What makes you click? The effect of question headlines on readership in computer-mediated communication

Abstract

This paper reports the results of two field experiments that investigate the effect of using question headlines to enhance readership in computer-mediated communication. The results from both experiments suggest that question headlines are significantly more effective than declarative headlines in generating readership. The results from the second experiment also indicate that question headlines with self-referencing cues are particularly effective and generate higher readership than question headlines without self-referencing cues and rhetorical question headlines. However, results also suggest that the effect of question headlines varies across message topics. Limitations and future research opportunities are discussed.

Keywords::

• Question headlines
• Readership
• Internet
• Computer-mediated communication
• Advertising

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the associate editor, Dr Daniel J. Howard, as well as two anonymous referees for their valuable comments and suggestions. The authors are also indebted to Master of Science students Eivind Haugstad, Tanya Wolter, and Aksana Tikhonova for their assistance in executing the second experiment reported here.