---
name: headline-options
description: "Generate and pressure-test headline options across proven formulas. Use when asked for headlines, a title, a subject line, a hook, or to improve a weak headline for a page, post, email, or ad. Produces 10–15 headline options grouped by formula (benefit, how-to, number, question, curiosity, social proof), each scored for clarity and specificity, with the top 3 recommended and why."
---

# Headline Options Skill

The headline does 80% of the work — most people read it and decide. This skill generates a *range* of
headlines across proven formulas (so you're not betting on one), scores them for clarity and
specificity (the two things that actually drive clicks), and recommends the strongest — for a landing
page, blog post, email subject, ad, or video title.

## Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

- **What it's for** — landing-page H1, blog title, email subject, ad headline, YouTube title? (changes length + style).
- **The subject** — the product/post/offer and its single biggest benefit or hook.
- **Audience** — who reads it, and the words they'd use.
- **Any constraint** — character limit (subject lines, ad fields), tone, banned claims.

## Output Format

### Headlines: [subject] — for [where it's used]

**Options by formula** (10–15 total), grouped:

- **Benefit** — the outcome, stated plainly ("Ship your roadmap in an afternoon")
- **How-to** — ("How to cut churn without discounting")
- **Number / list** — ("7 ways teams lose activation")
- **Question** — ("Still building decks by hand?")
- **Curiosity / pattern-interrupt** — (a gap that demands the click, *without* clickbait)
- **Social proof / authority** — ("How 5,000 teams onboard faster")

Score each on **Clarity** and **Specificity** (1–5), since vague + clever loses to clear + specific:

| Headline | Formula | Clarity | Specific | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|

**Top 3 picks** — the strongest, with one line each on *why*, and which to A/B first.

**If subject-line / limited** — flag any that exceed the character budget.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] 10+ options spanning multiple distinct formulas (not variations of one)
- [ ] Each scored on clarity and specificity, not cleverness
- [ ] Top picks are recommended with reasoning + an A/B suggestion
- [ ] Options use the audience's language and the real benefit
- [ ] Character limits respected where the medium demands it

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not favour clever over clear — a confusing headline isn't read twice; clarity wins
- [ ] Do not write clickbait the content can't pay off — the bounce destroys trust and SEO
- [ ] Do not give one-formula variations — the value is the spread to test
- [ ] Do not stay vague — "Transform your workflow" says nothing; name the specific outcome
- [ ] Do not ignore the medium's limit — a truncated subject line is a wasted headline

## Based On

Headline-writing practice (Ogilvy, Advertising's clarity-over-cleverness, the 4 U's) + formula-driven ideation and A/B discipline.
