A specific, concrete headline consistently outperforms a vague one. "I replaced my morning routine with 3 questions" gets read; "My Morning Routine" doesn't.
Patterns that work
- A number or specific result ("$31,000 in 19 months", "3 questions", "200 hiring managers").
- A clear before/after or contrarian angle ("the mistake that was quietly capping my gains").
- Under 90 characters, so it doesn't get cut off in feed previews.
What to avoid
Curiosity gaps that don't pay off (classic clickbait) tend to hurt your follow rate even if the click rate looks fine short-term — readers remember being let down. If you're stuck, the AI Assistant's Suggest headlines action gives you 5 ranked options for exactly this reason.