# Headline Formulas

Proven headline patterns for marketing copy. Select based on goal and audience.

---

## Value Proposition Headlines

### Outcome-Focused
```
Get [desired outcome] without [pain point]
Get [desired outcome] in [timeframe]
The fastest way to [achieve goal]
[Achieve goal] — without [common obstacle]
```

**Examples:**
- Get more leads without cold calling
- Get profitable campaigns in 30 days
- The fastest way to rank on Google
- Close more deals — without pushy tactics

### Benefit-First
```
[Number]x faster [task]
[Number]% [improvement] guaranteed
Stop [pain] — Start [benefit]
Finally, [desired outcome] that actually works
```

**Examples:**
- 10x faster content creation
- 50% more conversions guaranteed
- Stop guessing — Start knowing
- Finally, email automation that actually works

---

## Social Proof Headlines

### Numbers-Based
```
Join [number]+ [audience] who [outcome]
[Number] companies trust us for [benefit]
Used by [number] [audience] worldwide
[Number]+ [audience] can't be wrong
```

**Examples:**
- Join 10,000+ marketers who doubled their leads
- 500 companies trust us for their analytics
- Used by 50,000 teams worldwide
- 25,000+ startups can't be wrong

### Authority-Based
```
The [category] tool used by [impressive company]
Trusted by teams at [companies]
As featured in [publications]
Recommended by [authority figure/publication]
```

**Examples:**
- The CRM used by Stripe and Notion
- Trusted by teams at Google, Meta, and Netflix
- As featured in TechCrunch and Forbes
- Recommended by Y Combinator partners

---

## Problem-Agitation Headlines

### Direct Pain
```
Tired of [specific problem]?
Still struggling with [pain point]?
[Pain point] killing your [goal]?
Stop wasting [resource] on [ineffective solution]
```

**Examples:**
- Tired of leads that never convert?
- Still struggling with attribution?
- Slow page speed killing your conversions?
- Stop wasting hours on manual reporting

### Question-Based
```
What if [dream scenario]?
What would you do with [benefit]?
How much is [problem] costing you?
Why are [competitors] [outperforming]?
```

**Examples:**
- What if you could predict which leads will close?
- What would you do with 10 extra hours per week?
- How much is cart abandonment costing you?
- Why are competitors outranking you?

---

## Curiosity Headlines

### Secret/Hidden
```
The [unexpected thing] that [outcomes]
The secret to [goal] that [experts] don't share
[Number] [things] most [audience] get wrong about [topic]
What [successful people] know about [topic]
```

**Examples:**
- The checkbox that doubles opt-in rates
- The secret to viral content that gurus don't share
- 5 things most marketers get wrong about SEO
- What top SaaS companies know about pricing

### Contrarian
```
Why [common belief] is wrong
[Counterintuitive claim] — here's why
Stop [common advice] — do this instead
The case against [popular thing]
```

**Examples:**
- Why more traffic isn't always better
- Shorter emails convert better — here's why
- Stop A/B testing everything — do this instead
- The case against content calendars

---

## How-To Headlines

### Step-by-Step
```
How to [achieve goal] in [number] steps
How to [achieve goal] (even if [obstacle])
The complete guide to [topic]
[Topic]: A step-by-step guide for [audience]
```

**Examples:**
- How to double conversions in 5 steps
- How to write copy that converts (even if you're not a writer)
- The complete guide to programmatic SEO
- Email sequences: A step-by-step guide for SaaS

### Results-Focused
```
How we [achieved result] (and how you can too)
How [company] [achieved result]
How to go from [before] to [after]
From [starting point] to [goal]: A practical guide
```

**Examples:**
- How we grew to $1M ARR (and how you can too)
- How Notion built a $10B content engine
- How to go from 0 to 10,000 email subscribers
- From zero traffic to 100K visits: A practical guide

---

## Specificity Headlines

### Numbers
```
[Specific number] ways to [achieve goal]
[Number] [things] every [audience] needs
The [number]-minute [solution]
[Percentage] of [audience] do [thing] wrong
```

**Examples:**
- 17 ways to reduce churn
- 5 emails every SaaS needs
- The 10-minute SEO audit
- 73% of landing pages make this mistake

### Timeframes
```
[Achieve goal] in [specific time]
[Number] [time period] to [outcome]
The [time] experiment that [result]
What we learned after [time] of [activity]
```

**Examples:**
- Double your CTR in 24 hours
- 30 days to your first 1,000 subscribers
- The 90-day experiment that 5x'd our leads
- What we learned after 2 years of A/B testing

---

## CTA-Oriented Headlines

### Action-Based
```
Start [achieving goal] today
Get your free [resource]
Try [product] free for [period]
See why [number]+ [audience] switched
```

**Examples:**
- Start closing more deals today
- Get your free marketing audit
- Try Acme free for 14 days
- See why 5,000+ teams switched

### Urgency-Based
```
Limited: [offer details]
[Number] spots left for [opportunity]
[Offer] ends [timeframe]
Don't miss: [benefit]
```

**Examples:**
- Limited: 50% off annual plans
- 10 spots left for our beta program
- Free trial ends Friday
- Don't miss: Early access to our new feature

---

## Industry-Specific Headlines

### B2B SaaS
```
The [category] platform built for [specific use case]
[Product]: [Category] for teams that [care about thing]
Enterprise-grade [solution] without the enterprise price
[Outcome] for [team type] teams
```

### E-commerce
```
Shop [category] that [benefit]
[Number]% off [products] — today only
Free shipping on [condition]
The [product] everyone's talking about
```

### Agency/Services
```
[Service] that drives [measurable result]
Your [function] team, on demand
Expert [service] for [audience]
We handle [task] so you can focus on [priority]
```

---

## Formula Selection Guide

| Goal | Best Formulas |
|------|---------------|
| Build trust | Social proof, Authority |
| Create urgency | CTA-Oriented, Numbers |
| Differentiate | Contrarian, Secret/Hidden |
| Educate | How-To, Step-by-Step |
| Qualify audience | Problem-Agitation, Direct Pain |
| Generate curiosity | Question, Counterintuitive |

---

## Testing Priorities

Test headlines in this order (highest impact first):
1. Benefit vs. feature focus
2. Specific numbers vs. general claims
3. "You" language vs. "we" language
4. Question vs. statement
5. Short vs. long
