Headline trick!!! Grab your readers' attention in less than 3 secs

I think it can be a good idea, but I'm not sure that Digg is the best source for copywriting. There are many reasons that people Digg articles, and I don't think that the title is usually the main reason. Like you said, change it around and experiment with what fits your copy.

 

Direct copying is poor form, but looking at what already works is what we are doing when we do research on topics, key words, and other pieces of the puzzle. This is a great idea and gives real-time ideas of what is working on any topic. Saturating a market with all the same stuff is a bad idea, but if copying ideas didn't work we'd all be talking to ourselves instead of learning from others in a forum.

"They laughed when I sat down at the piano...."

 

Thats really good advice thanks!
Ill definitely be doing this next time I cant think of a headline.

 

I think another technique that is complementary to this one is to evoke strong emotions using your headlines. For example, if there are a lot of popular articles that say something like top 10 best twitter tools, you could write a contradictory article along the lines of "Why Twitter is a load of Rubbish".

People may not agree with your title but will be interested enough to read your article due to the contradictory viewpoint.

 

this is a good idea and will work. definitely a good way to model your way to a successful copy (especially the headline part!)

my only suggestion would be to work off of successful headlines and then tweak + test to improve them.

 

Actually this worked on me the other day. I can't remember what it was, but their headline was saying the opposite to the headline I'd seen a million times already. It made me click on the article and give it a read.

 

Yeah when someone agree on something, it would be interesting to learn about those who disagree..

 

Why don't you just copy headlines from Copywriting greats like Ted Nicholas and others?

Originality is nice, but originality hasn't been tested like great headlines have. Copywriters lift ideas from each other all the time, they all do it.

 

It's far better to be original

 

This is a useful and interesting piece of information. Thanks for sharing the same. Being a content writer it would be of help to me.

 

You're more than welcome!

 

Also: Originality doesn't hurt either.

 

sometimes.. its worth to know wat triggers people to think the headline is worth clicking...

 

Definitely worth considering. But as said before, nothing beats the original. So the right perspective would be to absorb the elements from what has been tested out and apply in individual circumstances.

Aspiring writers can even take up top rated e-zine writers and articles for reference. There is a whole lot to be learnt from people who are making a living at it and the essence of learning, must always be focused on originality.

 

These are some great suggestions! I'm always struggling with headlines. Sometimes just seeing good, successful ones will jar my brain into new territory.

 

I think that is a brilliant idea

 

Headlines are very important, however, a good headline with a bad sales/content page won't make wonder, make sure that you don't decieve your readers/customers. You need to focus on the sales/content page and once you think it is good move on the creation of a catchy headline to bring more traffic.

 

Excellent idea. Going to try it now. Thanks for the tip.

 

Just who your potential audience are can be important
Teenagers will respond to a different title than seniors will
"wots up dude, u down for a pension?"

 

The people preaching originality haven't done their research into the headline copywriting field and really shouldn't be offering advice in this forum.