Writing headlines that sell without shouting
Clear beats clever. A practical guide to headlines for product and studio websites.
Elena Marsh1 min read
Most visitors read the headline, glance at the image, and decide whether to scroll. That gives a headline about three seconds to do its job. Shouting does not help; clarity does.
Say what changes for the reader
Strong headlines describe an outcome the reader wants, in words they already use. “Launch campaign pages without engineering” beats “The future of content” every time.
- Lead with the outcome, not the feature
- Use the customer’s vocabulary, not internal jargon
- Keep it under twelve words where you can
Pair a feeling with a fact
We often split a hero headline into two lines: one that sets a tone, set in a serif, and one that states the promise plainly. The first line earns attention; the second earns the scroll.
Test with people, not opinions
Internal debates about headlines rarely end well. Instead, we show two or three options to five people from the target audience and ask them to explain what the company does. The headline they understand fastest wins.
If you need an exclamation mark, the sentence is not doing its job.
Support the headline below the fold
A good headline makes a promise. The sections below must keep it, with proof, examples and numbers. Otherwise even the best headline turns into a bounce.
Written by
Elena Marsh
Founder & Strategy
Elena founded NexSanity after a decade leading growth at product companies. She runs our discovery workshops and makes sure every page has a job to do.
