How to get your content read

  Just imagine yourself browsing through a magazine. How do you decide  whether to read an article or not? Is it the pictures, the headline, the  length of the article or the writer? It’s the headline that pulls you in.  No matter how good your content is, if your headline sucks, no one will  read it. Here are 10 ways you can ensure your headline is magnetic:    

1. Where’s the benefit? – people enjoy reading   articles that teach them something. Use your headline to tell your   readers what they are going to learn in your article.
2. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – people enjoy headlines that are “How To” and “List” oriented. So, use them… even if they seem played out.
3. Stats are better than opinion – if you have data that backs up your main point, use it within your headline.
4. Put people over search engines – adding keywords  to  your headline to make it more search engine friendly isn’t a good  idea  if it makes your headline boring and dull. Write them for people  over  search engines.
5. Create a sense of urgency – by telling your  readers  that they only have a short window to act on your information,  you are  more likely to get them to read it.
6. Leverage laziness – people don’t like working, so   leverage that within your headline. For example, your headline could   start off with… “the lazy man’s way to…”.
7. Appeal to emotions – we are all humans, and sparking an emotional feeling within your headline is a great way to draw a reader’s attention.
8. Capitalize on mistakes – people make mistakes, so   creating a headline that shows what people can learn from your, or  other  people’s, mistakes can easily draw a big audience. 
9. Evoke curiosity – people are naturally curious, so making your headline a question will encourage them to click through and read your content.
10. The double whammy – by combing a few of the   elements above and using them in one headline, you can create the  double  whammy effect. For example, your headline might read “How to  Increase  Your SEO Traffic with These 3 Simple Steps”.

Hopefully these tips will help you create a headline that encourages people to read your content.  
Part 2
Part 3