Headlines are arguably the most important part of written content. Done well, they grab a reader’s attention and convey the purpose of the webpage/article/blog post at hand. They also boost SEO. So, if you want to write a successful piece of content, write the perfect headline.

No biggie, right?

Okay, we’ll admit, that’s kind of a biggie. For many of us, writing does not come easily. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem to come at all. But with help from Myriad and a little AI know-how, we’re confident you can be confident in your headline-writing capabilities. Here’s a headstart on everything you need to know.

First, What Makes a Good Headline?

A good headline makes all the difference between a successful piece and a dud. So, we should probably know what a good headline looks like, right? Here are a few notable qualities:

Clear and Specific

If a web user reads your headline and thinks, “Wait, what?”, the battle is already lost. There’s no room for clever wordplay or artful prose in a headline. (Unless you can do it in a succinct way that any eighth-grader would understand.)

Instead, the priority is always to be hyper-clear. The reader wants to see a headline and know immediately what to expect from the related content. Being too wordy, vague, or clever can cause the reader to lose interest. Even worse, it can lead to a loss of brand trust if the reader expects one thing from the content (based on the headline) and gets something else.

For example, a bad take on the headline for this article would read something like:

“Unleash the Headline Maestro within You: a ChatGPT Guide to Headline Wizardry!”

Did your eyes glaze over a little? Ours did. This title is way too complicated to get the message across succinctly. Plus, what does “a ChatGPT Guide” even mean? Is it a guide written by ChatGPT or something else? We’re not sure, but we’ve already lost interest in the whole shebang.

Not Too Long

Speaking of losing interest, a long and winding headline is a surefire way to lose readers. In fact, most sources agree that readers primarily pay attention to the first three and the last three words of any title.

This begs the question: Does a headline need to be any longer than six words?

Six words can be kind of limiting, but we recommend keeping it under 100 characters or 12 words at the very most. Readers are looking for content that is relevant and useful to them. A title that gets right to the point performs better than one that’s long-winded and elaborate.

Targeted to the Intended Audience

Who is the piece of content intended for? If you don’t know the answer to that question, you won’t be able to write a powerful headline. Knowing your audience and why they might find your content useful makes all the difference. Take the headline of this article for example:

How to Use ChatGPT to Write Powerful Headlines

Although the target audience isn’t specifically mentioned, this title conveys exactly what the article delivers. Anyone who wants to write powerful headlines in an easier way can click on the related content to learn how.

Includes a Keyword

For an in-depth reminder about what SEO is and why keywords matter, read this article. What’s important to know is that, just like you need to tell readers what to expect from a piece of content, you need to let search engines in on the secret as well. Do this with a well-placed and natural-sounding keyword.

(The keywords we used for this article were “ChatGPT” and “powerful headlines.” But we could have gone with “content creation,” “AI-powered writing,” or “headline tips.”)