How to Grab Your Audience's Attention in Seconds
Simply put…people only care to read about things that matter to them. Audiences are constantly searching for information that could prove beneficial to their lives or stand out from the rest. As David Ogivly stated, “It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money. “
Consider what will grab the attention of your target. The short answer is the headline. Just one word can change the story, and one word can cause readers to lose interest. Even with a minimal character count, you have to demand attention. Here are some tips to make your readers go beyond the first line.
Make it Specific: Allow you work to be easily digestible content is key. Many people are not looking for content that involves more research to comprehend. Articles tend to fail when the content doesn’t align with a specific topic or theme. Your customers should be able to understand exactly what you are offering, prior to reading the first line. Continue to answer the question that your audience is looking for.
Make it Urgent: People are busy; we get it. These days readers don’t have a lot of time to sit with a piece of content. Give your readers a reason to stay on the page, and make them not want to miss out. Let’s face it… FOMO is real and people want to be where the action is. If you create content that matters, people will feel compelled to take action and respond. Always seek out ways to make your content actionable.
Make it Data- Specific: People care about the stats. When you seek out articles, many are enticed by the integration of numbers. With “how to” searches or “step-by-step guides,” readers are constantly seeking tools for success. Providing a numerically ordered guide can allow us to measure the length and impact of the content that is being generated. It also can offer guidance to an area that readers may be uncertain of or reinforce data that would otherwise be questioned.
Make it Matter: Readers need to be drawn in the second they land on the page so uniqueness matters. People are tired of searching for the same topics that generate the same results. Be different. Create a headline that not only speaks your brand voice but differentiates you from your competitors. Show your personality and the rest will follow suit.
Ultimately, you want to create headlines that are too appealing to ignore. Every time a piece of content is shared on social, it should reflect the work of yourself as an individual and of your company. Give readers a reason to keep coming back.