It takes less than 1 second for users to decide whether to click to read an article, so if you want to increase the reading rate, the title is the key.

Your title must quickly catch the user's eye and attract the user's attention within 1 second to attract more readers and make the content more meaningful.

So we often see some 100,000+ hit titles:

"What is the difference between a copywriter earning 3,000 yuan a month and a copywriter earning 30,000 yuan a month?" 》

What is it like to give up a high salary, a beautiful wife, and a big house and run to the mountains to become a savage? 》

"The most fatal mistakes made by 10 bigwigs including Robin Li, Zhou Hongyi, and Jack Ma"

PS: The above title comes from an online hot article

During the few years I worked as a copywriter, I came up with various titles based on different platforms and needs. Some had 100,000+ views, some had 1,000,000+ views, and some were so bad that no one cared.

Having written so many articles, I have done some research and accumulation on titles, so I compiled 11 types of popular title routines and explained them with cases, so you can use them directly.

If you are often troubled by not knowing how to come up with a title, this article is worth reading.

Symbol Class Title

Symbols are the universal rules in titles. They are the simplest and easiest to use.

Symbols can give people strong sensory stimulation, generally? ! …etc. can evoke strong emotions and bring them into the mind, making them more likely to attract attention and concern.

for example:

1. Tencent takes ruthless action: all QQ accounts of this type will be blocked!

2. WeChat has a new feature! Did you see your update?

3. What a pity! Another domestic mobile phone giant has completely fallen!

4. When a friend on WeChat asks “Are you there?”, what’s the smartest way to respond? Very useful!

The common point among these titles is that they all use the "!" sign to express strong emotions and give readers strong sensory stimulation. There are obvious emotional ups and downs, just like story conflicts, which are naturally more likely to attract users' attention and make them want to open it to find out.

Otherwise, let's try changing the symbols and see what the difference is:

Case 1:

Use symbols: What a pity! Another domestic mobile phone giant has completely fallen! (500,000 views)

No need: Too bad, another Chinese mobile phone giant has completely collapsed

Case 2:

Use symbols: WeChat has a new feature! Did you see your update?

No need: WeChat has launched a new feature. Have you checked your update?

Have you noticed that once the "!" symbol that can stimulate sensory emotions is replaced, the entire title looks very flat? No emotion at all?

Digital Title

Numbers are highly recognizable, so the brain tends to recognize them first. Therefore, using numbers can effectively increase the recognition of titles.

Numbers are also more likely to give people a feeling of high information content and strong professionalism, and they are sensitive in themselves. The intuitive feeling they bring to people is more likely to arouse curiosity and stimulate users' desire to click and find out more.

for example:

Original title:

After interviewing numerous college students, we compiled the most comprehensive guide to chasing goddesses

After optimization:

After interviewing 3,000 college students, we summarized 7 ways to chase goddesses

The preceding "3,000 people" gives readers a more specific picture, making it more convincing.

The [7 methods] allow readers to have a rough idea of ​​the content and reading time, and also greatly reduce the readers' understanding cost.

For example:

Original title:

What are the monetization methods of Toutiao accounts?

After optimization:

How can an ordinary person earn 5,000 yuan a month by writing on Toutiao? There are 9 ways to monetize, and Weitou also has revenue

Popular headlines often have one thing in common: that is, they try to reduce the user's brain recognition cost as much as possible, allowing users to quickly filter through reading. Therefore, in general, the simpler and more specific the headlines are, the more willing users are to click on them, giving them "control".

That’s what digital titles are for.

Create conflict and contrast

It is mainly based on certain differences, creating conflicts and contradictions through numerical comparison, contradictory comparison, and violation of common sense, which is more likely to arouse people's curiosity. The stronger the contrast between the positive and the negative, the greater the desire of people to click.

For example, the most classic comparison title circulating on the Internet:

The difference between a copywriter with a monthly salary of 3,000 and a copywriter with a monthly salary of 30,000

Of course, if you are not a copywriter, you can change it:

The difference between a programmer with a monthly salary of 3,000 and a programmer with a monthly salary of 30,000!

Does this numerical comparison instantly arouse your interest?

