4 tips to writing better headlines |

4 tips to writing better headlines

Thu, May 12, 2011

The following was originally posted on the PRevolution blog on Thursday, May 5.

We hear it all the time. The number one skill PR and marketing pros need to succeed: Writing skills. I’ll take that one step further. In today’s world of 140 character messages, Facebook updates that have shelf-lives of 80 minutes and 24/7 news cycles, what you really need to hone in on is writing uber-compelling and intriguing headlines.

After all, what doesn’t get clicked, doesn’t get converted.

So headlines are the name of the game in today’s wired world. You could write the best post or article ever. Deep thoughts sure to get your prospective customers thinking–and hopefully, converting to a NEW customer. But, if the headline doesn’t speak to them, they’ll never even see it.

So, I might argue headline writing–not just writing–is the most important skill for today’s marketing and PR pro.

The question is: How do we get better at it?

I thought I’d share a few actionable tips to becoming a better social headline writer:

* Use multiple “Twitter headlines” for the same blog post. Many subscribe to the theory of sharing your blog posts multiple times per day (morning, noon and night). If you agree with that premise, why not create three distinct headlines (tweets, in this case) each time you share. And, be sure to use a trackable link (bit.ly) so you can see which headline resonated more with your readers and followers. Using this approach, you’ll fine-tune your headline writing skills quite quickly.

* Start a photo blog on Posterous. That’s an odd suggestion, Arik. What do photos have to do with headlines? Think about it. By starting a photo blog, you’ll be forced to write headlines that both describe the photo and pique readers’ curiousity. It’s the ultimate headline game–what headline can you write that will entice people enough to click. Again, the Posterous stats will give you instant feedback into what headlines are resonating and which aren’t. You may have noticed, I started a new blog recently focused on shoes. While I don’t plan posting all that often (not the intent), it will force me to write compelling and pithy headlines that will convince folks to click thru.

* Write 10 headlines for each blog post. This is an old trick I’ve been doing more lately. By exhausting every possible angle for your posts, you’ll hone your craft and get valuable practice. Another side benefit of this exercise: You’ll most likely stumble upon future blog post ideas in drafting these alternate headlines.

* Pay attention to your subject lines. We forgot how much writing we all do via email each day. Just stop and think about it for a second. How many emails to you write each day? If you’re like me, it’s probably north of 50–at least. That’s 50 chances for you to write new headlines. OK, sure, some of those are replies and you don’t want to mess with the subject lines. But, for all those new emails, you should be carefully considering and practicing your headline writing by thinking long and hard about that subject line. Especially, for PR pros, with your pitches. A good subject line can make all the difference between a pitch that gets clicks and one that gets trashed.

What about you? What headline writing tips would you share?

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better writing, content strategy, headline writing, PR writing, writing best practices

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Ricardo Bueno 88 pts

Once a week (at least), I go the the local Barnes & Noble and grab a bunch of random magazines off the rack. Cosmo, GQ, Wired, etc. It doesn't matter what magazine, as long as it has good solid headlines.

I sit and read through their headlines and I write the good ones down. Then (and here's the kicker), I work on re-writing those headlines to match my content/audience. Here's a video I recorded to give you a better sense of what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLNqpZu047Q

But basically, here's an example:

Magazine Headline: 6 Choices That Will Make You Happier

Re-write to say: 6 Blog Tweaks That Will Make Your Readers Happier

See where I'm going with this?

P.S. Arik, thanks for the Livefyre comments... So far, really diggin' things :-)

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Jerrick 5 pts

It is not easy to get a good headline which able to attract lot of reader. Because different people do have different perception on the same headline. That why you need to know who is your main target before you write a headline. Wrote a headline which do related to their life so that more easy attract them to read of it.

Kira Permunian

I am new at Starting a photo blog on Posterous. If this is good then you've just recommended a great thing for me today. I'm gonna try this.

I agree with the other tips. I've done it too and effective. Thank you.

Frugally Savvy

I think the most important part about writing great headlines is identifying a particular problem or issue that people are having

Shonali Burke

I do occasionally try the different Twitter headlines, but that's only when I've got it together enough to have posts scheduled.

I use the WP Editorial Calendar plugin, which is great, because it shows you your posts calendar style. So when I have an idea, I can quickly create a new draft with the idea in the headline, and then I can write it when I have the time. Sometimes the headline just jumps out at me, sometimes a comment from someone else will trigger it (like today's post, where I talk about "social media barfshiners" that one of my Facebook friends came up with). Very often, after I'm done writing and prepping the post, I'll figure out the headline at that point. It's a work in progress up until the very end for me.

Arik Hanson

I've thought about using that WP Editorial Calendar plug-in. Sounds like you like it. I use a similar strategy--I just don't use the calendar. Write headlines all the time--then they often sit there, unwritten until I finally delete them. Still, a good exercise that helps me generate tons of new blog post ideas.

I'm up to one blog post per day on my company blog. There's one other person who contributes and I try to really stay on schedule. I'm using the WP Editorial Calendar plugin and like that we can move around drafts within the calendar view so that we don't over-lap.

davinabrewer

I've seen multiple headlines used, A-B testing and should probably do more of it and share my posts a little more often. Not sure I could write 10 but yes to having options. I look at my subheads and section headers, see if those can be repurposed for a new tweet or headline. If I can I think of headlines that give different tweet options, maybe reword something as a question to catch attention. Another thing for blog headlines and tweets, you can have a little fun and play will ALL CAPS and punctuation, especially in tweets when you're less worried about SEO. FWIW.

Good ideas, Davina. I definitely need to play with CAPS and punctuation more. That's on my list for this summer :)

As a former headline writer myself back in the journalism days (and even to a degree nowadays), the best headline tip I ever received was this one: write the most outrageous headline you can think of for a particular story, then work backwards and see how you can potentially make it one that you'd want on the story. You'd be surprised how creative you can be with no restrictions. It allows you to think differently, and the results will show. Also Arik's suggestion or writing several definitely works as well. Oftentimes you end up combining results to come up with one killer result.

Have you ever used the original, outrageous headline you started with in the exercise you suggested? Just curious.

To be honest I can't remember using one verbatim, but I do remember a few being pretty close to what I had come up with originally.

Trackbacks

Improve your headlines: 4 unconventional tips | PRbuilder.com says:

May 17, 2011 at 12:38 am

[...] Arik C. Hanson is the principal of ACH Communications, a digital communications consultancy. A version of this story appeared on the blog Communication Conversations. [...]
10 tweetable tips to make you a better writer | Down to Social Business says:

February 2, 2012 at 12:51 pm

[...] e-mail subject lines, Twitter, and Posterous/Tumblr to practice writing headlines and track what works – @arikhanson Tweet [...]