The 5-Step Framework You Need to Write Strong Headlines That Convert

In the world of marketing, we don’t talk a lot about headlines, and we should. Headlines do a ton of work. According to Copyblogger, 80% of people who look at your content will only read the headline. The other 20% will read through some or all your content. With odds starting so low, it’s super important to write headlines that work.

Otherwise, you’re wasting your time creating content. 

It’s easy to see headlines as an afterthought, especially when you don’t start your content with the headline in mind. You shouldn’t write your headline before you write your content, but it’s important to think about how you’re going to create interest. 

Typically, my content creation process looks like this: topic and keyword research first, then I draft a few headlines and write my content. Once I’m done writing, I return to my headlines and analyze them using a tool like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. They recently released an awesome chrome extension!  

This allows me to keep my headline in mind as I write, but I don’t limit myself by choosing a headline too early. 

Once it’s time to brainstorm headline ideas, first look at structure. What kind of headline would serve your content best? Here are some common headline formats. 

“How To” Headlines

This format is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re explaining how to do something, you might want to use this format. Examples of this headline are “How to plan a wedding for under 5k” and “How to find the perfect wedding dress.” 

List Headlines

List headlines typically contain numbers, but they don’t have to. “8 ways to honor deceased loved ones on your wedding day” and “unique entrance songs for your wedding party” are examples of list headlines. 

Round-Up Headlines 

These are like list headlines, but they group like things together. Examples of round-up headlines might include “The 10 best florists in Los Angeles” or “Hand calligraphy businesses in Atlanta.” Round-ups are a great opportunity to get backlinks for your website! If you're featured in a Round-up post, make sure the writer links to your website.

Revealing Headlines

This headline teases a big secret. You can format this headline with “the secret to…,” “the best method for…,” or “the [method, framework, formula, etc.] that got me X results.” Be careful with this one. It can seem like clickbait if you make it too cheesy. Make sure there is actually a valuable reveal in your content. 

Question Headlines

This one is also self-explanatory. Ask a question! Questions are great because they make your reader check themselves. If you can use “you” in your question headline, even better. You can also create FOMO (fear of missing out) with question headlines. Examples include “Are you making these common wedding planning mistakes?” and “Do you have the right timeline for your wedding day?”

Headlines don’t need to be stressful. I’ve designed a 5-step framework to help you write headlines easily. All you have to do is remember TRUST. 

I found this acronym pretty fitting, as that’s exactly what headlines need to do. If your audience doesn’t trust you, they’re never going to buy from you. 

Let’s get to it! 

The TRUST Headline Framework

The TRUST headline framework stands for Tempting, Relatable, Uncovered, Specific, and Timely. With these 5 elements, you can create a great headline for any kind of content. Blog posts, YouTube videos, Lives, and even guest publications.

You can even use this framework for your website headings. 

Tempting - headlines that hook 

Your goal is not to get your audience to bookmark your content and come back to it later. If you can’t convince them to consume your content immediately, they may not consume it at all. 

How many articles, videos, or posts have you “saved for later” that you never looked at again? Exactly. 

The content you create should have a clear purpose. Not just a CTA, but a goal on the back end. Are you priming your audience for a launch? Trying to build your email list? Searching for your ideal client? 

Whatever your goal is, keep it in mind as you write. This includes your headline. 

For best SEO results, CoSchedule suggests your headline be 50-60 characters. Within this range, you have a pretty good chance of Google showing your whole headline. Any longer, and you risk your headline getting cut off, which is not effective for SEO.

Relatable - headlines that interest 

You’ve probably heard some iteration of this statement: your ideal content is a mix of what you want to say and what your audience is interested in. If you can hit that sweet spot, your content isn’t going to see a lot of engagement. 

And that’s the ultimate goal, right? If you have engagement, you have people who want to hear from you. 

That’s how you build an audience of loyal clients. 

This step in the framework comes in handy well before you write your headline. It’s important to take into account what your audience is looking for when you’re picking topics to write about. Keyword research is an important step here. If you can’t find keywords with solid numbers (more on that in my post about SEO for wedding pros), that topic might not be the best.

