How to Write Great Titles that Scientists Actually Click

When I read a title like “What if we could solve Alzheimer’s with one injection?”, I keep scrolling while in my head it just goes “what if… what if… what if…”.

That’s why “What if” titles never work. They propose a fictional scenario that no rational person with limited time is willing to spend thinking about.

There is another important point here. When you post on social media or write an article for a website, you are an authoritative voice. You hold the truth, and you are sharing it with your peers.

“What if” doesn’t make you trustworthy, it makes you sound vague and principiant.

There are probably worse titles out there, like “Wondering how to solve the microglia problem in Alzheimer’s?”. They fall into the same “hypothetical scenarios” category.

Now that you get my point, let me give you a few tips on writing titles. This is something I learned from great copywriters like Sonia Simone and Brian Clark, co-founders of Copyblogger.

How to write irresistible titles that generate leads

• Include benefits. For example, “How to develop an antibody” → “How to develop an antibody that shows sustained efficacy” 
• Be specific. Specificity wins in every context. Add numbers and percentages (i.e., “How to start a project on neurodegenerative diseases” -> “How to start a project on neurodegenerative diseases in under 3 months”)
• Don’t be constrained by grammar. Especially for social media, don’t try to write perfectly. Play with parentheses, informal sentences (i.e., “Conferences that are (actually) useful for neuroscientists”)
• Try to use emotional words, such as “irresistible”.
• Write your headlines first and construct the text from there.

Types of titles

1. The classic “how to”

I know this might not be mind-blowing, but “how to” titles never fail.

They spark curiosity and if you precede them with steps, people (and AI) will love your content.

Now let’s elevate it a bit:

• How to + Benefit: “How to reduce trial noise in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial”
• How to + Benefit x2: “How to build safe and reproducible behavioral studies”
• How + I + Specific Outcome + Cheeky detail: “How I identified 3 Parkinson’s biomarkers with no neuroscience background”

Combinations are infinite. To get the most out of them, select a benefit that addresses a very specific and common pain point.

2. The list-based titles

Another classic. List titles are great because they can be translated directly from “How to” titles.

Here are the list variants of “How I reduced trial noise in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial”:

• List + Problem: “Five reasons Alzheimer’s research fails”.
• List + Selection: “5 research projects on Alzheimer’s (and which one shows the greatest memory recovery)”

Using numbers or digits is completely up to you. It will depend on the format (text, image), the channel (blog, social media post), the intention (friendly, formal), etc.

3. The “why” titles

You read them all the time without realizing it. They spark curiosity without being in your face. They are light and subtle. One of my favorites.

“Why we haven’t solved Alzheimer’s after 40 years of research”

4. Urgency

I get it. Using a sense of urgency to get people to read you is lame.

Unfortunately, it works.

It’s called “hunger marketing”, and it has been studied.

But because we are so used to it, you need to go a bit further.

For example, “Don’t miss the latest findings in Alzheimer’s” sounds boring and unappealing. But “The 3 latest findings in Alzheimer’s research published this quarter” creates a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).

5. Storytelling

If there were a competition for “marketing word of the year”, “storytelling” would have won the 2025 prize.

Storytelling titles work best in formats where you can start directly with the body, like LinkedIn. For blog posts or guest articles, they work better as opening sentences rather than headlines.

Examples:

• Opinion: “I’m convinced we’re repeating history’s biggest medical mistake”
• Experience: “I asked our tech team what their top papers on neurodegeneration were this year”
• Experience + Selection: “I’ve read 500+ Alzheimer’s articles (and these are my top 5)”
• Experience + Controversial: “Over the past 25 years, I have done everything in Alzheimer’s research”
• Experience + Question: “My top advice for anyone starting Alzheimer’s research is”

6. Ambiguity

Ambiguity is somehow part of storytelling because in our lives we are not “always” right, “100%” confident, or “never” wrong.

While being specific and direct are great-performing approaches, ambiguity shows our human side. Some keywords are: arguably, almost, most.

• “Arguably the hardest pill to swallow in neuroscience (and researchers can’t say otherwise)”
• “What almost everybody gets wrong about Alzheimer’s disease”

To spicy it up I also added a touch of controversy to these titles.

7. Controversial titles

If you’ve been on social media, it won’t take long before you see someone taking a stance. And it’s fine. Opinionated content like “AI is killing neuroscience research” performs wonders on social.

Just keep in mind the following 1) The content aligns with what you believe. 2) It help you get closer to your ideal customer persona.

For example, if your target is a Head of Research in the life science industry, I would avoid making jokes about boomers. 

Extra tip: add a hint of humor or a cheeky note. At the end of the day people remember the way you made them feel, not what you said.

Titles to avoid

We have already talked about “what if” and “wondering how” titles, but I would include any conditional statements:

• “If you are interested in…”
• “Would you like to know more about…”

The only case where I see an “if” title performing well is when targeting a specific customer persona. For example:

“If I were a scientist working on neurodegenerative diseases in 2026, I would check this organoid model”