Headline Formulas: 15 Proven Templates That Make People Stop and Read

Why Headlines Matter More Than Everything Else Combined

Five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. That statistic, attributed to David Ogilvy, has been validated across decades of direct-response testing, and it reveals an uncomfortable truth: if your headline fails, nothing else matters. Your brilliant sales arguments, your compelling proof, your irresistible offer — all of it is irrelevant if the headline does not earn the reader's attention.

This is why headline formulas exist. Not as a crutch for lazy copywriters, but as a library of proven structures that have been validated through millions of dollars in direct-response testing. Every formula in this guide has been battle-tested across sales pages, landing pages, email subject lines, Facebook ads, and VSLs — and each one exploits a specific psychological trigger that earns attention and drives action.

The 15 Headline Formulas

1. How To [Achieve Desired Result]

The most reliable headline formula ever created. "How to" promises useful, actionable information and signals that the reader will learn something they can apply immediately.

Examples:

• How to Write a Sales Page That Converts Cold Traffic
• How to Double Your Email Open Rates in 30 Days
• How to Hire a Copywriter Without Wasting $10,000

Why it works: "How to" appeals to the reader's self-interest and implies a clear, achievable benefit. It is direct, unpretentious, and impossible to misunderstand.

Power variation: "How to [Result] Without [Objection]" — adds persuasion by pre-empting the reader's primary hesitation. "How to Scale Your Ad Spend Without Killing Your ROAS."

2. The [Number] [Things] That [Outcome]

List headlines set clear expectations — the reader knows exactly what they are getting and how long it will take to consume. Numbers add specificity and scannability.

Examples:

• The 7 Email Sequences Every E-Commerce Brand Needs
• 11 Landing Page Mistakes That Are Killing Your Conversion Rate
• 5 Copywriting Frameworks That Have Generated Over $100M in Revenue

Why it works: Numbers are processed differently by the brain than text — they stand out visually and create a concrete expectation. Lists imply organized, digestible content that respects the reader's time.

3. The Secret to [Desired Outcome]

The "secret" formula works because it implies insider knowledge — information that is not widely known and gives the reader an unfair advantage.

Examples:

• The Secret to Writing Headlines That Stop the Scroll
• The Secret to Cold Emails That Get Replies From C-Suite Executives
• The Secret to Supplement Funnels That Scale Past $1M/Month

Why it works: "Secret" triggers curiosity and implies exclusivity. The reader believes they are about to learn something most people do not know — which creates a knowledge-gap they cannot resist closing.

Caution: Overuse diminishes credibility. Reserve the "secret" formula for genuinely novel information.

4. Warning: [Don't Do This] / [Risk Statement]

Warning headlines trigger loss aversion — the psychological tendency for people to be more motivated to avoid losses than to achieve equivalent gains. They are particularly effective for audiences who are about to make a decision.

Examples:

• Warning: Do Not Hire a Copywriter Until You Read This
• 3 Expensive Mistakes Most SaaS Founders Make With Their Landing Pages
• The Hidden Cost of Cheap Website Copy (And How to Avoid It)

Why it works: Loss aversion is approximately twice as powerful as gain motivation. Telling someone what to avoid is often more compelling than telling them what to pursue.

5. [Do This] and [Get This Result]

The cause-and-effect headline connects a specific action to a specific outcome — making the benefit feel achievable and the path feel clear.

Examples:

• Add These 3 Sections to Your Sales Page and Watch Conversions Climb
• Send This Email Sequence and Recover 15% of Abandoned Carts
• Use This Headline Formula and Triple Your Click-Through Rate

Why it works: The implicit logic — do A, get B — makes the desired result feel inevitable. It also makes the content feel immediately actionable, which increases click-through and engagement.

6. [Specific Number/Result] in [Timeframe]

Adding a timeframe to a result creates urgency and makes the outcome feel attainable. Time constraints make benefits concrete rather than theoretical.

Examples:

• 327 New Leads in 30 Days With a Single Landing Page
• How We Generated $47,000 in Email Revenue in One Week
• Build Your First Sales Funnel in 48 Hours

Why it works: Timeframes make results tangible. "Increase your revenue" is vague. "Increase your revenue by 40% in 90 days" is a plan. Specificity multiplied by time creates believability.

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

7. Who Else Wants [Desired Outcome]?

The "who else" formula uses social proof implicitly — by asking "who else," the headline assumes that others already have the desired outcome, making it feel attainable and normal.

Examples:

• Who Else Wants to Write Emails That Generate $10,000+ Per Send?
• Who Else Wants a Landing Page That Converts at 8%?
• Who Else Is Tired of Paying for Ads That Do Not Convert?

Why it works: "Who else" normalizes the desire and implies that achieving the result is not exceptional — others are already doing it. This reduces the psychological barrier of "that sounds too good to be true."

8. The [Unexpected Source] Guide to [Outcome]

Unexpected juxtaposition creates curiosity by pairing a surprising source with a familiar goal — making the reader wonder what connection they are missing.

Examples:

• What Navy SEALs Can Teach You About Writing Sales Copy
• The Poker Player's Guide to A/B Testing
• What Stand-Up Comedy Teaches Us About Email Subject Lines

Why it works: The unexpected pairing creates a curiosity gap — the reader cannot imagine the connection and must read to satisfy their curiosity. It also signals a fresh perspective on a familiar topic.

9. [Audience], Here Is How to [Result]

Direct address headlines qualify the reader immediately — if they are in the named audience, the headline feels personally relevant. If they are not, they self-select out, which improves click quality.

