HarrisonAmy Copywriting

Sales Copywriter, Consultant and Speaker

  • Home
  • Sales Copywriting
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

The Website That Cracks the Code of Viral Social Media Headlines

October 18, 2013 by Amy Harrison 2 Comments

Upworthy is a site that has mastered viral content, without relying on cats.

The content they share is meaningful, but as a copywriter, it’s their headlines I’m drawn to which they test again and again until they have a winning formula for each story.

The site is only 18 months old and in the month of September it attracted more than 38 million views.

upworthy 3

If you see a headline on Upworthy, you know it’s been crafted based on the science of what words make people click, consume and share content.

So if you’d like people to click, consume and share your content, it’s worth visiting the site and pulling apart their headlines.

I’m not saying you should copy the headline formats like you might do with these classic copywriting headline templates. Instead I want you to get into the habit of understanding what works, and how you can replicate the process for your own business.

Below, I’ve covered one headline to start you off. Let me know how you get on with your headline research in the comments below.

Don’t forget, if you’re in London on the 28th of October, I’m running a workshop with Andrea Vahl: Using Social Media and Copywriting to Get More Likes, Clicks and Sales. Early Bird pricing ends today!

The Secrets of One Upworthy Headline:

upworthy1

A recent story shared on Upworthy

Now let’s break it down:

  1. A Therapist Who Thinks He Can Cure Gay People
  2. Gets His Just Desserts, Care Of A Proud Gay Man

“A Therapist Who Thinks He Can Cure Gay People”

This headlines starts by combining an ‘expert’ with a controversial issue. The use of the word therapist is important in the impact of this headline. If it was just “man” or “woman” it isn’t as shocking as someone with qualifications and professional certifications making the claim to cure ‘gay people.’

So that’s our first eye-catching headline lesson:

Combining the ‘experts’ in your industry with a controversial subject

How might you use this in your own headlines?

The Military Fitness Trainer Curing Laziness By Being Gentle

The Nutritionist Solving Weight Loss With Chocolate

The Successful Copywriter Who Proves You DON’T Need a Strong Headline

“Gets His Just Desserts Care Of A Proud Gay Man”

At this point in the headline, our attention is tickled by a couple of themes:

  • Conflict
  • Justice

The headline hints that there will be some kind of confrontation or conflict that corrects an injustice. People are fascinated by, and attracted to scenes of conflict. It’s not long before a video of a fight or an argument goes viral (we also like to watch the drama from a safe distance).

Thinking about your industry, can you combine the elements of conflict and justice?

How to Stand up to Google and Survive Hummingbird

The Web Design Tricks that STOP Competitors Stealing Your Clients

How to Beat the Boss and Get the Salary You Deserve

So there you go, a short introduction to a great site that is cracking the code of viral social media headlines. How did you get on? Let me know in the comments.

Share this!

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Copywriting, Uncategorized

About Amy Harrison

I am a copywriter, content-trainer, speaker and filmmaker teaching businesses how to avoid drab business content and write copy customers love to read. You can also find me hanging out and sharing content over on Google+.

Comments

  1. Alexander John says

    October 18, 2013 at 11:00 pm

    Those are really good points. I will have to think about that, “Thinking about your industry, can you combine the elements of conflict and justice?” That’s a really good question.

    You got me thinking now…

    Reply
    • Amy Harrison says

      October 19, 2013 at 1:01 pm

      Be that superhero in your industry… find that conflict and crush it with your justice 🙂 (Enjoying your vids by the way).

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Copyright © 2023 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in