection of forums, where people can share news and content or comment on other people’s posts. Find your market's forums and you'll see their struggles.

If you need a detailed walkthough on using these two resources, I included it in this post's bonus section.

After using the above methods to find one of your prospect's questions, you're ready to build a headline around it.

The headline formula below is perfect for this process of turning questions into blog post headlines.

The only “trick” to getting people to click on your headlines is meeting them where they are: promising them a useful, ultra-specific, urgent, and unique answer to their problems.

Melanie Duncan’s 4U formula is ideal for turning a question into a compelling headline that will get clicks.

Think about the articles you click on when you’re scrolling through Facebook or checking your emails in the morning.

​Probably it's the ones that solve a problem you are experiencing.

Understanding what will be useful to your audience is part of understanding who they are and what they want. It meets them where they’re at, identifying a problem they may be experiencing or a solution they may be looking for.

The Quora & Reddit method above is a perfect way to find what will be useful to your market.

In most cases this is a very simple step.  You just need to turn the question into a statement.

For this post, the question I was answering was, "What's the best headline formula for a post that answers questions?"

After applying this step the headline was:

"How To Turn Questions Into Headlines"

That directly addresses the problem in the question, and makes a promise to solve it.

But it's boring.  In the next steps, we'll tweak it to make it more clickable.

Examples of useful headlines:

• How to Successfully Sell Products on Amazon
• Building Backlinks To Your Website
• How to Prepare Your House for Sale

This kind of headline is popular because it works; we as readers like the specificity of knowing exactly what we’re going to get. The best headlines also go beyond that to be even more specific.

Take the headline, "7 Common Foods You Should Never Eat"...it's not just foods you shouldn’t eat, but common foods.

Or "70 At-Home Date Night Ideas To Try Tonight"...is not just date night ideas, but at-home date night ideas.

According to an article on Hello Bar, we shouldn't be afraid of using extra words. If you keep your headline to about 77 characters or fewer, you’ll do fine.

After applying this step the headline became:

"How To Turn Prospect Questions Into Headlines That Get Clicked"

It's not just questions...but prospect questions.

And not just headlines..but headlines "that get clicked".

Examples of ultra specific headlines:

• 20 of the Best Free Online Tools for Writers
• 9 Tips to Nail Your Social Media Profile Picture
• 3 Tools to Make Your Editorial Calendar ​​More Effective

AdWeek's Jennifer Lux explains, "If you have ever made a purchase due to social pressure, fear of not getting a deal or discontent around possibly missing out on a shared experience, you know exactly what it feels like to be incentivized by the fear of missing out (FOMO)."

Applying this psychology in key ways will not only give you an edge over your competition but will also help your target market feel connected long-term to both your brand and its purchases.

Some words you can use in your headline to create urgency are:

​

• Now
• Fast
• Quick
• Hurry
• Rapidly
• Close
• Approaching
• Never
• Seconds
• Again
• Over
• Instant

After applying this step the headline became:

"How To Quickly Turn Prospect Questions Into Headlines That Get Clicked"

It's not just turn...but quickly turn.

Examples of urgent headlines:

• Slow Loads Sabotage Your Conversions: See The 2019 Page Speed Report
• Repurpose 1 Podcast Episode into 11 Pieces of Content in Just 3 Hours
• 10 LinkedIn Mistakes You Should Avoid If You’re a Marketer

Whenever you Google a topic, you get a selection of articles, blog posts, or websites on the same topic.

If the title seems too familiar, some consumers will skip over your content purely because they’ve read a similar article, says research from online monitoring tool Keyhole.co.

Anything you can do to make your headline unique will help it stand out in an oversaturated digital world. 

After applying this step the headline became:

"Quickly Turn (Even The Dumbest) Prospect Questions Into Headlines That Get Clicked"

Adding (Even The Dumbest) to the headline would make it standout in a search result or a social media feed. 

Examples of Unusual Headlines:

• ​How Spending $162,301.42 On Clothes Made Me $692,500
• ​Seo Is Dead. Link Building Is Dead. Your Pony Is Dead
• 21 Reasons To Hate Kids

My headline was significantly better and the process took just a few minutes.

When you put these four elements together, you’ll find you come up with better headlines every time.

Let's walkthrough another example of the 4-U Headline Formula.

How much more engaging is that final headline above compared to the one we started with?

You can even split test blog post headlines easily if you are using WordPress.  

It can track click-throughs on your post, so you can find out the best one.

I show you how to do it in the bonus section.

It’s easy to let headlines take the back seat in your writing process. Headlines can wind up as a quick afterthought, but really should be treated with much more consideration. 

Make sure to give your headline creation process the time and attention it deserves.  Don't make it an after thought.  

The right headline can be the difference between a viral post and one that never is seen by anyone but you. 

TRY THIS...TYPE ONE OF YOUR PROSPECTS' QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS AND I'LL APPLY THE 4-U FORMULA FOR YOU!