Examples:

• SaaS Founders: Here Is How to Cut Your CAC by 40%
• Health Supplement Brands: Stop Losing Money on Non-Compliant Copy
• E-Commerce Owners: The Email Sequence That Generated $2.3M Last Year

Why it works: Calling out the audience by name creates instant relevance — the reader feels the content was written specifically for them. This is particularly effective in Facebook ads and cold emails.

10. Why [Common Practice] Is [Wrong/Outdated/Costing You]

The contrarian headline challenges the reader's existing beliefs or practices — creating a powerful curiosity gap and positioning you as someone with a perspective worth hearing.

Examples:

• Why Your A/B Tests Are Giving You the Wrong Answer
• Why Long Sales Pages Outperform Short Ones (The Data Will Surprise You)
• Why Most Copywriting Advice Is Costing You Sales

Why it works: Contrarian claims trigger the "that can't be right" response — which is irresistibly followed by "but what if it is?" The reader must click to either confirm or challenge their existing belief.

11. The [Adjective] Way to [Desired Outcome]

Modifying a standard benefit with an unexpected or specific adjective creates differentiation and curiosity.

Examples:

• The Lazy Way to Write Email Subject Lines That Get 40% Open Rates
• The Counterintuitive Way to Price Your Services for Maximum Revenue
• The Simplest Way to Fix a Landing Page That Is Not Converting

Why it works: The adjective reframes the expected approach — "lazy," "counterintuitive," or "simplest" each imply a different and potentially easier path to the result, which is inherently attractive.

12. [Impressive Result] — Without [Expected Sacrifice]

This formula promises the outcome while removing the anticipated obstacle or cost — addressing the reader's primary objection before they even articulate it.

Examples:

• $50K/Month in Recurring Revenue — Without Cold Calling or Paid Ads
• A High-Converting Sales Page — Without Sounding Pushy or Salesy
• Double Your Traffic — Without Writing Another Blog Post

Why it works: Every desired outcome has an expected cost — time, money, effort, or discomfort. Removing that cost in the headline makes the benefit feel like a cheat code the reader cannot resist exploring.

13. What [Authority/Successful Group] Know About [Topic] That You Don't

This formula implies insider knowledge from credible sources — creating both curiosity and a sense that the reader is missing important information.

Examples:

• What Top-Performing Copywriters Know About Headlines That Amateurs Miss
• What 7-Figure E-Commerce Brands Know About Email That You Don't
• What Your Competitors Know About Facebook Ads That Is Giving Them an Unfair Advantage

Why it works: This formula exploits the fear of missing out on information that could change your results. The implied knowledge gap is impossible to ignore.

14. I [Did This Surprising Thing] and [Got This Surprising Result]

First-person narrative headlines create immediate story engagement — the reader wants to know what happened and whether they could replicate the result.

Examples:

• I Deleted 80% of My Landing Page Copy and Conversions Went Up 47%
• I Sent the Same Email Every Day for a Year — Here Is What Happened
• I Rewrote One Headline and Added $127,000 in Annual Revenue

Why it works: First-person stories are inherently engaging because they feel authentic and create a narrative the reader wants to follow. The unexpected result adds a curiosity element that drives clicks.

15. The Complete Guide to [Topic]

The comprehensive headline works when the reader wants thorough, authoritative coverage of a subject. It promises that they will not need to look elsewhere.

Examples:

• The Complete Guide to Email Copywriting
• The Complete Guide to Writing a Sales Page That Converts
• The Complete Guide to Supplement Funnel Architecture

Why it works: "Complete guide" sets an expectation of comprehensiveness that appeals to readers who want definitive answers. It also signals authority — only an expert would claim to have the complete picture.

“The headline is the most important element in most advertisements. It is the telegram which decides whether the reader will read the copy.”

How to Choose the Right Formula

Headline formulas are starting points, not finished products. Choosing the right formula depends on three factors:

Your audience's awareness level. Cold audiences who do not know they have a problem need curiosity-driven headlines. Problem-aware audiences respond to "How To" and solution headlines. Product-aware audiences respond to comparison and proof-driven headlines.

Your content type. List headlines work for scannable content. "How To" works for tutorials and guides. "Complete Guide" works for comprehensive resources. Narrative headlines work for case studies and stories.

Your distribution channel. Email subject lines favor short, curiosity-driven formulas. Facebook ads favor pattern-interrupt and audience-callout formulas. Blog posts favor "How To" and list formulas for SEO value. Sales pages favor benefit-and-proof combinations.

Testing Your Headlines

Writing the headline is half the work. Testing it is the other half. The headline is the single highest-leverage element to A/B test because no other change produces larger performance swings.

Test headlines by pairing your top two candidates against equal traffic segments and measuring click-through rate, time on page, or conversion rate — depending on the page's purpose. Run the test until you reach statistical significance, then iterate on the winner with variations that refine the angle, specificity, or emotional trigger.

The best copywriters maintain a swipe file of headlines that caught their attention — not to copy, but to identify the patterns and psychological triggers that work. Over time, this library of proven patterns becomes the most valuable research tool in your copywriting practice.

Getting Started

Headlines are the leverage point of all copywriting. A 50% improvement in your headline can double the performance of everything beneath it — your body copy, your offer, your CTA — because twice as many people are now reading them.

Start with the formulas in this guide, customize them with your voice-of-customer research, and test relentlessly. The headline is always the highest-ROI investment in any piece of copy.

Need a copywriter who obsesses over headlines and tests them until they perform? Book a free strategy call to discuss your project.