Another example:

"I earn 600,000 yuan a year, but I don't have any clothes worth more than 100 yuan: saving money is the highest level of self-discipline"

The strong numerical contrast between a 600,000 yuan annual salary and a 100 yuan piece of clothing makes people curious. Why does a person with a 600,000 yuan annual salary spend 100 yuan just like an ordinary person spends a few yuan, but he still can't bear to spend it?

For example:

"I'd rather raise a dog than my parents" is considered unfilial, but it is supported by many people

Although there is no numerical comparison, this is a common sense comparison.

In our common sense, supporting parents is a must, but here it says "no", which is the first common sense contrast;

Originally, this idea of ​​"not raising" is despised by people, but here it says "gain support from everyone", which is the second common sense comparison.

The strong contrast and contradiction between the two common sense creates a huge contrast, which is more likely to arouse the readers' strong curiosity.

Therefore , whether it is a comparison of numbers, common sense, or other forms of comparison or conflict, creating a huge contrast can often attract readers' attention more easily.

Thigh hug type

Take advantage of hot topics, such as mentioning celebrities, KOLs, hot events, hot topics, etc., to make the title hot and increase the click-through rate.

like:

When a husband cheats on his wife, what is the intention of those who scold his wife?

Taobao president was punished for having an affair with an internet celebrity: What was the intention of the person who scolded his original wife?

Another example:

Adult life is harder than you think

28-year-old Li Jiaqi fell ill and cried during an interview: Adult life is much harder than you think

besides:

Ten must-read books for programmers

Ma Huateng and Zhang Xiaolong recommend ten must-read books for programmers

In contrast, no matter which case, is it true that the title optimized using the "clinging to the big shots" approach is more likely to attract you?

This is because the celebrity effect greatly increases the audience of the title, and celebrity hot spots are more likely to attract attention, so such titles often have higher click-through rates.

Create a story/scene-type title

Describe the details, show the scene, and provide enough details to allow readers to quickly judge and identify, arouse curiosity, or trigger readers' empathy;

like:

"I'm divorced and have three children. Are you sure you want to marry my whole family?" His answer made me burst into tears.

A girl born in 1994 earns 4,600 yuan a month and has saved enough to buy two houses: How terrible is it to be addicted to saving money?

Both titles provide enough details for you to quickly judge what kind of story it is, and you can't help but be curious and want to find out the detailed "story" plot.

Use more pronouns such as "you" and "I" to increase the sense of immersion in the title

The first and second person perspectives often appear more realistic and are more likely to increase the reader's sense of immersion, as if they were speaking about themselves.

like:

"The night I decided to divorce, I posted 1 message on WeChat Moments and received 29 missed calls"

You look like a failure if you don't get an offer

The child is young, can't you let this go? cannot!

When you see similar experiences, common hobbies, the same problems as your own, etc., is it easier to resonate with them? So as to increase the sense of immersion? Makes you more willing to click on it?

Therefore, using the pronouns of "you" and "my" in titles more often is also the fastest way to increase your income.

Label the title so that readers can identify the title

Use labels to indicate a certain group of people, places, things, etc., to arouse resonance.

Think about what kind of connection the content you write has with whom, what titles they have, and then bring out these labels so that people with the same labels will automatically identify themselves with them and attract their attention.

For example, hobbies, groups, gender, interests, etc.

like:

A poor girl with no knowledge posted a 100 yuan lipstick on her WeChat Moments

The girl who carried LV in the circle of friends has changed to micro-business

What advantages do Taurus have that other zodiac signs don’t have?

Why is it said to be written for the young people, but it only became popular in the circles of the 70s and 80s?

The first title, "People who post 100 yuan lipstick on WeChat Moments", is bound to attract a wave of girls to identify themselves with the title and want to know why posting on WeChat Moments like this is ignorant;

The same goes for the third title. Taurus is already a very obvious label, so it brings up all the people with this label and those who have Taurus around them.

Hit the pain point directly and solve the problem-solving title

Hitting the pain points directly, stimulating emotions, generating resonance, and solving the problems are more likely to attract attention and clicks.

