Clickbait(ish?) Headline Templates (10)
Someone in my mastermind group asked about broad headlines that could possibly rake in some traffic. Here are some of the topics I came up with, minus a few I want to make specific for him, plus a few new general ones I thought of.
I've been writing content (among other things--but mostly content) since late '07, and have had to put new spin on a variety of fairly limited topics.
Anyone who's been in SEO a while has probably seen some or all of these. But hopefully these can serve as an easy reference or idea-starter for a few of yall.
6 things you didn't know about famous person/trend/entertainment,
the long history of something you thought was a recent trend,
what the ancients had to say about a recent topic,
x horrible things that happened about y topic,
x life tips
x tips if you're trying to y
x tips for using [technical item or software]
x strange uses for common household items/random things/a specific tool or item
x uses you never thought of for ______,
people are using x in this weird way,
how someone used x technology to amke a human connection (find love, a lost one, a new pet, get a job, reach old friends, unknown relatives)
x secrets about this common thing,
x ways you didn't know you could x, x secret hacks to get _____ done
9 things too crazy to exist,
7 ways you're undercutting yourself/undercutting yourself when it comes to y situation
43 life hacks,
what are they doing now?,
remember this trend?,
why this world event is the way it is,
8 ways to prepare for your future,
x ways to prepare for (certain event)
x things you should do before you take the leap into ______
want to x? make sure you y first.
9 ways you're getting screwed and don't know it,
are you doing this one thing to improve/sabatoge your life?,
x ways you're sabatoging yourself,
top 10 craziest things,
top 10 sneaky things,
what is this thing the way it is when everybody knows it doesn't make sense?,
how this thing became a certain way
Feel free to add more
The droids you're looking for...
My favorite one 
Top 10 celebrities that ...
Nice list Brad!
My favorite way to find these sorts of headlines, is to browse articles on viral sites like UpWorthy and ViralNova.
UpWorthy writers write 25 headlines for every article before 1 is chosen. They've also collected a ton of data on what kinds of headlines get the most clicks, so they're improving all the time.
So - they've done the research, and we can take advantage of that.
Amy
Excellent advice--I'd like to add Buzzfeed to the list as well.
ON a somewhat-related note, I registered buttworthy.com b/c I thought it'd be a great satire site. Never did anything with it, so I let it go. Now it is a parked domain with a $3.5k asking price!
Originally Posted by elskafreya
No need to feel badly - this happens all the time. Domain name valuation is such a tricky business. Many people will buy real cheap and jack up the price to unbelievable heights. If an idiot comes along and buys it, the buyer "has foresight". If not, the buyer becomes the idiot.
Amy
Another simple way is to Google "viral headline generator".
This one give me 700 headline ideas about my keyword "iphone": http://www.title-generator.com/index...=iPhone&page=1
Some examples:
- What Can Instagram Teach You About iPhone
- 12 Questions Answered About iPhone
- Your Key To Success: iPhone
- iPhone And Love - How They Are The Same
- 3 Things Everyone Knows About iPhone That You Don't
- 27 Ways To Improve iPhone
- 3 Ways Twitter Destroyed My iPhone Without Me Noticing
- What Alberto Savoia Can Teach You About iPhone
- Why I Hate iPhone
- How To Become Better With iPhone In 10 Minutes
- 7 Easy Ways To Make iPhone Faster
- 9 Ridiculous Rules About iPhone
This looks great Erik. Also as a nerdy content writer with a weird sense of humor...it can be great for stress relief and laughs if you put in the right terms.
Haha yeah, they are just fixed templates, but a good source of inspiration. Some combinations come out really funny .)
Here's the resources we use to craft clickbaity headlines:
http://www.copyblogger.com/proven-headline-formulas/
https://blog.bufferapp.com/headline-...ies-psychology
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/da...tles-headlines
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/co...te-a-headline/
http://www.impactbnd.com/blog/5-irre...and-breathe-by
https://blog.bufferapp.com/how-and-w...backed-content
https://www.groovehq.com/blog/storyt...tent-marketing
http://www.outbrain.com/blog/3-easy-...cle-10x-better
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