Headline Options Skill
The headline does 80% of the work — most people read it and decide. This skill generates a range of
headlines across proven formulas (so you're not betting on one), scores them for clarity and
specificity (the two things that actually drive clicks), and recommends the strongest — for a landing
page, blog post, email subject, ad, or video title.
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
- What it's for — landing-page H1, blog title, email subject, ad headline, YouTube title? (changes length + style).
- The subject — the product/post/offer and its single biggest benefit or hook.
- Audience — who reads it, and the words they'd use.
- Any constraint — character limit (subject lines, ad fields), tone, banned claims.
Output Format
Headlines: [subject] — for [where it's used]
Options by formula (10–15 total), grouped:
- Benefit — the outcome, stated plainly ("Ship your roadmap in an afternoon")
- How-to — ("How to cut churn without discounting")
- Number / list — ("7 ways teams lose activation")
- Question — ("Still building decks by hand?")
- Curiosity / pattern-interrupt — (a gap that demands the click, without clickbait)
- Social proof / authority — ("How 5,000 teams onboard faster")
Score each on Clarity and Specificity (1–5), since vague + clever loses to clear + specific:
| Headline |
Formula |
Clarity |
Specific |
Note |
Top 3 picks — the strongest, with one line each on why, and which to A/B first.
If subject-line / limited — flag any that exceed the character budget.
Quality Checks
Anti-Patterns
Based On
Headline-writing practice (Ogilvy, Advertising's clarity-over-cleverness, the 4 U's) + formula-driven ideation and A/B discipline.
1---2name: headline-options3description: Generate and pressure-test headline options across proven formulas. Use when asked for headlines, a title, a subject line, a hook, or to improve a weak headline for a page, post, email, or ad. Produces 10–15 headline options grouped by formula (benefit, how-to, number, question, curiosity, social proof), each scored for clarity and specificity, with the top 3 recommended and why.4---5
6# Headline Options Skill
7
8The headline does 80% of the work — most people read it and decide. This skill generates a *range* of
9headlines across proven formulas (so you're not betting on one), scores them for clarity and
10specificity (the two things that actually drive clicks), and recommends the strongest — for a landing
11page, blog post, email subject, ad, or video title.
12
13## Required Inputs
14
15Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
16
17- **What it's for** — landing-page H1, blog title, email subject, ad headline, YouTube title? (changes length + style).
18- **The subject** — the product/post/offer and its single biggest benefit or hook.
19- **Audience** — who reads it, and the words they'd use.
20- **Any constraint** — character limit (subject lines, ad fields), tone, banned claims.
21
22## Output Format
23
24### Headlines: [subject] — for [where it's used]
25
26**Options by formula** (10–15 total), grouped:
27
28- **Benefit** — the outcome, stated plainly ("Ship your roadmap in an afternoon")
29- **How-to** — ("How to cut churn without discounting")
30- **Number / list** — ("7 ways teams lose activation")
31- **Question** — ("Still building decks by hand?")
32- **Curiosity / pattern-interrupt** — (a gap that demands the click, *without* clickbait)
33- **Social proof / authority** — ("How 5,000 teams onboard faster")
34
35Score each on **Clarity** and **Specificity** (1–5), since vague + clever loses to clear + specific:
36
37| Headline | Formula | Clarity | Specific | Note |
38|---|---|---|---|---|
39
40**Top 3 picks** — the strongest, with one line each on *why*, and which to A/B first.
41
42**If subject-line / limited** — flag any that exceed the character budget.
43
44## Quality Checks
45
46- [ ] 10+ options spanning multiple distinct formulas (not variations of one)
47- [ ] Each scored on clarity and specificity, not cleverness
48- [ ] Top picks are recommended with reasoning + an A/B suggestion
49- [ ] Options use the audience's language and the real benefit
50- [ ] Character limits respected where the medium demands it
51
52## Anti-Patterns
53
54- [ ] Do not favour clever over clear — a confusing headline isn't read twice; clarity wins
55- [ ] Do not write clickbait the content can't pay off — the bounce destroys trust and SEO
56- [ ] Do not give one-formula variations — the value is the spread to test
57- [ ] Do not stay vague — "Transform your workflow" says nothing; name the specific outcome
58- [ ] Do not ignore the medium's limit — a truncated subject line is a wasted headline
59
60## Based On
61
62Headline-writing practice (Ogilvy, Advertising's clarity-over-cleverness, the 4 U's) + formula-driven ideation and A/B discipline.
Mohit Aggarwal