Total Followers 132,503
“Never judge a book by its cover” and “never judge an article by its headline” are the two sayings I’m guilty of not obeying, especially when looking for something to read without really knowing what to read.
People go to blogs without knowing exactly what to expect. They are there to look for brain foods, our job is to get them to bite our bait through headlines. Keep in mind that websites like Digg, Designbump, Delicious, and many others will only display your headlines (or a sentence or two) making it more prone to be ignored if you do not read this post carefully. Promise!
First off let’s talk about the types of headlines that we usually see.
A headline tells the beginning and the end of the content. It should say what the article is all about and what to expect from it, either explicitly or implicitly.
Image by: Miguel Ugalde
Headlines that taunt people generally lacks the idea of what the article is all about but is full of ideas. For example, when I say “100 Writing Mistakes You Thought Were Right” gives your audience the impression that you’re telling them they are absolutely wrong about something, and that hurts their pride but won’t tell and just read on. This is a good tactic to have a great number of audience as long as majority of that 100 is truthful, unless you want to risk being harassed in the comments. *laughs*
Image by: Svilen Milev
Then there’s the How To type which works every single time because people are born to be very curious about how things work. Presented with 10 How To articles I will probably read 8 of them. It is like hypnotizing your readers into reading How To: Maintain Enthusiasm For Work, you want to know how? Come and get it.
Similar to How To are headlines like Tips and Tricks, the readers will expect to see a list of information they don’t know yet. This includes headlines like “Feeling Uninspired? 6 Best Ways To Find Enthusiasm”, “5 Killer Ways To Streamline Your Coding Efficiency” and many others.
Image by: Jenny Rollo
Another type is a headline that commands, it demands you to get something done. Good examples are “Use PHP Flat File Cache To Lighten Database Load” and “Improve Your Skills: 25 jQuery Beginner Tutorials Roundup”.
Image by: Ton Koldewijn
News headlines generally lack color. They tell directly what happened or what event is to happen. This is for serious stuffs (not ninja-serious stuffs). Example: “Google unveils new smartphone, Nexus S” straight and direct. Although nowadays, even newspapers use quirky headlines.
In a Nutshell:
There are many types of headlines, these are just the common ones.
As much as possible do not make your headlines like you are advertising, even if you really are. No one wants to buy stuffs on impulse (really?) and it makes the article look dangerous to approach. Although you are really selling an item, which is your blog, make it more appealing so that the readers will find it comfortable.
A good headline instantly tells the reader that he/she should read it. A good headline is a sign that the content is too. “He who controls the headline controls the readers” is the one single point I want you all to remember when writing a headline (I really need to remember that too).
Examples of Good Headlines:
Examples of Bad Headlines (I will not cite real-life examples!):
An Example of a Headline in the Gray Area:
Although quite unrelated, I think these headlines I found at clevelandseniors.com will make for a good inspiration when creating your headlines. Funny Headlines
Because of this article’s headline I am obliged to give tips on how to write a good one. I am no expert when it comes to writing good headlines but please bear with me. Below is what I have observed from the headlines that caught me by their bait.
It is really simple to create a good headline, no sweat in writing one. Just make it reach the audience. Easier said than done? Yes. Look at my headline, not good. If you were to write a “creative” headline for this article what would it be?
And don’t forget to share your favorite headlines. Share some tips too!
Get The Only Freelancer crash course you will ever need to read!
Rean is the editor of 1stwebdesigner. He regularly writes about freelancing, technology, web design, and web development. Rean also writes at Knowledge Salad, a blog filled with weird and interesting facts. One of his goals is to help his fellow Filipinos earn money online, to help them build a career out of working from home, just like what he has been doing for years now.
Friday, December 10th, 2010 12:32
I’ve just found this article and I think it is really useful. Making a good headline is 50% of your success. I’ve looked through the whole blog- a lot of great posts!!
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 11:46
Thanks for the post,it inspired to create a template in this design,..creating a php form in this form would look some what attractive..i use ps for creating a design..is there any other good editor like this which is easy to use..
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 05:39
I do like the idea of taunting!!! Using negative words in a headline usually brings good results. Ex…Why Google Sucks ( they dont…really google dont ban me!)
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 00:09
“The shorter the better.”
Maybe. But not at the expense of selling your idea, or clarity. Don’t be afraid of a 15-word headline – sometimes you need a few words to tell the story. Above all, a headline must give your reader a compelling reason to read the article, the ad or the letter. It should include – better, it should feature – a benefit, which is something that the reader will get out of reading the material. A benefit goes beyond the features of the material – an article about good typography, for example – to the reason why it should be important to the reader: “Add sophistication and polish to your sites – and thousands to your fees – with more sophisticated web typography. Now, @font-face makes it easy . . .”
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 12:44
Interesting read! I saw a bad example on a web design and dev blog saying “Create a HTML Template”. Well, I would have read it if they were mentioning what type of template…
Get The Only Freelancer crash course you will ever need!
If not, then it's time to learn how to:
You can trust 1stWebDesigner to help you become a better web designer!
- Jacob Cass | Just Creative
Just enter your name and email below and click Get Updates!
Anonymous
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 12:44
Interesting read! I saw a bad example on a web design and dev blog saying “Create a HTML Template”. Well, I would have read it if they were mentioning what type of template…
marybaum
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 00:09
“The shorter the better.”
Maybe. But not at the expense of selling your idea, or clarity. Don’t be afraid of a 15-word headline – sometimes you need a few words to tell the story. Above all, a headline must give your reader a compelling reason to read the article, the ad or the letter. It should include – better, it should feature – a benefit, which is something that the reader will get out of reading the material. A benefit goes beyond the features of the material – an article about good typography, for example – to the reason why it should be important to the reader: “Add sophistication and polish to your sites – and thousands to your fees – with more sophisticated web typography. Now, @font-face makes it easy . . .”
Lisa
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 05:39
I do like the idea of taunting!!! Using negative words in a headline usually brings good results. Ex…Why Google Sucks ( they dont…really google dont ban me!)
gianna
Thursday, December 9th, 2010 11:46
Thanks for the post,it inspired to create a template in this design,..creating a php form in this form would look some what attractive..i use ps for creating a design..is there any other good editor like this which is easy to use..
Ian
Friday, December 10th, 2010 12:32
I’ve just found this article and I think it is really useful. Making a good headline is 50% of your success. I’ve looked through the whole blog- a lot of great posts!!