A sucky headline could kill your content.

Not only does your headline get readers in the door, it primes them to recieve the information you’re about to drop and can be the difference between a saved/shared post and one that doesn’t resonate enough to even get a like. Why? Because your headline helps the reader gain fast context on what you’re trying to serve them.

For example, imagine a post containing the 5 step sequence to onboarding clients quickly. Your headline options are:

A) Fast Client Onboarding Sequence ⬇️

B) How to Onboard Clients in Under 10 Minutes & Get Back to Business ⏰

While the caption would be filled with depth and value for the reader, one who isn’t primed to understand the speed at which a client could be onboarded may miss the mark completely and simply skim past thinking this caption is just like ones they’ve seen before.

Utilizing a jazzy headline puts the reader in the right headspace to actually recognize the value in the content you’re sharing because now their expectations have been pushed higher and they’re searching for that gold nugget of wisdom.

So what does that look like in practice? Scroll to see six deadline formulas + ideas for implementing them within your own unique content focus.

THE CLASSIC HOW TO

Formula: How to [X] That Gets You [Y]

• How to Find Clients that Don’t Question Your Prices
• How to Always Get Your To Do List Done
• How to Set Up Your Workspace for Inspiration
• How to Generate 3 Warm Leads Every Day
• How to Prepare For Tax Season as an Entrepreneur
• How to Turn Your Skills into a Profitable Business

Why we love this: The classic “how-to” headline immediately hooks readers by pushing the idea that they’ll walk away from your content with something (like a new framework or the ability to implement a change)

SHARE AN EPIC LIST

Formula: [Large Number] to Produce [Epic Result]

• 12 Ways to Infuse Your Personality into Your Brand
• 23 Prompts to Produce Crazy Requests in Your DM’s
• 19 Essential Steps to Map Out Your Goals & Maximize Effectiveness in 2022
• 13 Smart and Legal Ways to Save Money on Taxes
• Sick of getting ghosted after discovery calls? Learn 13 Ways to Generate An Endless Supply of Hot, Qualified Leads
• 37 Things Your Business Could Outsource to Save MASSIVE Amounts of Time
• 15 Foolproof Ways to Give Yourself a Raise – A Step by Step Guide
• 17 Things All First Time Business Owners Should Know
• 46 Irresistible Call to Action Examples

Why we love this: An epic list builds major excitement by denoting a grand achievement or, alternatively, signifies that the reader is getting access to a skimmable caption that’s overflowing with information. You’ve just now associated yourself with a sense of abundance (just be sure to maintain quality in each list item, don’t just reach for the sake of making a longer list).

DROP YOUR FAVORITE HACKS

Formula: [Tips & Tricks] Revealed

• The Best Ways to Optimize Your Bio: Revealed
• Revealing the 3 Things Every Successful CEO Does
• 10 Little Known Ways to Reduce Your Software Subscription Rates
• The Top 7 Marketing Apps for Your Online Business (Hint: 3 of the Best are Free)
• Irresistible Email Subject Lines That Convert
• To Show or Not to Show Your Prices on the Your Site
• Setting Boundaries: Email Etiquette for Handling Draining Clients
• 5 Hacks to Put Your Creative Brain on Pause & Avoid Burn Out
• 10 Must Have Tools for Every VA or OBM
• SMM Archive: All My Best Tips, All in One Place
• My Secret Stash of Amazing Online Sales for Entrepreneur Resources

Why we love this: Tips and tricks are simple, savable, and sharable. This formula focuses readers in with the sense that they’re getting to see a big reveal, which then you must deliver upon in the caption!

CUT THE LIES

Formula: [X] Lies About [Common Topic] or [Mention Threat] [Provide Solution]

• The Secret Ingredient to Cut (Major) Expenses When Running a Business
• How to Increase Your Prices AND Your Close Rate
• A Professional Way to Deal with Poor Reviews Online
• Retreat Nightmare: A ‘Disaster Checklist’ To Review 2 Weeks Out From Your Retreat
• 10 Ideas for Entrepreneur Moms to Keep the Kids Occupied During the Work Day
• The Dangers of Not Working Out as an Entrepreneur: High Energy, Safe Workout Routines
• Are You Making These 5 Fatal Mistakes When Setting Up Facebook Ads?
• Be Prepared to be Shocked – Take the Instagram Engagement Aptitude Test Today. The Results May Surprise You

Why we love this: This is a great way to add an element of intrigue, while also giving you the opportunity to dispel myths about your business or offer. Think about how you want to combat a potential client’s doubts, and use that to fuel your caption writing under the “Cut the Lies” umbrella.

TAKE ON A BOLD TIMEFRAME / STAT

Formula: Get [Desired Result] in [Desired Timeframe]

• Get 5x Your Followers in 3 Months
• Triple Your Instagram Following in 1 Month
• Double Your Blog Traffic Month over Month – Starting Next Month
• Get a 25% Boost On Your Click Through Rate in Just 2 Days
• FREE Webinar: Learn the 5-Minute A Day Formula That Increased My Web Traffic by 647%
• $83,000 in Debt: A Young Divorced Mother Tells How She Became Debt Free in 6-Months by Creating a Digital Course
• Join a Mastermind: How 5 Creative Entrepreneurs Scaled Their Revenue in 30 Days
• Find Your Inner Peace: 7 Yoga Poses in 7 Days for Desk Sitters

Why we love this: With this formula, you’re eluding to a bigger plan and attaching authority to your name by including hard numbers. This also creates the opportunity for you to dive deeper into your unique frameworks, offering readers multiple ways to learn more from you in one caption (i.e implement X, but to know how to do more of that you’ll have to read my latest blog).

USE AUTHORITIES, TRENDS, SOCIAL PROOF

Formula: The [Strategy] that [People with Authority] Now Use

• How Neil Patel Really Got Over 50k Instagram Followers in 1 week
• Revealed: Jasmine Star’s #1 Instagram Conversion Tactic
• Sales Funnels with Integrity: How Jenna Kutcher Takes You on a Digital “Shopping Spree”
• How Etsy Shop Owners Are Now Making Over 110k in 6 Months
• Resource Guide: The Top 5 Resources I Use to Dominate the Search Engines (Number 4 may Surprise You)
• When Oprah Winfrey Plans a Last Minute Video Training, These are the Steps She Uses
• 10 Years of Multi-Million Dollar Business: The Secret to [successful person’s] Plan
• Do You Know Why 76% of B2Bs Are Generating More Leads in Q3 of 2019?

Why we love this: Authority, trend, and social proof filled headlines are easy for readers to quickly identify with. Whether you’re name dropping their favorite IG personality, or relating to them with a client outcome caption, they’ll see something that resonates with them and need to continue reading.

Take these formulas + headline ideas and start writing. Your ideal client is waiting to connect with you via your next juicy post, so make sure you’re hooking them from the beginning!

Want my eyes on your next headline? DM me on Instagram “I’M FROM THE BLOG + [your headline]” and I’ll put my eyes on your hook!