I Accidentally Created a 5-Level System To Writing Better Headlines on A Napkin Note

I stayed up all night studying writing styles to improve my blog outlines while reading The Art and Business of Online Writing. I reviewed a few chapters and started scribbling some random little exercises to craft headlines, and I was surprised with what I had made.

I created a 5-level system that broke down or built up a headline that spoke a clearer message about what the article was about and who it was for. The point of this exercise was to reduce my audience size from a general audience to a focused action-oriented audience.

This is a simple explanation of how it works.

Level 1: The Foundation

The world generally cares most about three broad topics: Health, Wealth, and Relationships. These topics are the basis for just about anything that is written or created. Everyone finds different ways to make more money, live healthier, or learn more about relationships, which can take dozens of different paths.

So, I laid my foundation here with three simple examples

• How to be healthy

• How to be wealthy

• How to be in a relationship

It’s very simple and extremely broad. If you read these titles, you would have no idea if this article was for you. But, the reader might be interested in health, so they might click to learn more. The foundation is going to generate the largest audience because of how broad the topic is, but the point of my exercise was to narrow down to action-oriented readers who are looking for results for their specific questions.

so, to get more specific, I move to the next level.

Level 2: Actionable Topic

If people are looking for a solution, they want to know what they can do to find it. So, I created this level to be action-oriented.

So, I added a specific action that narrows the audience down some more using these examples:

• How to eat healthy

• How to make money

• How do relationships work

It’s a small addition, but it starts giving more direction to the article's purpose. However, it still felt too broad, so I took it up another level.

Level 3: Specific Group

This level will drastically eliminate readers, but it will also draw in the audience you are looking for. This should start specifying who you are talking to. So, the title should call out a specific group of people.

So, I added a specific group to the title using the same examples:

• How athletes eat healthier

• How marketers make money

• How American relationships work

Once again, this is still very broad, but it’s cutting down my audience to more specific readers. But, this was still not specific enough, so I took it up another level.

Level 4: Hyper Specific Person

By getting more specific on the exact people I am talking to, the reader will start feeling like the article was written for them. It’s not the finish line, but this level really starts telling that targeted reader that this is for them.

So, here's how I made it more specific to a particular person with one more word:

• How Olympic athletes eat healthier

• How email marketers make money

• How American long-distance relationships work

You can see how the topic went from a hundred different types of athletes to a specific type: an Olympic athlete. Olympic athletes are not concerned with everyday eating habits, which are common for the general athlete. They’re going to be most interested in what other athletes like them are eating.

But, this is still vague. So, I take it up one more level.

Level 5: Specific Situation

At this point, you have already singled out who you are talking to, but we want to draw in the audience who is dealing with a specific situation.

So, I added just a little more that can resonate with a specific person at a certain time in their life:

• How Olympic athletes eat before competitions.

• How email marketers make money with affiliate products.

• How American long-distance relationships affect family health.

An article title like this likely won't get millions of views, but it will draw in an audience that is looking for very specific solutions. This is what I call the action-oriented readers. People who are looking for solutions to their specific pains, problems and/or concerns,

I Wrote This in 5 Minutes As an Exercise

I read several books and dozens of articles and watched too many videos on these topics to draw in the audience that actually needs the information you have. When I was writing this, it was midnight, two hours past my bedtime. I have no idea why I was up other than I couldn’t go to bed.

All I know is that this is going to help me create better headlines for my future posts and I wanted to share how ideas like this can just happen. Ideas are the foundation of every business; every product and every service starts with an idea. It’s the first step in creating your own business, and that’s why I also made this FREE list of 100+ digital product ideas.

That way, if you are still looking for an idea of what you can make and sell online to start making money, you can use this list to help you get started. There’s no point in waiting. You want money now, bills keep rolling in, and life keeps passing by, so you might as well get this free list of ideas to start building your own online business.

Plus, if you read this whole article, now you have a leg up because you can bookmark this, save it in your notes, or screenshot it, whatever you like, so you can write better headlines to build an audience when you’re ready.