If you're reading this, then you've just witnessed the effects of a good headline. One of the ways to make more people read your post is to include a statistic in the title. Even if it's totally made up, it'll still work! Don't do that though of course - we don't want everyone to start using fake statistics in their headlines.
According to tests conducted by Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy, traffic can vary as much as 500% due to the headline. That's why it's super important to invest most of your time into writing a good headline. On average, 8/10 people will read the headline, but only 2/10 will read the body.
What are some ways to instantly improve my headlines?
1. Propose a question in the title, like the one you just read. If you propose an interesting question, people will likely click on it.
2. Using 'How to' in your titles. Perhaps the easiest way to write a good headline - it's almost impossible to go wrong with using a 'how to' title. People love to learn stuff.
3. Listicles such as '34 ways to write better headlines' always seem to to do so well for some reason. 'Ways to write better headlines' is much more dull than '34 Ways to write better headlines.' I guess people just love numbers for some reason, just like how statistics do well in headlines.
4. Sensationalize Your Headlines - but don't overdo it otherwise people will be skeptical to click. Ways to sensationalize your headlines are to use power words such as: easy, stunning, discover, free, breakthrough, truth etc. Example: "Discover this easy trick to improving your click-through rates by up to 500%"
5. Be ultra specific - let readers know EXACTLY what to expect. Part of the reason '34 Ways to...' does better than 'Ways to' is because it's more specific. Avoid withholding important information from the reader - no matter how tempting that may be. 'Improve Your Writing by Removing Passive Voice' is better than 'Improve Your Writing With This Cool Trick.'
Hope you found that useful!