How Stronger Headlines Can Bring You Better Translation or Interpreting Clients
An effective website must have strong headlines.
After all, headlines (or headings as they're usually called for websites) need to grab site visitors' attention and keep them interested enough to stay on the site to explore more content.
Copyblogger notes that 8 in 10 people read headline copy, but only about one-fifth will continue reading past it.
Headlines are the first thing people read when they land on your website for a couple of obvious reasons. First, they're located at the top of the page, above the fold—the portion of the site people see before they have to scroll down—and second, heading fonts are larger than regular body copy fonts.
Of course, additional visuals come into play: font, font size, color contrast, and other images and visuals. And while these visual components are important to get right, it's what you say that does the selling.
So how do you know if your headlines will appeal to your potential clients and keep them interested enough to stay on your website?
The goal is to send a signal that you're the right professional for the ideal clients who land on your website. Here's how to write headlines that resonate with them.
Study Some Effective Headlines Before You Write
Think back to some recent headlines you've read. These could be a heading on a website, a slogan on a billboard, a subject line of an email in your inbox, or a catchy phrase on a piece of direct mail that landed in your mailbox.
Now think about what happened as a result of these headlines.
Did you click the link, open the envelope, read the email, buy the magazine, purchase the product or service? Or did you skip to the next search result, toss the envelope in the recycle bin, delete the email, roll your eyes at the magazine headlines, or decide not to make the purchase?
How did these headlines influence you to take specific actions? Would these headlines have been more or less effective if your circumstances were different?
Once you start to analyze what is so powerful about headlines, you will start to understand what strong headlines can do for your freelance business.
Start keeping a swipe file in your inbox and on your desktop when you see headlines that are effective. Take a screenshot and make a note about why these headlines caused you to stop mid-scroll. Did you take any action as a result of reading them?
People are overloaded with information these days. Great copy breaks through all the "noise" and highlights a product or service that is different from the rest.
Consider this. You're a translator or interpreter in a larger pool of professionals offering similar services. What makes you different? Why should clients hire you? How will you convey this in your website headlines?
Headlines are the welcome mat that invites clients to your online home and welcomes them to stick around for a while. No one wants to lose a reader—or long-term customer—from having poorly written headlines and content.
Strong headlines meet the customer where they are now. They are effective because they grab a customer's attention and speak to their current circumstances (challenges, goals, concerns, and desires).
So how do you write strong headlines for your translation or interpreting business website?
It all starts with your ideal clients and what's important to them.
Use a Proven Headline-Writing Method
When you take the time to understand what's most important to your ideal clients, you have the power to speak directly to those concerns and offer your services as the solution.
You can do this in a couple of ways. You could summarize your value statement (i.e. what you do, for whom, and why it matters) or highlight the problems your ideal clients face as they relate to the services or value you provide.
Make sure your headlines feel authentic, though. You don't want to come across as "salesy" or full of hype.
With that in mind, here are 5 tips to make your headlines stronger.
Be unique. The last thing you want is to sound just like the next person who offers similar services. Think about your ideal clients and their circumstances and where you fit into their story. Show that you understand your clients and that you are the exact team member they were looking for.
Be specific. State who you serve and how you do it. Often the most effective headlines are the ones that are simple and clear. The last thing you want is to confuse your potential clients. When people question whether a site is useful, they're that much closer to clicking away. Don't make your clients guess about how you can help them. Spell it out and be specific.
Be succinct. Similar to the last tip, being succinct is like giving a gift to the reader. Get to the point quickly. Long headlines don't necessarily make good headlines. Read your headlines out loud. Do you stumble through them? Could they be shorter and written in plainer language? If so, it's time to make some edits!
Get their attention. Your headlines should have an unexpected or refreshing element to them. There's so much information that people have to absorb on a daily basis that it makes it hard to focus on new content. By crafting attention-grabbing headlines, you have a better chance of keeping the right people on your site. The longer they stay, the closer they'll be to hiring you.
Speak to your ideal clients. Too often I see website copy that is all about the service provider. Strong headlines (and copy) speak to the reader. They show the customer that the person on the other end understands them and has their best interest in mind. Use the second-person pronoun "you" in your headlines and copy as a rule. And use language your ideal customers would use so they have no doubt that you really are the right fit for them.
Explore Effective Headlines for Inspiration
Here are some examples of excellent headlines written by colleagues who took my T&I Website Blueprint Course.
Ana Sofia Correia has done an excellent job of pointing out what she knows her clients want and that she's the solution to help them reach their goal.
Molly Yurick shares a headline that resonates with her ideal clients and positions herself as the professional to help them avoid a costly mistake.
Ana Ribeiro Olson has put her professional translation and transcreation services into words that will stop clients in their tracks and intrigue them to keep reading.
Beth Gardner chose her words carefully, painting a picture for her ideal copywriting clients so they know she's got their best interest in mind.
Abigail Dahlberg's headline is brief and incredibly effective. Her copy underneath the headline supports the image she's offering of herself as the right expert for the reader.
These are just a few examples of the many strong headlines crafted in my website course. Colleagues like you and me, writing copy that says more about their clients while highlighting their expertise and professionalism.
Be Strategic
Before you go, I wanted to share some final headline-writing tips with you.
It's often easier to write your headlines after you've written the rest of the copy on a page. Once you feel confident with your copy, give your page a headline that is unique, specific, succinct, attention-grabbing, and speaks to your ideal clients.
Write at least 25 headlines before you land on the one. This might seem tedious or overwhelming at first, but most people find that their first few attempts at writing bold headlines fall flat. Trust the process and you'll be amazed by how your headlines improve!
Try to include some keywords in your headline. If your ideal clients are searching for specific terms and phrases to find a professional like you, it's worth taking the time to tweak your headlines to include some of those keywords. Headlines are highly searchable. In other words, search engines pick up on headlines because they usually give an idea of what a page is about. Consider what your ideal clients might search for when looking for someone who provides your services and try to use some of those words in a way that reads naturally and smoothly.
I hope you now have a better idea of why headlines are so important for converting leads into paying customers.
Writing great headlines takes time and practice. Study effective headlines and why they make people want to take action. Test different headlines on your own site. And have fun with the creative process!
Do you struggle to write effective web copy for your translation or interpreting website? I have an entire module in my T&I Website Blueprint Course dedicated to helping you craft effective headlines and web copy. I'll walk you through the process—and I'll be there to answer your questions—so your message lands well with the right clients!
