Hate Writing Headlines? 28 Fill-in-the-Blank Headlines

It’s one thing to write a brilliant blog post, it’s sometimes quite another to get people to read the darn thing. This is where many bloggers get stuck: what the heck to call it? What headline will inspire, entice, ensure that people will click!

If you want the lowdown on what every headline needs to create curiosity and get clicks, read our post on the headline formula, but if you just want a list of ideas to get you started, keep reading!

28 Fill-in-the-Blank Headlines

#1: Top 10 Anythings – Top 10 Gadgets, Top 10 Holidays, Top 10 Habits…you get the idea. The more specific, the better. So instead of Top 10 Gadgets, go with Top 10 Gadgets for Boosting Your Productivity and Getting More Done in Less Time.

#2: Ways to Do MORE – Get More Followers, Grow Your Traffic, Increase Your Subscribers, Sell More Product. Tell your readers what more you are going to deliver in your blog post.

#3: How to’s of Any Kind – How to Set Up WordPress, How to Create a Facebook Fan Page, How to Deliver a Killer Presentation. Focus on one specific how-to skill per blog post (not only does this improve your chances of being found through search, it gives you more content to blog about later).

#4: Common Mistakes that Could Cost You BIG – Start-up Mistakes, Outsourcing Mistakes, Leadership Mistakes. Give them a number and start listing the ways that people can go wrong and what to do about it.

#5: Things Wish I Knew Before I… – Started a Business, Invested in Real Estate, Applied for My First Job. What would you share with a beginner now that you’ve been there, done that?

#6: Must-Have’s of Any Kind – Tools, tech, resources, gadgets, books, plugins, widgets, doo-dads – you name it and then list it! If it’s something people have to have, it’s worth being on a must-have list!

#7: Hey You! – Moms, Does This Drive You Crazy?, Parents, You Need to Have This Talk With Your Children?, Authors, What You Need to Know About Book Tours! The direct address aimed at a specific audience is the best way to attract your ideal reader!

#8: Did You Know? – Shocking statistics, interesting factoids, random trivia! Use this information to anchor your post and create curiosity.

#9: Helpful Tips – To Improve Your Daily Productivity, To Reinvigorate Your Marriage, To Talk to Your Teen About Drugs.

#10: Signs and Symptoms – 12 Signs You Are Ready to Move On, 7 Health Symptoms You Should Never Ignore, 6 Sure Signs You Need to Hire Help NOW! Don’t you want to know if any of these apply to you? Your readers will too!

#11: Factors You Must Consider Before – Buying a Car, Booking Your Next Discount Vacation, Launching a New Product. What should your readers think about before committing to a decision? Tell them in your title!

#12: Reasons What You Are Doing Isn’t Working – 10 Reasons Your Business is Failing, Why Your Employees Are Quitting, Why Your Blog Traffic Has Dropped. Give blunt advice on their biggest pain points.

#13: More With Less – How to Get More Done in Less Time, How to Double Your Profit With Half the Effort, How to Hold a More Effective Meeting in a Tenth of the Time! Big results with less effort are irresistible!

#14: BEWARE! – Warning, Watch Out, Beware! These titles focus on sharing the perils and pitfalls that your readers dread dealing with and will avoid at all costs!

#15: The Beginners Guide to… – Social Media Marketing, Launching a Product Business, Buying a Franchise. Variation: For Newbies.

#16: Lessons Learned From – A Year Spent Traveling the World, Making the Worst Mistake of My Life, Watching My 5-Year-Old Learn to Ride a Bike.

#17: Favorite Tools and Tech – 5 Tools to Help Build Your Twitter Followers, 7 Plugins Every Blog Needs to Install, 8 Tools to Maximize Your Time! Pick your favorites and share the how and the why!

#18: Checklists – Any and all checklists, printable handouts, downloadable resources. Let them know what they can expect when they click!

#19: Anatomy of a… – Perfectly Executed Email Marketing Campaign, Well-Designed Landing Page, Stellar PowerPoint Presentation. Make a big, bold promise and deliver!

#20: Quick and Easy – Chicken Recipes that Take Less Than 20 Minutes, Ways to Improve Your SEO, Create Boatloads of Blog Topic Ideas! People love quick and easy!

#21: Why You Aren’t – Seeing the Profit Levels You Were Expecting, Getting Results With Your PPC Campaigns, Getting Comments on Your Blogs. Diagnose common problems!

#22: STOP Right Now! – Stop Letting These Profit-Leaks Drain Your Business, Stop Sabotaging Your Own Success With This Nasty Habit, Stop Waiting for Good Luck and Make It Happen!

#23: Giant List of Any Kind – 51 Free Resources for Entrepreneurs, 101 Blog Post Ideas, 27 Ways to Streamline Your Business. Mega lists promise lots of ideas and inspiration (bonus: list posts are easy to write too)!

#24: 25 Most Anythings – Most successful, most downloaded, most read. Share what gets the most attention and why!

#25: The Secret to… – Getting More Done in a Day, Designing a Successful Launch Strategy, Creating Open Communication With Your Teen.

#26: What They Know That You Don’t – What Successful CEO’s Know About Time Management, What Fortune 500 Companies Do Differently, What the Highest Paid Authors Know That You Don’t About Book Marketing.

#27: The Basics – Social Media Basics, Facebook 101, Email Marketing in a Nutshell. Take any topic and break it down to the absolute essentials!

#28: What You Can Learn From – ABC Company’s Big Blunder, The Most Watched SuperBowl Ad, The Daily Habits of Fortune 500 CEO’s. Get specific about what your readers will learn and from whom.