This Non-Obvious Addition To Your Headline Will Make It Trustworthy Enough To Click

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This Non-Obvious Addition To Your Headline Will Make It Trustworthy Enough To Click

Here’s a sad but familiar sequence of events many of us go through:

1. Spend hours or even days making excellent content.

2. Spend seconds writing a bad headline.

3. Get nowhere near as many clicks or views as the content deserves.

4. Stress out, frantically try to improve the content, and eventually get demoralized.

Remember, in this case, the content is already great.

It’s high-quality and engaging.

The problem lies in step 2: the bad headline.

If the headline isn’t trustworthy enough to click, it doesn’t matter how trustworthy the content is in itself.

Because no one will click through to find out.

Here’s a simple method of increasing the trustworthiness of a headline that doesn’t even require that you’re an “expert”:

Highlight your firsthand experience in the topic.

Let’s talk through how to use this simple headline addition to get your content more clicks and attention.

How To Add Firsthand Experience To Your Headlines To Make Them More Trustworthy

When the audience believes you have firsthand experience or genuine insight, they’re more likely to engage with the content.

It adds a layer of credibility.

In some cases, even more than an “expert” in the topic might have.

It’s a 2-step process:

1. Highlight your firsthand experience

2. Promise genuine insight

It’s about saying “I’ve been where you are and here’s what I found out”.

Here’s an example:

In this (real) headline, the firsthand experience is emphasized (“I spent 3 weeks”) and genuine insight is then promised (“here’s what I learned”).

Their firsthand experience adds trust and so demands more attention.

The more specific you can make the headline, the more credible it’ll be.

Eg. “3 Weeks With A 3D Printer” is more effective than “I Spent Time With A 3D Printer”.

4 Types Of Firsthand Experience You Could Highlight In Your Headlines

• Tangible experiences: Promise insights from a physical and relatable experience.

  • Eg. “One Month With A Foldable Flip Phone: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”

• Emotional journeys: Promise details of a personal emotional journey - a narrative of growth and change.

  • Eg. “Finding Joy in the Little Things: My Year-Long Battle With Anxiety”

• Intellectual challenges: Promise details of an intellectual journey and the challenges faced in understanding a topic.

  • Eg. “I Did A 1-Week Crash Course In Italian - Was It A Waste?”

• Professional growth: Promise a glimpse into the journey of progressing a career or business.

  • Eg. “7 Lessons I Learned From Selling a 6-Figure Blogging Business”

And It Works For Any Type Of Content…

You may think this headline technique is restricted to advice columns and product reviews.

Nope.

You can highlight your firsthand experience in any content style or format.

Here are some more examples:

• How-To Content: “My Tried-And-True 4-Step Method For Perfect Sourdough Bread”

• Informative Content: “Underground Street Racing: Terrifying Insights From A 48-Hour Journey”

• News Content: "Witnessing A Local Election Unfold: My Chaotic Day At The Polls"

• Product Reviews: “I Tried The Most Hyped Burger Of 2023 - Was It Worth The Price?”

• Case Studies: “I Boosted My Digital Product Sales By 23% In 2 Weeks - Here’s How”

No matter the content type, you can often emphasize that it's based on your own experiences and insights.

And you’ll reap the rewards if you do.

If You Found This Content Useful…

I go through 3 more ways of making your headlines more trustworthy in Headline Magic.

Check it out if you’re interested.

🐰 rabbit holes and resources

🍫 In case you missed them, here are some of my previous pieces on writing great headlines:

• How to use confirmation bias in your headlines to get more clicks [link]

• A 3-step process for fixing a basic, forgettable headline [link]

• Ali Abdaal’s 2-word headline hack [link]