Across thousands of pages analyzed on roast.page, the headline is the single biggest factor in the First Impression score. Pages with specific, outcome-focused headlines consistently score significantly higher than pages with vague or feature-focused ones.
But "write a better headline" isn't helpful advice. These prompts give you a structure to follow — each one targets a different headline formula that works for different products and audiences.
The outcome headline
Best for: products where the result is clear and measurable. SaaS, tools, services with concrete outcomes.
Write 5 hero headlines for a landing page.
Product: [what it does]
Audience: [who uses it]
The #1 result customers get: [specific outcome — "save 5 hours a week", "close 20% more deals", "ship 3x faster"]
Rules:
- Lead with the result, not the product
- Include a number or timeframe in at least 3 options
- Under 10 words each
- A stranger should understand the benefit without knowing anything about the product
Don't start any headline with "Introducing", "Meet", or "The".This is the most reliable formula. Our headline analysis data shows outcome-focused headlines outperform feature-focused ones in every industry we track.
The "before and after" headline
Best for: products that replace a painful manual process, or that transform a situation from bad to good.
Write 5 hero headlines using a before-and-after structure.
Product: [what it does]
BEFORE (the user's current pain): [describe the frustrating status quo]
AFTER (what changes): [describe the improved reality]
Each headline should imply the transformation without needing to explain it. The reader should feel the contrast.
Format options to try:
- "From [pain] to [outcome]"
- "[Old way] is over. [New reality]."
- "Stop [painful thing]. Start [desirable thing]."
Keep them under 10 words. Make at least 2 options that work without mentioning the product name.The specificity headline
Best for: crowded markets where you need to stand out. If competitors all say the same vague things, extreme specificity wins.
Write 5 hero headlines that are extremely specific.
Product: [what it does]
One concrete data point about the product: [e.g., "analyzes pages in 47 seconds", "used by 2,400 teams", "scores across 8 dimensions"]
Rules:
- Every headline must include at least one specific number, metric, or concrete detail
- No headline should work for a competitor's product (test: could [competitor] use this headline? If yes, it's not specific enough)
- Under 12 words each
- Odd numbers are more believable than round ones (47 beats 50, 2,847 beats 3,000)
My main competitors and their headlines:
- [Competitor A]: "[their headline]"
- [Competitor B]: "[their headline]"Specificity is the biggest gap we see in analyzed pages. When your hero section analysis says your headline is vague, this is the prompt to fix it.
The question headline
Best for: problem-aware audiences who haven't started looking for solutions yet. Educational products, consulting, newer categories.
Write 5 hero headlines in question format.
Product: [what it does]
The problem my audience has: [their core frustration]
What they're currently doing about it: [the workaround or status quo]
Rules:
- The question should make the reader immediately think "yes" or "I need to know"
- Don't ask yes/no questions — ask questions that imply a gap in their knowledge
- No rhetorical questions that sound like ad copy ("Ready to transform your business?")
- Under 12 words each
- The question should lead naturally into the product as the answerThe social proof headline
Best for: products with impressive usage numbers or customer results. Especially effective when trust is a barrier.
Write 5 hero headlines that lead with social proof.
Product: [what it does]
Key metrics to work with:
- [customers / users count]
- [notable result a customer achieved]
- [industry recognition, if any]
Rules:
- Work the proof INTO the headline, don't just state it
- "Join 10,000 teams" is lazy. "10,000 teams stopped guessing their conversion rate" is better.
- At least 2 headlines should reference a customer outcome, not just usage numbers
- Under 12 words eachPages with strong trust signals in the hero area score significantly higher. A social proof headline is one of the fastest ways to build credibility above the fold.
How to pick the right headline
You now have 25 options from 5 prompts. Here's how to narrow it down:
- 5-second test. Show each option to someone who doesn't know your product. Can they tell what you do and why they should care within 5 seconds?
- Competitor test. Could a direct competitor use this headline unchanged? If yes, it's not specific enough.
- Screenshot test. Mock it up on your actual page. Headlines read differently in context than in a document.
- Analyze it. Put the best option on your page and run it through roast.page. See how the headline scores as part of the full page experience.