This type is often more suitable for practical content, raising pain points/itch points, solving problems, and gaining recognition from readers.

like:

90% of startups fail at this step. How to acquire the first batch of customers through new media in the early stage?

What does the English name of mobile file management mean? How to delete useless files on your phone?

The previous title, "Business failure is a pain point for many entrepreneurs", points out the pain point and arouses resonance. The subsequent title "How to get the first batch of customers" provides a solution to the pain point, thereby attracting more attention.

The same is true for the following title. Many people have encountered this trouble: there are all kinds of messy English file names on the mobile phone, which take up a lot of memory but they dare not delete them. The title directly points out this pain point, and the following "How to delete" also gives a solution, which has attracted more attention and recognition. This piece of content received over 500,000 views on Toutiao.

Question title

Interrogative titles are easier to understand. They just raise questions and use more words like "why" and "how".

There are two types of question-type titles.

One is pure questioning.

Use questions to guide readers' curiosity, solve problems, etc.

like:

How can fresh graduates adjust their mindset and find a job they like?

How can a newbie write a copy that has over 100,000 views?

Why do some people who are obviously richer than you always complain to you about being poor?

There is another method which is self-questioning + self-answering + suspense.

That is, after asking the question, they answer it themselves, but don’t tell the specific reason. You have to click on the article to find out, which is to arouse people’s curiosity.

like:

The child is young, can't you let this go? cannot!

Since you are so rich, can't you lend me some? no!

"I didn't say I wouldn't marry you, why do you want to marry someone else?" “I’m too old to wait”

Create suspense and arouse curiosity

Suspense and question headlines may look similar, but they are actually different.

Question-type titles are often what we see in daily life. We are confused only when we don’t know why. They are usually question-type sentences.

Suspense titles are often something novel, strange, and seemingly unreasonable. They may or may not be question sentences.

Generally, questions will be raised or blank spaces will be left to give room for imagination, whetting people's appetite, creating a tense atmosphere and other ways to create suspense, thereby attracting people's attention.

like:

I was shocked! It turns out there is such a magical profession in the world!

Why do we sometimes forget what we want to say the moment it comes to our lips? I never expected that the "culprit" was...

Dendrobium officinale has been exposed again! So it turns out that...If you don’t understand it yet, take a look!

The first title creates a kind of "never expected" suspense, and makes people want to click in immediately to see what profession it is talking about;

The second one leaves the reader halfway through the sentence, leaving the reader in suspense, so the reader is naturally curious and wants to click in to see what the second half of the sentence is trying to say.

Emphasized title

The biggest feature of emphatic titles is that they like to use affirmative tones, such as best, must, never, etc., which will give people a feeling of compulsion, thereby generating fear + curiosity and inducing clicks.

like:

Note: It is best not to save these types of pictures on your phone!

Married people should not chat with the opposite sex often.

Copywriters, you must know the banned words in the 2020 new advertising law

The 11 types of title routines each have their own characteristics. In fact, many times, some popular titles often do not use only one of them, but a combination of multiple title routines.

for example

"I only had 100,000 yuan in my card, but I ordered a house worth 6 million yuan in 90 seconds"

This title uses the combination of numbers and strong contrast to arouse readers' curiosity and increase click-through rate.

"With 18 million fans online and tens of millions of sales from live streaming, how does this travel blogger manage to make use of Toutiao's traffic?" 》

This one uses a combination of digital + scene-creating + question-type titles.

So in fact, many titles do not use only a single routine, and combining multiple ones is more likely to become a hit.

If you always don’t know how to come up with a title every time you write an article, here is a 5-step method for coming up with a title:

1. Refine the topic of the article;

2. Summarize the topic in one sentence, preferably with keywords;

3. Simplify this sentence into a title;

4. Use these 11 headline routines to see which one is more suitable;

5. Write 1-3 titles and make final confirmation;

After reading these 11 title routines, do you find any inspiration?

Or do you have any better methods?

Welcome to discuss in the comment section!

PS: Some of the titles in the article come from the Internet

Author: Operation Xiaoxiaomiao

Source: Operation Xiaoxiaomiao