You wrote something good.

You spent two hours on it. You revised three times. You added the data, the example, the bit at the end that ties it all together. You hit publish. And then… almost nobody clicked.

Here’s the part that stings: the writing wasn’t the problem. The headline was.

The headline you slapped on it at the last second, the one that says “Tips For Growing Your Email List” or “Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses,” is the reason everything underneath it got skipped. About 8 out of 10 people read the headline. Only 2 out of 10 keep going.[*] So if your headline is fine, your post is invisible.

The good news: there’s a shortcut. Working copywriters don’t reinvent the wheel every time they sit down to write. They use formulas. Templates. Patterns that have been tested across millions of headlines and consistently outperform whatever you’d cook up at 11pm on a Tuesday.

This post has 35 of them, sorted by what you’re trying to make the reader feel. Curiosity. Urgency. Confidence in your credibility. Recognition that you’re talking to them specifically.

Pick the feeling. Grab the formula. Test it. That’s the whole job.

What is a headline formula?

A headline formula is a proven template for writing headlines, with blanks you fill in with your own topic and audience. Instead of starting from a blank cursor, you start from a structure that’s already been shown to work.

Think of it like a recipe. You’re not copying someone else’s cake. You’re using the same ratio of flour to sugar that turns out a good cake every time, then making it your own.

Do headline formulas actually work?

Yes, with one caveat.

Three quick proof points:

The 80/20 rule of reading: 80% of people read the headline, 20% read the body. That stat is from David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man, written in 1963, and somehow it still holds.

We’ve tested over 150,000 opt-in headlines and found that straightforward, formula-driven headlines outperformed creative alternatives 88% of the time on lead-gen pages. The boring “Free Ebook: 15 Emails Everyone Should Send” beat the clever “Why Aren’t You Sending These 15 Emails?” by more than 2x.

We’ve run our own A/B tests on smart bar opt-ins. A Tutorial Headline beat a Question Headline by 52% more emails collected. Same offer. Same audience. Different formula. Big difference.

The caveat: a formula doesn’t replace knowing your audience. It gives you a strong starting line. The actual words you fill in are still on you.

How to use this list

Each section below is organized around what you want the reader to feel. Curious? Worried they’re missing something? Convinced you’ve actually done the homework?

Start with the feeling. Pick a formula from that bucket. Fill in the specifics from your topic. Test it.

If you want a system for testing, scroll to the A/B test recipe at the bottom.

Formulas that build curiosity (open the loop)

Best for: blog post titles, social posts, email subject lines, anywhere the click is the goal.

These work by opening a question in the reader’s brain that can only be closed by clicking. Your job is to suggest there’s something inside they don’t already know.

1. The Secret Headline

[Number] Secrets To [Desired Outcome]

Example: 7 Secrets To Booking More Wedding Clients In Your First Year

2. The Curiosity Question

Are You Still [Common Action]?

Example: Are You Still Sending Newsletter Emails Nobody Reads?

3. The Pattern Interrupt

Why [Counterintuitive Claim]

Example: Why Pop-Ups Aren’t Annoying (When You Set Them Up Like This)

4. The See-What-Happened

I Did [Unusual Action] For [Timeframe]. Here’s What Happened.

Example: I Sent Three Emails A Week For Six Months. Here’s What Happened To My Open Rates.

5. The Teaser

These [Number] [Things] Could [Desired Outcome]

Example: These 6 Pop-Up Tweaks Could Double Your Email List

6. The Sidenote

[Number] Lessons From [Source] (#[N] Made Me Rethink Everything)

Example: 9 Lessons From Running A 6-Figure Course (#4 Made Me Rethink My Whole Funnel)

Formulas that promise specificity (concrete value)

Best for: how-to content, tutorials, lead magnets, opt-in headlines.

This is the workhorse family. These formulas tell the reader exactly what they’re getting and what they’ll be able to do after they read it. There’s overlap inside this bucket on purpose. The “How-To” family has six flavors because the structure is endlessly remixable.

