Make These Adjustments And Your Articles Will Get More Views/Readership
This will increase your views/readers
You’ve crafted a brilliant article pouring your heart and soul into it. You know it provides tremendous value and insight. But after hitting publish...it’s crickets.
Why did this happen?
There are often various reasons why this may happen, and one of them is that your headline failed to hook the reader’s attention and curiosity.
Writers whose articles go massively viral understand how to emotionally resonate with their audience through carefully constructed headlines and messaging.
The hard truth is that no matter how amazing your article or content is, if the headline doesn’t captivate, most people will scroll right past it.
That’s how vital crafting clickable headlines is.
Your headline is the entry point - it determines whether the audience will stop scrolling and read your masterpiece.
Writing incredible content is undoubtedly an art and a craft. But at its core, viral writing success often comes down to psychology.
In this piece, you’ll get real headline insights.
I’ll break down ten examples of mediocre, lifeless headlines. Then I’ll show you how to revive them and make them more emotionally engaging.
Apply these learnings and watch your engagement soar.
10 Bad Headlines And Their Makeover
#1 Bad Headline:
"5 Time Management Tips"
Reworked: "Reclaim 3 Hours Daily With These 5 Productivity Hacks"
The new headline promises a highly desirable benefit (more free time), uses the "curiosity gap" trick by framing the content as a hack or shortcut.
#2 Bad Headline:
"How to Grow Your Audience"
Reworked: "Attention Writers! Are You Neglecting This Critical Audience-Building Asset?"
The new headline opens a curiosity loop around some missed opportunities for audience growth. This is done while also adding specificity by calling out the persona (writers) it’s aimed for.
#3 Bad Headline:
"Keys to Having a Successful Relationship"
Reworked: "The 5 Simple Habits Happily Married Couples Keep Secret"
The new headline suggests exclusivity. It also ties the benefits directly to an aspirational outcome people crave, and uses curiosity builders like "secret".
#4 Bad Headline:
"Content Marketing Fundamentals"
Reworked: "How This Mom’s 'Weird' Content Generates $5,126/Month From Home"
The new headline provides specific tangible results, uses the curiosity gap around the "weird" habit, and the "from home" dream resonates deeply these days.
#5 Bad Headline:
“Productivity Apps for Writers”
Reworked: “These 4 Apps Helped Brad Increase His Writing Output By 67% in 90 Days”
The new headline provides specific, tangible outcomes and results, while using social proof with the name "Brad" to show it worked for someone.
#6 Bad Headline:
“Tips for Effective Public Speaking”
Reworked: “Discover the Confidence Hacks Top Public Speakers Like Tony Robbins Use”
This headline promises to give access to exclusive secrets used by an admired group of speakers. It also mentioned a popular figure most aspiring speakers likely know and look up to.
#7 Bad Headline:
“Common Freelancing Mistakes to Avoid”
Reworked: “The Dark Side of Freelancing They Don’t Want You to Know About”
This creates immense curiosity through a "forbidden knowledge" hook implying there are insider secrets "they" don’t want you to find out about.
#8 Bad Headline:
“Social Media Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make”
Reworked: “Read This Before Publishing Another Book (Or Waste Years Like I Did)”
The new headline uses a command hook to grab attention while tapping into authors' fear of wasting time and effort if they don’t follow the advice.
#9 Bad Headline:
“How to Build an Online Course”
Reworked: “The Lazy Person’s Shortcut to a Profitable Online Course in 30 Days”
Promises a fast route (30 days) to the desirable end-result of a profitable online course.
#10 Bad Headline:
“How to Make Money as a Writer”
Reworked: “Your Writing Talent Is Worth Millions (If You Know This 1 Weird Trick)”
Promises massive payoffs and unlocks the value in the reader’s existing skills, while creating curiosity around the implied "weird trick.”
If this article was helpful, then you’ll find this resource more than helpful.
I have put together 100+ title hooks for you that will guarantee you get more views and readers for your content.
Check it out — 100+ Irresistible Hook Ideas
Wrapping Up
Look, I could go on providing dozens more examples. But you get the core idea - inject emotional hot buttons, curiosity triggers, and exclusivity hints, and tie your headline to your audience’s pain points and aspirations.
Does this take more effort than slapping up a bland literal headline? Of course. But this is the wildly underrated art of audience psychology when it comes to viral writing. It’s a worthwhile investment of your energy.
Because great content alone doesn’t go viral - great emotional resonance through the art of writing is what achieves that. With a few deft psychological tweaks to your headlines, you’ve elevated yourself into the esteemed class of "writing royalty" commanding an audience’s undivided admiration.
You don’t just want views - you want to cultivate borderline hypnotic captivation so they can’t resist reading your articles from start to finish. When you’ve hooked their undivided interest from the headline, you’re already miles ahead.
So make this mindset adjustment with your headlines: View them as the invaluable gateway between your best-kept insights and your audience’s burning interests and desires.
I hope this helps you. If it did, clap me a thousand times (joking, a few tens would do).
What do you think about this article? Leave me a comment (it will encourage me a lot).
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