Writing irresistible headlines is a key to gaining the attention of a reader. The headline is essentially your ad that will either drive someone to browse your article or dismiss it altogether.

So that’s why it’s important to spend much of your time thinking of attractive headlines for your articles. You could right a brilliant article, but if your headline doesn’t draw attention, it will be difficult to gain a big readership.

And with the rise of social media sites like digg.com, stumbleupon.com, searchles.com, and reddit.com, it’s now—more important than ever—to start creating headlines that will get attention in these social sites.

So here are three surefire techniques to help you make your headlines irresistible:

Create Curiosity
Pay attention to the headlines on the covers of popular magazines and tabloids. Notice how the words grab your attention. The words of great headlines tease you. The headlines make you curious to find out more. And that’s one of your goals when writing a headline: make your reader curious to learn more.

Use Words that Sell
Zig Ziglar wrote an essay entitled “24 Words That Sell.” These words can become powerful additions to the headlines you’re developing. Here are some words he recommends that you should use: Free, You, Advantage, Benefit, Easy, Proven, Results, Value, Save, New, Guarantee, Understand, Discovery, Truth, Comfort, Profit, Trust, Vital, Positive, and Money.

Mimic Great Headlines
If you don’t have a headline swipe list, it’s time to make one. Whenever you see a headline that really grabs you, write it down. Keep a list of powerful headlines that demand your attention. Add to this list whenever possible so that you always have a big pool of alluring headlines to inspire you.

Here are some headline templates to get you started:

“How to” Headlines
I love “how to” headlines because they seek to provide relevant information to someone. Anyone interested in the subject you’re writing about might be drawn in simply because you’re promising to give them valuable “how to” information.

• How to Write Hypnotic Headlines
• How to Win Friends and Influence People

“How I” Headlines
Similar to the “how to” headline, this also seeks to provide practical information. This is a bit different because it’s more personal, and can seem a bit more authentic.

• How I Improved My Memory In One Evening
• How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling

“What You Should Know About” Headlines
I see these types of headlines all the time. There are many variations of this, but the idea is that you’re giving someone information that they should already be aware of. This type of headline can really make someone curious.

• What You Should Know About Headaches
• What You Should Know About Writing Killer Headlines

Once you’ve written your irresistible headline, it’s important to deliver on what you’ve promised. Don’t tease your reader with a killer headline and then provide weak content. The better content you can provide, the better chance you’ll gain more readers—and hopefully more links.