Hypnotic Writing: How to Craft Irresistible Headlines
4 powerful tips to get your audience to stop scrolling
Why do you write?
People write for different reasons. For some, it is to educate others and build thought leadership. Someone else might be interested in contributing to the body of knowledge; another, writing is about marketing and selling.
Whatever your reason (s) for writing, you doubtlessly aim to speak to people — no matter how few, in the hope that they will see and read your work.
Quick question.
What are the odds that your audience will decide to read your article among the hundreds of essays they come across?
Your guess is as good as mine; it is slim.
We are all bombarded with countless pieces of information daily. As a result, we are all selective about which ones deserve their attention.
Mastering hypnotic writing will increase your chances of getting your target audience to notice and engage with your articles.
What is hypnotic writing?
Hypnotic (aka persuasive or influential) writing aims to captivate and engage an audience compellingly, ultimately causing them to take action.
Note the keywords.
Captivate, engage, persuade, and inspire action.
If you decide to read an article, the probability is that the headline is compelling enough that it draws you in.
Similarly, your goal when crafting your headline is to make it irresistibly clickable.
Note: I do not in any way advocate for click-bait titles that promise XYZ to draw people but never deliver on that promise.
As a writer seeking to build a solid brand, integrity must be one of your values.
Here are three powerful things you can incorporate in your headline to get people to pay attention to you.
1. Use curiosity drivers
If you want to grab attention and get people to click on your content, use words that arouse their curiosity.
Although interests differ, every human seeks to learn about new things. That desire only needs to be triggered with the right words. While the right words differ from audience to audience and from one niche to the other, I will give a few broad examples of words that trigger curiosity.
Words like untold or revealed are examples of words that stir curiosity. Let us attempt to use both to craft one headline each.
“The Untold Secret About How to Earn $5,000 a Month”
“The Revealed Truth About Building Lasting Relationships”
How do these topics make you feel?
In the first example, untold and secret used together is a perfect recipe.
Those words make the article an absolute must-read for anyone interested in making more bucks — and who does not?
2. Make a definite promise
One of the things you also see me do with the first example is that it makes a definite promise.
As much as you can, avoid ambiguous words in your headline. Words that make a clear and definite promise are preferred.
In our earlier example, if you were my audience and $5,000 would do you some good, there is no way you are not clicking the article because my promise is clear.
- I want to show you how to earn more, precisely an additional $5,000.
Compare that to a topic like the untold secret about how to make more money.
This is broad. More money can be 10 cents or 50 dollars more.
3. Use powerful words
Power words are words that create imagery, evoke emotions, and have a significant impact on your reader’s mind.
The use of irresistible in the headline of this article is an example of using powerful words in your headlines.
When you hear irresistible, what comes to mind?
Something or someone overwhelmingly attractive that you cannot say no to.
Fusing that into the headline creates a picture in your mind and also fuels your emotions. Plus, you also get the idea that when you read this article, you will know how to write headlines people cannot resist the urge to read.
I hope I have delivered so far.
Now, to my last point.
4. Use psychological or emotional triggers
Well, if you read point number three very well, you almost certainly understand this one but let me drive it home a bit further.
As humans, we are emotional beings; words trigger our emotions.
Think about this scenario. A guy walks into a mart to shop for some groceries. While shopping, he sees a beautiful lady doing the same. He walks up, says hi, and compliments her beauty. “You look stunning.”
While the lady might be a self-aware person who knows and appreciates her beauty and appearance already, doubtless, the guy would have made an impression on her — good or bad.
The scenario painted above can be vice versa as well.
Words like “Limited-time offer” can trigger a feeling of scarcity.
Remember our examples while we looked at curiosity?
Words like revealed, untold, and discover can trigger a feeling of curiosity in your audience.
Again, the word you choose will depend on the emotion you want to inspire in your audience.
Wrapping up
So far, did you notice that I asked you so many questions and used words that painted pictures in your mind?
I was using some hypnotic writing techniques I have learned over the years.
Hypnotic writing is to grab attention and keep your readers engaged. You also create an emotional connection with them, making the conversation memorable. Ultimately, you can influence them and persuade them to take action.
The tips I have shared with you in this article work for crafting irresistible headlines and for keeping your audience glued to your content no matter how long it is.
I hope to write more about hypnotic writing in the weeks ahead. You may want to consider following me so you do not miss those articles.
I hope this helps you. If it did, ensure to clap me a thousand times (joking, a few tens would do), leave me a comment (it will encourage me and make me feel not ignored — smiles), and share this with someone you know needs it (they say sharing is caring).
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