7. The How-To

How To [Achieve Outcome]

Example: How To Build An Email List From Scratch

8. The How-To Without

How To [Outcome] (Without [Unpleasant Thing])

Example: How To Grow Your Audience Without Posting On Social Every Day

9. The Number + Method

[Number] [Methods] To [Outcome]

Example: 18 Proven Ways To Get Your First 1,000 Email Subscribers

10. The Steps Headline

[Number] Steps To [Outcome]

Example: 4 Simple Steps To Build An Email List From Scratch

11. The Hacks Headline

[Number] Hacks To [Outcome]

Example: 25 Hacks To Save 5 Hours A Week On Content Creation

12. The Easy Way

[Number] Easy Ways To [Outcome]

Example: 14 Easy Ways To Save $100 On Your Software Stack This Month

Formulas that prove credibility (authority and social proof)

Best for: sales pages, case studies, homepage headlines, testimonials, anywhere the reader is skeptical.

These work because they answer the question lurking in every reader’s mind: “yeah, but does it actually work?” Numbers, names, and specific outcomes carry more weight than adjectives ever will. A guide to social proof goes deeper on why this matters.

13. The Social Proof Headline

The [Object] Over [Number] [Audience] Use To [Outcome]

Example: The Pop-Up 3,000+ Wedding Photographers Use To Book More Inquiries

14. The Case Study

How [Person/Company] Got [Result] In [Timeframe]

Example: How One Florist Made $3,200 In Sales From A Single Pop-Up In 14 Days

15. The Expert Roundup

[Number] [Experts] Share Their [Topic]

Example: 17 Photographers Share Their Highest-Converting Email Subject Lines

16. The Analysis

We Analyzed [Number] [Things] And This Is What We Found

Example: We Analyzed 2 Billion Pop-Up Views. Here’s What Actually Converts.

17. The Bold Statement

[Bold Claim]: What We Learned From [Backing It Up]

Example: Pop-Ups Aren’t Dead: What We Learned From 2 Billion Examples

Formulas that agitate the problem (pain-first)

Best for: ads, sales page subheads, audiences who already know they have a problem.

These start with the pain instead of the solution. They work because human brains pay more attention to threats than to opportunities. Use them when your audience is already aware they have an issue, just not aware of how bad it is or how to fix it.

A note: don’t fearmonger something that isn’t actually a problem. The reader will smell it.

18. The Mistakes Headline

[Number] Mistakes Most People Make When [Common Action]

Example: 11 Mistakes Most Course Creators Make On Their Sales Page

19. The Warning

Warning: Are You [Doing Something Risky]?

Example: Warning: Are You Losing Email Subscribers To This One Pop-Up Setting?

20. The Reasons Headline

[Number] Reasons You’re [Undesirable Outcome]

Example: 7 Reasons Your Welcome Email Isn’t Converting

21. The Solutions Headline

Why [Problem] (And What To Do About It)

Example: Why Your Bounce Rate Is So High (And What To Do About It)

22. The Fortune Teller

You Won’t [Outcome] Until You [Action]

Example: You Won’t Hit 1,000 Subscribers Until You Fix This One Thing

Formulas that flip the script (contrarian and bold)

Best for: thought leadership, hot takes, opt-ins where everyone else is saying the same thing.

These earn the click by saying something the reader didn’t expect to hear. They work because most content sounds the same and the brain rewards anything that breaks the pattern. Use sparingly. If every post is contrarian, none of them are.

23. The Outrageous Claim

Why [Controversial Take]

Example: Why I Stopped Sending A Weekly Newsletter (And My Open Rates Went Up)

24. The Reminder

Reminder: [Truth People Forget]

Example: Reminder: Your Email List Is Worth More Than Your Instagram Followers

25. The Objection Killer

No, You Don’t Have To [Common Objection] To [Result]

Example: No, You Don’t Have To Post On TikTok To Grow A Real Business

26. The Imagine

Imagine [Desired Outcome]

Example: Imagine Waking Up To 50 New Email Subscribers Every Morning

27. The Command

Stop [Strong Behavior]

Example: Stop Begging People To Sign Up For Your Newsletter

Formulas that qualify the reader (speak directly)

Best for: niche content, opt-ins for specific audiences, paid ads, narrowing your audience on purpose.

