HEADLINES ON SUBSTACK ARE EVERYTHING. I rarely use all-caps, but this is so important. I read so many great posts with terrible headlines. Unsurprisingly, those posts get no traction. Why? They’re vague, i.e., supposedly meant to entice. (That doesn’t work.)
This came at the perfect time for me! I was just thinking about my tendency toward obscure headlines and how that might impact my open rate. I'm going to try all three suggestions with my next post and see what happens. Thank you!!
I know headlines are something I struggle with... so this was a really helpful post thanks. I'm usually lean away from A.I. but I just tried out Claude and I was very impressed...
Mmm, I wondered if I was making a mistake using song titles/lyrics as my headlines on a newsletter about MS, but I’m having a lot of fun doing it, and one or two other people seem to have noticed/be enjoying it. And hopefully my subtitle explains what the hell I’m talking about 🤣🤪
I've been using AI to improve my headlines since I learned how to use it. The key is to ask specifics and to know the words that it uses over and over since readers have now seen them for a year (give or take?) and know how to recognize them. I beleive that if the reader recognizes an overused AI word they will think 'if you used AI in your headline, you used AI for the article.' So we do have to be careful.
But the next two tips were genious and I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THEM YET! Amazing in itself. I have used several other headline analyzers. So I'm excited to check this one out!
Took your advice and am beyond thrilled with what Claude put out. Thank you!
This came at the perfect time for me! I was just thinking about my tendency toward obscure headlines and how that might impact my open rate. I'm going to try all three suggestions with my next post and see what happens. Thank you!!
It’s not just your title, but your subject line which makes it even more important.
That headline analyzer is going to save me.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 thumbnail is AMAZING
For some reason my brain read this “Your article getting no traction? It’s your tombstone.” 🤣
Curious to know your open rates on this one after getting that 80% from the analyzer. I will say… this was a catchy headline!
I will pursue writing stories as my lifelong career.
If you enjoy fantasy romance stories or suspense stories, please follow me.
If you like it, please share it with your friends.
https://applejj.substack.com/p/hello-doctor-smith?r=4noa2n
I used the headline analyzer for my last two Newsletters and it did already help.
This headline scored at 82%: Netflix And Chill: How To Get Out Of The Late-Night Snacking Prison
I know headlines are something I struggle with... so this was a really helpful post thanks. I'm usually lean away from A.I. but I just tried out Claude and I was very impressed...
Tried out my favourite headline in the analyizer and got 77% I think I'll stick with that one :) Now I just have to finish writing the actual post...
Mmm, I wondered if I was making a mistake using song titles/lyrics as my headlines on a newsletter about MS, but I’m having a lot of fun doing it, and one or two other people seem to have noticed/be enjoying it. And hopefully my subtitle explains what the hell I’m talking about 🤣🤪
When I threw in SEO optimization I hit these
For the Jung, Shelley, and Bible piece:
"Monsters Within: Jung, Shelley, and the Bible on Embracing Our Dark Sides"
For the astrology and dark night of the soul piece:
"Astrology, Dark Nights, and the Battle for Light: Resisting the Temptation of Despair"
My headline: Monsters I Have Known and Loved
ChatGPT:
"Dialogues with the Darkness: Jung, Shelley, and the Bible on Our Inner Monsters"
Isn’t mine better?
As someone who is truly awful at headline writing: this post is super helpful! Thank you, Sarah!
Maybe someone has already asked, but is there any point in going back to old posts and changing the headline?
I'd like to know this too!
I've been using AI to improve my headlines since I learned how to use it. The key is to ask specifics and to know the words that it uses over and over since readers have now seen them for a year (give or take?) and know how to recognize them. I beleive that if the reader recognizes an overused AI word they will think 'if you used AI in your headline, you used AI for the article.' So we do have to be careful.
But the next two tips were genious and I HAVEN'T HEARD OF THEM YET! Amazing in itself. I have used several other headline analyzers. So I'm excited to check this one out!