Writing Effective Website Headlines
If you’ve struggled to write an effective website headline that engages visitors and increases conversion rates, lean in.
Almost every professional copywriter I know will admit that writing headlines is one of the most time-consuming parts of the writing process. It’s the make or break.
“Everyone reads the headline,” they say. No guarantee they’ll read beyond it, though.
So how do you put together the most effective and engaging (and fewer than 15) words to delight your potential customers?
Know your who and what
In preparation for writing your headline, you’ll really want to think about these two things:
an “easy” version of your ideal customer
your product’s most unique feature and why your customer is likely to connect with that thing above everything else you do
You’re going to write better website headlines when you write to attract the easiest version of your ideal customer. Less friction requires fewer words.
Always avoid writing to everyone because falling into that trap typically means you’ll be writing to no one.
Your website’s headline is never the time to welcome people to your site, either.
Use benefit-rich and customer-focused language your easiest prospect simply can’t resist.
Customer resistance also becomes futile when you tell them right up front how you do what you do better than your competitors. Once you know exactly who you are speaking to on your site, it’s easier to figure out what aspect of your product or service deserves top billing in your website headline.
Give yourself permission to write some real duds
And this might scare you…get ready to write at least 25 versions of your headline. Remember all those brainstorming sessions where you were told there are no bad ideas? Yep. Total lie but while you’re writing those headlines, don’t let editing yourself stop the creative flow. Writing and editing may be related functions, but they use different parts of the brain. Get out of judgment and give yourself permission to get any idea that comes out on paper.
Tips and tools to get brainstorming
Obviously, isn’t easy coming up with 25 versions of essentially the same phrase.
While we are aiming for fewer than 15 words? Don’t limit your word count while you’re freestyling headline ideas.
Use resources like a thesaurus to banish overused words or phrases.
Don’t be afraid to use formulas. I especially lean on “We __________, so you can __________.”
Avoid the trap of trying to be too clever or too creative. Aim for clarity.
Go to places online where your ideal customer hangs out. Parrot their phrases back at them. Let your customers write your copy.
But above all else, give yourself permission to put it all out there during this part of the process.
Grab your red pen
When it is time to pass judgment on what you’ve come up with?
Draw a line through any headlines that are just junk. You know the ones…they say things like “save you time and money” or are a string of inside baseball jargon words or are so generic that anyone in your industry could say the same thing.
Those headlines won’t be doing you or your visitors any favors. And while we are thinking about your site visitors? Let’s kill any headlines that are “we” focused.
A high converting website headline is all about the customer.
This is only a test
At the end of this session, you may have more than one headline that feels like a winner. And that’s a pretty nice problem to have. It gives you an opportunity to look at your headline in relation to the other elements of your website and see what feels right in the flow of your page.
Having more than one potential winner also gives you an opportunity to test your headlines against each other and see which one is stickier or yields higher conversions. You can do this in a formal A/B split test or simply by asking people you trust to give you some feedback. You might even survey your current customers.
You may be surprised by which headline ultimately resonates with them.
Writing an effective website headline definitely takes time and effort because a well-written one is worth its weight in…credit card receipts.
Using these simple tips and embracing the brainstorming process will help you write the most effective headline for your website.
Once you’ve got your new website headline, email it to me at lisa@copywritingbylisa.com. I’d love to see what you come up with!