Headline Lab
Generates 10 headline variants against different frameworks (curiosity, benefit, controversy, listicle, how-to) and ranks them.
Entry verified April 20, 2026
The short answer
Most content dies on the headline. This skill forces you to see 10 angles before you ship, then ranks them for predicted CTR and LLM-citability — because LLMs are the new SERP.
When to use it
Every post headline. Every newsletter subject line. Every YouTube title.
Setup
- 1
Save as ~/.claude/commands/headline-lab.md.
- 2
Feed it: target keyword, audience, angle of the piece.
- 3
Returns 10 variants with a 1-line rationale each.
Example
You: /headline-lab 'claude code skills' — audience solo devs.
Claude: 1. The 47 Claude Code skills that actually matter...
2. We ranked 200+ Claude Code skills by licence. Only 47 are safe to copy.
3. Your Claude Code setup is missing these 10 skills.
[...10 total, scored]Source & attribution
- Author
- Bryan Collins
- Licence
- MIT
- Type
- Original
Original pattern published under MIT — attribution preserved by convention, not licence requirement.
Caveats
CTR predictions are directional, not data-backed. Don't ship without A/B testing for stakes-worthy pieces.
Related skills
Copywriting Specialist
Writes high-conversion short copy — headlines, CTAs, subject lines, hero copy — using classic copywriting frameworks (PAS, AIDA, 4Ps).
AEO Citability Check
Scores a page for LLM-citability — direct answers, quote-ready structure, source attribution, FAQ coverage.
Meta Rewrite
Rewrites meta title and description for a page, optimised for CTR on target query.
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