Coming up with a great headline for content is essential. That’s easier said than done. Sometimes tumbleweed rolls in that space between your ears where your brain should be. Whatever combination of words you come up with is terrible. Well, rest assured, it happens to the best of us…
When I get stuck on an idea, I normally use a blog title generator. A headline generator can inspire weary brain cells. To get you thinking on one of those days when your brain feels like it needs an injection of caffeine to come up with a title for a guest post, your next blog post, or a piece for social media, we came up with a list of the best headline generators.
What Should You Look For From a Headline Generator
Before we discuss the perfect choice, here’s a quick rundown of some of the things you’ll want from your title generator. Let’s run through the list quickly.
Proven Headline Formulas
You want a title generator with lots of catchy headline formulas. The headlines need to be appropriate for your needs. That means the title generator should have over-the-top style clickbait headlines that will grab people’s attention on Facebook or a catchy headline, or might be used on a site like Bored Panda. You also want those more serious titles for a regular blog post.
That range of titles is important. The tool needs to be a good resource for creating the perfect headline.
Flexible & Meets Your Needs
We use catchy titles a lot in marketing. The tool should be able to generate titles for a website blog post, for your social media post, and for email marketing campaigns. That requires titles of different lengths, that are a fit for various purposes.
For example, a good headline for your next blog post will need to include relevant keywords. A title for your next email blast, on the other hand, needs to generate a high email open rate. You might also want headline options with emojis for these types of titles.
Easy to Use
A good headline generator needs to be easy to use. Ideally, you want to select the type of headline you want, click a button, and see a bunch of different titles. It’s good if the tool works as an extension or is an app as well. That way you won’t have to visit the website every time you want to come up with a title.
The Best Title Generator
The table below provides a brief roundup of the best title generators.
Software | Starting From | Best Thing About It | Biggest Problem |
---|---|---|---|
Headlinr | $27 lifetime | Great selection of headlines for posts and email subject lines. | Premium plugin. |
Thrive Headline Optimizer | $17 a month | Easy to use and has a great range of headlines. | Part of the Thrive Suite |
Tweak Your Biz Title Generator | Free | Great range of headlines. | Nothing. |
Sumo Headline Generator | Free | Has some good headline formulas. | A limited number of headlines. |
Impact Blog Title Generator | Free | A simple tool that provides a range of headlines. | No way to choose the headline formula. |
SEO Pressor Blog Title Generator | Free | Nice user interface. | Confusing interface. |
CoSchedule Headline Optimizer | Free | Nice UI. Provides you with feedback on your headline. | Need to sign up for the tool to get the result. |
To help you write some kickass headlines, here’s a list of our favorite tools. We’ll start the ball rolling with our favorite headline generator.
1. Headlinr
Headlinr is a premium title generator that works as a web plugin on Chrome and Firefox. Once it’s installed, insert your keyword into the search box, hit enter, and scroll until you find something you like. There’s a list of 300+ potential ready-to-use headlines generated from popular title combinations as well as swipe headlines.
The blog title generator creates headlines that work across any niche and for any purpose (blog title maker, PPC advertising, create email headlines, FB advertising headlines, Amazon affiliate articles, etc.). In addition to the web-based plugin, they created a WordPress plugin that lets you A/B test your headline to see what gets more clicks. You can purchase this through the upsell for Headlinr.
2. Thrive Headline Optimizer
There’s a lot of competition in the search results for clicks. You’ve got a few seconds to grab someone’s attention and get them to click on your blog post instead of your competitors. The title you use will play a major role in the success of your content.
The Thrive Headline Analyzer is a premium tool that’s part of the Thrive suite. It’s a WordPress plugin that has been developed specifically for bloggers to help them set clicks from the search results.
The headline generator allows you to split test various titles until you find the one that gets the best Click Through Rate (CTR). That’s really important if you care about SEO and want to boost your search engine results.
The WordPress plugin is easy to set up and straightforward to use. Unfortunately, it isn’t a standalone tool. You only get access to Thrive Headline Analyzer if you pay for the Thrive Suite. That will cost you $19 a month. Strictly speaking, it’s not a generator either. The tool lets you test different titles, it doesn’t come up with titles for your content.
3. Tweak Your Biz Title Generator
Tweak Your Biz is my favorite free blog title generator. You’ll find many headlines listed under categories like love, secrets, sex, and a bunch of other topics. The results range from the bizarre to the awesome. A few of my favorites for Facebook Marketing:
- Congratulations! Your Facebook Marketing is About to Stop Being Relevant
- How to Pick Up Women With Facebook Marketing
- Joseph Stalin’s Secret Guide to Facebook Marketing
- 5 Facebook Marketing Secrets You Never Knew
I’m a big fan! Tweak Your Biz is the best freemium title generator out there. If you’re stuck for ideas or want to laugh at some silly suggestions, I’d recommend this headline maker.
4. Sumo Headline Generator
Sumo has created a variety of great tools for marketers, including competition software and gamified optin forms. The headline generator has a UI that looks like an XL sheet. The app generates headlines in five different categories; numbered list, how to, controversial, etc. You select your category, enter the information in the relevant input fields, and the title maker generates a headline.
The headline generator is clunky and doesn’t give you much inspiration. For the ‘how to’ headlines, you have to fill in seven input fields before it generates title options for you. It’s a hassle, and the current XL Sheet style format leaves you feeling like a frustrated accountant.
5. Impact Blog Title Generator
The Impact Blog Title Generator is what the Sumo Headline Generator UI should have looked like. The title maker logically onboards you. There’s no feeling of frustration. Just pick your topic and cycle through the different headline options until you find the one that’s right for your content. Unfortunately, this can take some time…
The headlines the app generates are pretty generic. For example, “5 Beliefs that Will Eventually Lead to Customer Service” doesn’t grab your attention like an English fried breakfast after a night out on the town. That said, it’s a starting point to get your head into the copywriting frame of mind.
6. Blog Title Generator by SEOPressor
SEO Pressor has created a nice Blog Title Generator. The user interface is simple. Describe the keyword you want to use (this could be a skill, person’s name, location, etc.), and the software will generate five different blog titles for you. Unfortunately, you’ll need to hand over your email to get the full list of headlines that the software generated.
7. CoSchedule Headline Optimizer
The CoSchedule Headline Optimizer helps you optimize your titles. Enter the headline you came up with, hit return, and you’ll get a score out of 100.
The feedback is comprehensive. You get a lot of creative suggestions on how to improve your titles, what keywords to include, and more. Unfortunately, the tool is hidden behind a signup form. You have to create a CoSchedule account to use it, which is a bit frustrating.
Again, the tool won’t help you come up with a good headline for your content. But it’s still handy when coming up with ideas for your website.
Few Final Thoughts
Title generators are a good way to quickly come up with dozens of title ideas without much thinking. My favorite app is Headlinr. The UI is simple and provides you with hundreds of headline ideas to add your own twist to. It’s definitely a good starting point when your brain feels like it’s been swallowed by a black hole.
For more useful tools for online business owners, check out our guide to the best web hosting services and the best presentation software. You might also want to check out our roundup of the best Facebook Messenger chatbot.
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