My best performing:

"I was immediately asked when are you returning back to the US--this is what I replied"

The biggest change I've made over the past four months is not being afraid to add words - it takes me a while and it's only bc of the headline analyzer that I've warmed up to it, but I'm not afraid to add words now.

As Paul said, I shoot for clarity for the reader -- but I still think the hardest thing for me is: how to make my reader curious?

Some just aren't going to be interested in some topics - I have to let that go. But if I can think really deeply as to the heart of what I'm trying to give to my readers, that helps me create and build curiosity.

Oh it's so hard - and sometimes I know I spend so much time, but it's more for practice. My better headlines are my curated articles, I divided them up -- but haven't done the numbers (as you did here).

Last month, I started a headline study. Anytime I read an article by someone I am loyal to, I gave them a yes or no on if it was "catchy", then I wrote what I thought it was going to be about, and then when I finished the article -- I went and noted if I was right or wrong.

Out of 17, 4 were catchy. And less than half the time, the article ended up being about what I thought it was going to be.

Headlines are hard.