Tap into your audience’s pain points to find good content topics. What are they struggling about? What do they wish they understood better? If your topic isn’t relatable, it’s not going to interest your audience. 

Don’t be afraid to ask them outright, either! Polls on IG are a good way to learn exactly what your audience wants to see. 

Uncovered - headlines that transform

This step goes way beyond headlines. You should use it every time you write copy for your business. In ads, on your website, in every email you write. 

Benefits are more important than features. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many steps you have in your formula, how many pages your PDF is, or how many hours of service you provide.

What matters is the outcome for your clients. If you can’t show them the transformation, you don’t have an offer worth selling. 

The same goes for your content. The same goes for your content. If you can’t show your audience how your content can help them, they’re not going to click. 

It can be difficult to do this in 50-60 characters. A great example is “5 ways to save money on your wedding.” In this headline, the transformation is saving money. 

You don’t have to spell out exactly how their life is going to change in the headline. Leave the details for your content, especially if your CTA has something to do with selling an offer. 

No matter your topic, there’s a good chance the solution you’re offering will do one of three things: save your audience time, money, or effort. It might be a mix of all three. Work this into your headline whenever possible. 

An easy way to add benefits to your headline is to add the word “that” followed by the benefit. This doesn’t work every time but is pretty reliable. 

Let’s say your headline is “Alternatives to fresh flowers on your wedding day.” To add benefits, you can change it to “7 Alternatives to fresh flowers to save money on your wedding day.” See what I did there? 

Here are a few other examples of benefits you can add to many types of headlines. Remember to be truthful! Don’t add “will save you money” if that’s not a true benefit in your content. 

Specific - headlines that target 

Vague, clickbait-y headlines are not your friend unless you’re working for TMZ. The more specific you can get, the better off you’ll be. 

Your headline is a promise. You’re previewing your content in a very short phrase, and that’s all your audience gets unless they keep reading. Don’t trick them into clicking. Deliver on your promise. 

There are a few ways you can add specificity to your headlines. First, use numbers. 

List posts are fantastic for conversions, both in written content (blogs) and video. Buzzsumo found that headlines containing numbers almost always have above-average social shares.  If you have a list of any kind, try to use numbers in your headline. This post is a great example. I’m not providing a numbered list of solutions for writing headlines, but my TRUST framework is split into 5 parts. 

Giving your audience a number makes the headline more intriguing. It sticks out visually among the rest of the headline. It’s a logical way for our brains to process information and it's more appealing than a headline that only uses words.

It’s also important to think of specificity on a general level. Tailor your headline to your ideal audience. Neil Patel says you should write content for 20-35% of your audience. Not everything you write is going to appeal to everyone who sees your content. If you hone in on a sub-niche of your ideal audience, your chances of engagement are going to be higher. 

This might mean you create a blog about the best wedding vendors in your area. Or the best time of year to get married where your ideal client lives. If your audience likes destination weddings, you might write about how to plan a destination wedding or make a list of locations you love.

Look at the demographics of your audience to help with specificity. 

Timely - headlines that matter 

Your content does not need to be time-sensitive, although it can be. If you’re hopping on a trend, for example, that content may not be relevant in a few months. 

In a general sense, this step goes hand in hand with relatability. If your content isn’t relevant now, no one will want to consume it. 

Creating content that is uber-specific to current culture will not serve you in the long run. Pick topics that will stay relevant for a decent amount of time, especially for your blogs. 

Blogs work for you every day from the moment they’re published online, and relevancy plays a big role in this. 

In the wedding industry, this is super easy to do. Wedding trends change, but many aspects of wedding planning remain the same year after year. 

Couples are always going to need something to wear. They’ll always need a venue, even if that venue is their backyard. Use your experience to your advantage and write about topics that will matter to your audience far past the date they're published.

It’s also helpful to regularly update your content, especially on your website. If you have an outdated blog, re-work it, repurpose it, or delete it altogether. Staying current will help boost your authority in the industry and build that trust you need before you can start selling.

There you have it! Writing content is time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to take all day. 

If you’re pressed for time, outsourcing your copy needs might be the best option. Visit my website to view my services and book a free consultation so we can get to know each other!