Headline Mistakes that Cost Teacherpreneurs Thousands

Did you know bad headlines cost you money? It sounds exaggerated. But, after taking my teacherpreneur business from writing headlines like “How to Start a TpT Store.” to “Headlines for Teacherpreneurs that Stop Buyers in Their Tracks” the earning difference speaks for itself.

If we are taking the time to write in our business, we should do it well. But what does “well” mean? Something we like after we read it? Something our high school English teacher would have liked?

Writing headlines well means your headlines help people decide whether or not to put money in your bank account. So a mistake would be any headline that doesn’t help potential buyers make a decision.

If your headline doesn’t make someone think, “Yes, how do I do that?!” or “No way. That’s not for me.” then it is a mistake.

But there are several other factors that lead to headline mistakes.

Using Glass Headlines

What in the world is a glass headline? That subheadline was written like that on purpose. I wanted you to ask that question and ponder it briefly enough to want to read more.

Because if I would have written, “Headlines that are Crystal Clear” or “Headlines that Spell Everything Out” you wouldn’t have read this paragraph. (Yes, those were the first two possibilities for this paragraph’s subheadline.) You would’ve thought you understood everything you needed to know about this paragraph because I summed it up for you in 5 words.

Clarity is great. You want to be clear in your explanations. But, if you are too clear, you leave out all curiosity and reasons to read further in your articles and blogs.

Give your readers a reason to dig further into your blogs.

Headlines Missing These Crucial Words

There’s that curiosity again. You thought, “Ooooohhh. I want to know these magic words that will help me write amazing headlines.”

First, let’s look at the structure of this headline and then you’ll see the magic words.

Originally the headline read, “Enticing Words like Explode, Luscious, and Secretly are Left Out”. While it’s a true headline, this headline had multiple faults.

It was too clear. So how do we keep it just as interesting, but twice as intriguing?

These.

Write your headline. Then tweak it.

It had power words in it, but they were too explicit. Using the word these or this is a great way to build mystery into your headlines. And adding a power word like crucial, explode, or secretly does wonderful things for your open rates…as long as the content is as good as the headline.

Speaking of content, this last mistake is the biggest one.

If your headlines is “7 Tips for Starting a TpT Store” and number 6 is “Don’t Wait to Sign Up For Premium Membership”, you have a problem. It needs to be rephrased to something like “Sign up for Premium Immediately”(but, less clear. Remember glass headlines lose money.). Why?

It wasn’t a tip.

“Let’s Talk Copyright First” also isn’t a tip. It’s a great point, but it isn’t a tip. To be a tip it would need to be “Learn the Basics of Copyright”.

Why does this matter?

It keeps readers on your blog reading longer. The longer they read, the more interested they are. The more interested they are, the more likely they are to buy.

If you’d like worksheets and specific guidance on writing headlines that convert, you can click here.