How to Write Headlines: Formulas and a 7-Point Test
To write a headline, decide what the one reader you’re writing for wants. Then promise that in plain words, with one specific detail they recognize, like a number or a situation. Write ten versions, cut each to the length of its slot and test them against a short checklist. The best headline is usually the clearest, and clever comes second.
Below: what a headline has to do, the formulas worth knowing, the length limits for each format, and how to choose between drafts.
What does a headline have to do?
One job: make the right reader read the next line. On a blog post that means clicking through from a search result. On a landing page it means scrolling past the hero. In an inbox it means opening the email.
That job has two parts. The headline has to tell the reader what the piece is about, and give them a reason to care now. Headlines that only do the first read like labels (“Email Marketing Tips”). Headlines that only do the second read like bait (“This changes everything”). The ones that work do both in a few words.
A headline also sorts. It should repel the people the piece isn’t for. “Sales pages for coaches who hate selling” loses most readers on purpose and keeps the ones who will buy.
Which headline formulas work?
Formulas give you a starting shape. The detail you put in them does the work. These are the ones we reach for most, with examples written for shape only:
| Formula | Shape | Example (for shape only) | Works best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| How to | How to [outcome] [constraint] | How to write a sales page in one afternoon | Blog posts, guides |
| Number | [Number] [things] that [effect] | 5 headline mistakes that cost you clicks | Lists, carousels |
| Question | [Question your reader asks] | Is AI content bad for SEO? | Search, FAQs |
| Result first | [Result] in [time or condition] | A finished launch email before lunch | Ads, case studies |
| For who | [Thing] for [specific reader] who [situation] | Bookkeeping for freelancers who hate spreadsheets | Landing pages |
| Mistake | If you [habit], [cost] | If you post daily and still get no replies, read this | Social, email |
| Without | [Outcome] without [the thing they dread] | Weekly newsletters without a blank page | Offers, ads |
Most of these come from the same patterns as social hooks. Our guide to writing hooks covers twelve families and the trap in each.
How long should a headline be?
As long as its slot allows and no longer. The slot decides, not a universal rule.
| Format | Limit to aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Blog title (search result) | 60 characters or fewer, keyword first | Longer titles get cut in results |
| Landing page hero | Under 12 words | It has to land in one glance |
| Email subject line | Under 50 characters | Mobile inboxes cut around 40 to 50 |
| Short ad headline | 30 to 40 characters | Many ad headline slots run that short |
| YouTube title | Under 60 characters | Same reason as search |
For search titles, put the words people type at the start. “How to Write Headlines: Formulas and a 7-Point Test” leads with the query and uses the rest to say what’s inside. The blog post structure guide covers the title and the meta description together.
What makes a headline weak?
Four patterns show up again and again in drafts, especially AI drafts:
- Vague promises. “Better copy starts here” has no detail a reader can picture: no reader, no amount, no deadline.
- Hype words. Superlatives and words that promise a revolution get discounted before the reader finishes the line.
- Cleverness that needs a second read. A pun that only makes sense after the article is a label nobody clicks.
- A promise the piece doesn’t keep. If the headline says “in 10 minutes”, the method has to take 10 minutes. Readers who feel tricked leave, and they remember.
AI models lean on a small set of openers and verbs. If your assistant keeps opening with the same two or three verbs, that’s the model’s habit. It didn’t choose them for your reader. Making AI writing sound human lists the patterns to strip out.
How do you pick the best headline?
Write ten, from at least three different formulas. Then score each one against a short checklist:
- Clear: a stranger gets it in one read.
- Specific: it has a number, a time or an object.
- For one reader: the person you want would feel it’s about them.
- Tension: there’s a cost or a surprise.
- Voice: it sounds like you, with no hype words.
- True: the piece delivers exactly what it promises.
- Fits: it’s within the slot’s limit.
Treat “true” as a gate. A headline that fails it is out, whatever else it scores.
We ran sample ad headlines through the hook scorer in Copix’s review tool. “Better copy starts here” scored 3 of 5. It failed on specific and tension, and the fix asked for a number, a time or a situation. “5 headline mistakes that cost you clicks” scored 5 of 5. “Your AI drafts. You still edit for an hour?” passed everything except length: at 43 characters it was over the 40-character slot. The scorer checks five of the seven points; “one reader” and “true” are left to you, because only someone who knows the reader and the product can judge them. Its checks are heuristics, so overrule a score when you can say why.
If you have traffic, test the top two. A/B tests on email subjects and ad headlines give you answers in days. On blog titles, changes take longer to show and are harder to read, so pick well and leave the title alone for a while.
Do you need a tool to write headlines?
No. The checklist above, a list of ten drafts and ten minutes of honest scoring beat most headline generators. If you write a handful of headlines a week, a notebook is enough, and a tool is the wrong place to spend money.
A tool helps when an AI writes your first drafts every day, because it falls back on the same openers. Copix gives your assistant a write tool. Ask it for headlines and it returns the formulas that fit your platform and slot, with the slot limits and rules. Its review tool grades up to 20 headlines at once. See it with the other tools in the tools section, compare the plans, or read how to connect Claude for a full copywriting setup. Once the headline earns the click, the copywriting frameworks guide covers what comes after it, and handling objections in copy covers the doubts the page has to answer.
FAQ
What is the most important part of a headline?
Clarity. A reader who doesn’t understand the headline in one read won’t click to find out. Specific detail comes next, then tension.
Should headlines be questions?
A question works when it’s the exact question your reader is asking, like a search query. A question anyone would answer yes to is weak, and too many question headlines read like a template.
Should I use numbers in headlines?
Use a number when the piece has a real count, like five steps or twelve examples. Numbers add specifics, but an invented or padded number breaks the promise.
How many headlines should I write before choosing?
Ten is a good habit. The first few are usually the obvious ones, and the better options tend to show up after you’ve used those up.
Can AI write good headlines?
It can draft many options quickly. Give it the reader, the slot limit and the facts, ask for several formulas, and score the results yourself, since models repeat the same openers.