2 builders who never spoke to each other

Put the surprising number in the headline

Lead with the largest figure you can verify and let the subheader answer why anyone should believe it, whether that is your own revenue or the total your customers have produced between them. A bare number reads as boastful, so add the clause that makes it surprising instead of impressive. Never build the headline around your product's name, since a stranger has no reason to click a word they do not recognise, and when an opening line works, reuse its structure and refresh the figure inside it.

The method

1. 01

   Put the dollar figure in the headline, then add a clause at the end that makes the figure surprising rather than impressive

2. 02

   Never build a headline around your product's name: a stranger has no reason to click a name they do not recognise

3. 03

   Use the subheader to answer why the visitor should trust you, and put your largest verifiable number in it.

4. 04

   When an opening line performs, reuse its structure on the next post and simply refresh the figure inside it.

5. 05

   State the total result your customers have produced as a single aggregate number, so the proof scales with the size of your customer base.

What it returned

• $1.7M

  His subheader offers the system behind going from nothing to 190k followers and $1.7M+ of income without paid ads.

• $1.3M

  The tools thread borrowed the hook of the earlier winning thread, with the revenue claim raised from $1.3M to $2M in 2.5 years before publishing.

• The revenue-only headline was judged weak because other developers had made far more; adding that he was still learning to program is what he credits for the number one spot

• Discarded drafts were built around the app's name and its sales data; he judged them unclickable

Sources

• 4 Tips to Convert Visitors Into SalesJustin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · Tip #1: A Clear And Intriguing Header/Subheader · 2022-04-09
• 5 Questions for Endless ContentJustin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · Question 4: What tools or lessons can I share in list form? · 2022-06-11
• What Does the #1 Spot on Hacker News Get You?Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · It was expected. · 2011-12-06
• Conversion Rate Optimization: Social Proof, User-Generated Content, HeadlinesJustin Welsh · trends.vc · ☁️ Opportunities · 2022-09-01