This infographic outlines various kinds of effective headlines, using the word HEADLINES as an anagram.

Your Cheat Sheet for Writing Headlines

Helpful: Deliver value by being helpful. Make it obvious the reward for reading further is you will gather helpful information.

Emotion: Evoke emotion by appealing to the two most prevalent drivers of behavior, achieving pleasure and avoiding pain.

Ask: The question headline is enormously effective. Find and ask questions your target market wants answered.

Do’s and Don’ts: Education is central to effective content marketing. Offer “do” and “don’t” lessons your audience will find valuable.

Lists: We’re wired to love lists. They’re great for article teasers, blog post titles, and any type of headline.

Inspire: Write headlines that speak to your readers’ desires. Inspire them and you’ll have the ultimate hook.

Nightmare: Speak to a problem that keeps readers up at night to write a killer headline. Blogger Jon Morrow calls it the “2 a.m. test.”

Empathy: Earn the trust you need with headlines that demonstrate you understand and care about your readers.

Success: The proven approach to headline nirvana is to make a promise you’ll deliver a little success package.