Swipe File · Headline Templates

Most writing dies at the headline. These don’t.

Not 292 clever headlines. These are the 292 fill-in-the-blank templates I reach for when a draft has to earn the click.

By Laura Mzhickteno Direct-response copywriter · Ten years in the inbox
292 templates 12 patterns Authority Media Operations
A note from the author

A template is a skeleton, not a script.

I have written copy for ten years, and these are the headline structures I keep coming back to. The framing below has been proven across thousands of posts, emails, and articles. The blanks are blank on purpose, because the structure is what carries the click, not my phrasing.

Use them like this. Find the pattern that fits what you are trying to say, fill the blanks with something specific and true, then read it out loud. If the promise is bigger than what the piece delivers, change the promise, not the proof. A headline writes a cheque the rest of the work has to cash, every single time.

Promise something real
A headline can win the click and still lose the reader. Only promise what the work delivers.
Get specific
Numbers, names, and concrete nouns beat clever every time. Fill the blanks with the real thing.
One idea per line
A headline doing two jobs does neither. Pick the single sharpest angle and commit.
Copied. Paste it anywhere