I Followed This One Trick to Write Better Headlines. Here's What I Found

17 Dec 2024 #writing

“Five times as many people read the headline as read the body.”

That’s a quote from David Ogilvy, “the father of advertising.” It applies to the copywriting world, as well as other forms of writing.

A good headline is like the welcome sign for the rest of your piece. People passing by will choose to read only after seeing a good headline. No matter how well written and insightful your content is, a poor headline will make people skip to the next piece in their feeds.

Apart from writing 10 headlines a day, the best piece of advice I’ve found to write better headlines is to look at YouTube headlines.

Following that advice, I sneaked into Ali Abdaal’s YouTube channel. Here are the headlines of 10 of his most popular videos:

1. How I type REALLY fast (156 words per minute)
2. My evidence-based skincare routine
3. Why you’re always tired - 7 myths ruining your sleep
4. If I started a YouTube channel in 2025, I’d do this
5. The book that changed my financial life
6. What makes people successful?
7. How writing made me a millionaire
8. My honest advice to someone who wants financial freedom
9. My favorite note-taking app for students - Notion
10. The best book I’ve ever read about making money

Those headlines follow a pattern:

1. How I “action”
2. My evidence-based “action”
3. “Question about pain” - n “promise”
4. If I “action”, I’d do this
5. The “resource” that “outcome”
6. How “action” made me “outcome”
7. My honest advice to “audience” who wants “result”
8. The best “resource” I’ve ever “action” about “subject”

That’s a good starting place to write better headlines.