How to Write 4U Headlines – Examples and Rules

When you’ve written for the web for a long time, you’ve probably heard of the 4U’s, which states that content must be Urgent, Utilisable, Unique, and Ultra-specific. 4U headlines were initially designed by a business coach and serial businessman, Michael Masterson. The formula works well when it comes to headlines, titles, and subject lines for emails. However, with just a slight modification, you can use it while writing blog posts too.

So, what do the four U’s mean?

Urgency in 4U Headlines

A sense of urgency can convince people to act on your added CTA – whether it’s replying to an email, clicking on your blog post, or buying a book. Especially in content that people see just before making a decision, the urgency factor can significantly boost conversion and click-through rates.

Although urgency is a crucial element for headlines, if you can’t apply all four U’s in your content, urgency is the one you can take a backseat to. It’s because uniqueness, usefulness, and ultra-specificity are much more crucial in the body of the text than urgency. Further, only some things you create content on will be urgent. Trying to push for urgency might make you come off aggressive.

Uniqueness in 4U Headlines

Uniqueness is a non-negotiable element when creating 4U headlines. It is important because if people have read similar content or gained benefits elsewhere, they’ll not be interested in your article. Your headlines give away a good chunk of what your content holds. This is why people surfing the internet can easily recognise and differentiate you or your content from your writing style, value-added, and the solution offered.

Usefulness in 4U Headlines

If your content isn’t helpful, then why should people read it? Your content could be unique or ultra-specific, even urgent, without being helpful. The uniqueness of your content will draw people in; however, the value of your content drives readers to read on. It must provide a benefit to solve a problem or, in any other way, add value to your readers.

Ultra-specificity in 4U Headlines

Your content can provide benefits and still not be specific. However, the clearer and more precise your piece will be, the more value it adds to your reader’s life. Moreover, it is also possible for it to be peculiar but not beneficial. This can happen if your content needs to be more relevant to your audience or address their points. Ultimately, it’s all about balancing uniqueness and usefulness while being specific and urgent (if possible).

That said, being extremely specific doesn’t mean that every blog post you write has to be a checklist of steps, how-tos, or step-by-step guides, even though those formats are prevalent. Specificity is crucial until it improves the content’s value and enhances appeal.

Writing Great 4U Headlines

4U headlines can persuade readers to click through and read the entire article because they:

·  tell readers precisely what they can expect from studying the content,

·  the content will provide a benefit for those who read it,

·  are more persuasive than the generic headlines,

·  and are timely.

To make compelling, catchy, click-worthy 4U headlines and titles, your headlines must:

·  be as beneficial to readers as they possibly can,

·  give a sense of urgency,

·  be unique,

·  and precise.

An example of this can be found in the name of a recent article on Copyblogger, “How to Sell Without Selling.” It has been shared on a variety of social networks more than 1000 times! So what made it so successful? This article tried following the 4U formula. Let’s analyse.

Urgency

2 out of 4. This title isn’t ranked with respect to urgency. It doesn’t contain any timescale (such as “now,” “today,” or “10 days”) to draw readers’ attention to click on it. However, users are likely to click and share the content because the reward they gain is something they’d like in the shortest time possible. Research on your audience is a must.

Uniqueness

2 out of 4. The art of writing a sales copy that doesn’t sound too pushy is one that everyone wants to learn. It’s appreciated by all bloggers, marketers, web writers, and almost everyone. Consequently, there’s a lot of content about it online, contradicting its uniqueness. However, the headline’s format is unique, owing to its short and alliterative phraseology.

Usefulness

4 out of 4. The readers know that they’ll discover something (“how do I”) and understand what they’re going to discover (“sell with no selling”). It promises that Copyblogger readers want to know about the art of writing emails. They would also appreciate other material that increases sales without sounding like a pitch. This book has a lot of benefits.

Ultra-Specificity

3 out of 4. However, this particular title could better be structured – “How you can Use the trust to sell without Selling,” for instance – it offers both implicit and explicit advantages. This piece also explains to readers precisely what they can expect from studying.

It’s difficult to determine if you’re rated 3 or 4 for all U’s. If your headlines and titles don’t earn at least a rating from 3 to 4, you’ve got the potential for improvement.

Writing a Great Copy Using the 4 U’s

4U headlines could assist you in writing more effective articles, newsletters, and other types of content.
The same factors that make the 4U headline so effective also motivate readers to continue reading the article or even send an email. Even Copyblogger banks on these 4U copywriting tips. If you came across an article that was unique, highly useful, and specifically dealt with an issue, would you not want to take the time to read it all?

Readers feel exactly the same. So, the next time you are struggling to figure out how to write your content for your readers, use the four U’s in the following order:

·  unique

·  useful

·  ultra-specific

·  urgent

Applying the 4 U’s to your content and copy is slightly different from applying them to headlines. Uniqueness and utility are tied for the top spot in importance because you have to use both to draw viewers to stay. Ultra-specificity comes next in the list as it assists the previous two, but you can also get off without it at times.

Receiving high marks in each of the 4 categories isn’t always feasible; however, your goal should be to incorporate all 4U headlines into your blog post, email, newsletters, ebooks, and other material as much as possible. You can use this advice to create more effective titles and content or refer to Study Crumb for assistance.