These name the reader directly. Calling out a specific audience filters everyone else out, which feels counterintuitive but works. The people who aren’t your audience were never going to convert anyway. The people who are your audience just got told this is for them.

28. The Target Audience

[Audience]! Are You [Undesirable Outcome]?

Example: Course Creators! Are You Losing Sales To A Confusing Checkout Page?

29. The Comparison

Are You More Like [X] Or [Y]?

Example: Are You A Builder Or A Burner-Outer? (A Quiz For Solopreneurs)

30. The Quiz

Which [Topic] Are You?

Example: Which Email Marketing Personality Are You?

31. The Snackable

[3 Words That Hit Hard]

Example: Your List Matters.

Formulas for the long haul (anchor content)

Best for: pillar posts, ultimate guides, evergreen SEO content, anything you want ranking in 18 months.

These signal depth. They’re explicit promises that the reader is getting the comprehensive version, not the skim. Use them when you’ve actually written the comprehensive version. Otherwise the reader bounces and Google notices.

For more on what makes long-form content actually work, see the BDOW! guide to blog post format.

32. The Ultimate Guide

The Ultimate Guide To [Outcome]

Example: The Ultimate Guide To Email List Building For Wedding Photographers

33. The Tutorial

A [Power Word] Tutorial To [Outcome]

Example: A No-Nonsense Tutorial To Setting Up Your First Pop-Up

34. The Front-Loaded Keyword

[Keyword]: How To [Long-Tail Variant]

Example: Email Marketing 101: How To Send Your First Broadcast Without Sounding Awkward

35. The Branded Guide

[Number] Ways To [Outcome] (A [Branded] Guide)

Example: 27 Pop-Up Examples That Actually Convert (A BDOW!-Sized Guide)

Where these formulas work hardest

You can use these formulas everywhere. Some places get more ROI than others.

Email subject lines. This is the highest-leverage spot in your business. Every email you send is a tiny landing page, and the subject line is the headline. A good subject line is the difference between an open and a delete. Try the Curiosity Question or the Sidenote on your next broadcast.

Blog post titles. Google cuts off search results at around 60 characters, so write tight. Front-load the keyword. The Number + Method and the Ultimate Guide formulas dominate SERPs because they signal both relevance and depth at a glance. More on the SEO side in our SEO blog tips post.

Opt-in form headlines. This is the spot where formulas pay off the fastest. “Sign Up For Our Newsletter” gets ignored. “The 5-Email Welcome Sequence That Books Out My Calendar” gets clicked. Pair a strong formula with a strong lead magnet and you’ve got a list-building machine.

Sales page headlines. This is where Bold Statement and Objection Killer earn their keep. The reader is skeptical. Your headline has to address what they’re actually thinking, not what you wish they were thinking.

How to A/B test your headlines (the recipe)

Picking a formula is step one. Knowing which formula works for your audience is step two. Here’s the recipe:

1. Pick two formulas from different buckets. One Curiosity, one Specificity, for example. The point is to test contrasting approaches, not two flavors of the same idea.
2. Run them against the same offer. Same audience, same offer, same time window. Only the headline changes.
3. Give it a real sample size. For an opt-in, that’s at least 1,000 visitors per variant before you call it. For an email subject line, at least 500 sends per variant.
4. Measure click-through rate or opt-in rate, not vanity metrics. Opens are nice. Clicks pay rent.
5. Take the winner. Run it as your control. Test something new against it. That’s how you keep getting better.

This is exactly what BDOW!’s A/B testing is built for, and yes, that’s our pitch. We make money when you build a bigger list, so the incentive is built in.

Stop writing headlines nobody clicks

You came here because you wrote something good and nobody clicked. Three things to do right now:

1. Pick the bucket that matches what you want the reader to feel.
2. Grab a formula from that bucket. Fill in your specifics. Don’t overthink it.
3. Test it against the headline you have now. Give it 7 days.

That’s the whole loop. Pick, fill, test, repeat. The formulas are the easy part. You’re the part that makes them work.

P.S. The best headline in the world won’t save a weak offer. But a great offer with a weak headline still loses, every single time. The formulas in this post fix the second problem. The first one is on you.

[*] Source: David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man, 1963. The number has been re-tested and re-confirmed by basically every content marketing study since.