In native advertising, you have the time it takes to see an image and read a sixty-character headline to grab your audience. Ideally, the two work in tandem to pique the reader’s curiosity and entice them to click. If you have even a little experience running native ads (or have scrolled past rows of boring headlines) you know that writing great headlines isn’t as easy as it seems.

Though not every headline you write will be a winner, it’s possible to identify some trends among Maximus’ top performers. These won’t apply to every single offer you run, but the different types of headlines and words used might give you some ideas about how to frame your copy for maximum impact.

Appeal to Your Readers’ Sense of Authority

People are more likely to follow the advice of an expert because they already have an existing sense of trust. For example, if you have a product developed by a doctor, use their expertise to your advantage in your headlines. Phrases such as “Top Doctor” and “Yale Cardiologist” draw readers because most people see doctors as people who do their best to help others. The same goes for celebrity endorsements.

Create a Sense of Urgency

Whether you’re working with a limited offer or want a person to work toward a specific outcome, an urgent headline can elicit quite the reaction. For example, if someone asks you to take out the garbage, you might not think much of and might even ignore this simple request. But if someone begs you to take out the garbage, there’s a sense of emotion and alarm with that request. Next time you write a headline, look for any weak verbs and replace them with them with stronger, more powerful words to get a better reaction from your audience.

Words to try: Urge, beg, destroy, warns, never, eliminate

Flip Expectations

When we accept things as common fact, it’s startling to read something that claims otherwise. One way to grab attention is to make an unusual claim (as long as you can back it, of course). Unexpected words or themes can make your headlines much more enticing to readers.

Make Your Deal Feel Special

Everyone loves a great deal on a product they need. But that deal becomes even more enticing when you make it sound extra special. Phrases like “Deals You Won’t Believe You Didn’t Know About,” or “You’ll Only Get These Discounts If You Read This” make your offer seem exclusive to the reader. Consumers feel like they’re spending money in the smartest possible way, meaning good deals and promotions are a great way to attract attention — and business.

Phrases to try: Fly off shelves, incredible discount, entitled to discounts, before it sells out

Offer a Solution to a Common Problem

Another way to grab attention is to give consumers a solution to a problem that’s so common and so annoying that they’re immediately intrigued. For example, this style of headline works well with a pet offer: “If your pet does this, try this.” In doing so, you’re positioning yourself as an expert on a topic, and as someone readers will want to listen to.

Know Your Audience

If you’re advertising to a specific group, try calling out that group in your headline. When a person sees an identifier that describes them, they’re more likely to give the headline their attention and give you the click.

Keep It Interesting

We touched on this in the point above, but identify words that perform strongly in your headlines. Maybe your most successful headlines lately have all had the word “Amazing” in common. You’ll want to hone in on these high-performing words, but you’ll also want to think about synonyms that could generate similar impact and interest so your audience doesn’t burn out on your ads.

Here are some of the “power” words our users have found success with:

Warn, Urge, Beg, Boils Down, Clog, Quit, Throw Out, Ditch, Destroy, Eliminate, Burn, Ignore, Launch, Never, Help, Symptoms, Amazing, Super, Luxury, Secret, Gadgets, Sell Out, Available, Discounts, No Cost

Joshua Keller

Joshua is an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 16 years of experience in digital performance marketing. Joshua is the founder of Union Square Media Group, a leading full-service digital media agency. In 2017, he founded Maximus, an innovative native advertising software company. With an expertise in providing strategic direction, he has been able to scale his companies at an extremely rapid rate, with a projected revenue for 2019 of over $75,000,000. Maximus is an end-to-end autonomous media buying platform for marketers, brands and agencies focused on performance-based marketing.

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