How To Write Headlines That Kill

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Writing good headlines is on everybody’s priority list. But it’s not always easy. But by mastering some technical details, you can get a grasp of what works, and what does not. Read on! And oh, please do stumble this post or save it to Delicious, if you like it!

Magazines are a great way of learning how to write appealing and attractive headlines. Just yesterday, I was casually browsing through an old issue, of New Scientist when a particular title caught my eye:

This article was about this wave technology to alert of future storms. Upon reading this headline, my gut reaction was ‘Oh my god! A storm’s going to hit us!’. This headline made me read the whole article.

That title had a magnetic effect on me, which made me continue on to the article. The point is, how can you learn from this example to make your own headlines more interesting and attention grabbing? Let’s look at some properties of good headlines:

Good Headlines Are Relevant to The Reader

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It only makes sense that an avid soccer fan might not be interested in a headline that concerns cricket.

Combinations of adjectives and strong nouns often heavily the way a reader thinks about something. By using a strong noun and adjective, you make the whole thing seem important, and worthy of attention.

That’s why, it’s important that you make your headline relevant to the reader. For example, in the above example, the main theme of the headline is security. I mean, who isn’t concerned about their security? Who doesn’t want to be alerted immediately about an oncoming storm?

Topical issues are often great examples of things people are interested in. An example of a relevant theme could be US politics, especially the elections: almost everyone is interested in it nowadays. Another example could be the Large Hadron Collider (LHC),which has everyone buzzing about it.

Here are a few examples of possible headlines, which take advantage of topical issues:

1.Obama Versus McCain – The Lesser Evil?

2.Fighting Terrorism – With Bees

3.Blast At The LHC – Dozens Injured

4.Still Undecided? Choose Your Candidate in 5 Minutes!

5.Sell Your Stocks, Before Someone Buys The Stock Market Itself!

By using relevant ideas and themes to your advantage, you can take a major step towards a great headline.

Compelling Adjectives + Strong Nouns (And Strong Verbs Too)

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What makes a good title really good is the use of a compelling adjective and a strong (possible negatively-oriented) noun. Verbs can also liven up your headline, adding to the effect of the noun+adjective combination.

A Compelling Adjective

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Adjectives describe the noun, or rather, the sentence itself. You could say the adjective sets the tone of the sentence (jolly, grim, etc). So, adjectives play a major part in determining the effect your headline can have on the reader.

Compelling adjectives snap the user into attention mode. They radiate a sense of urgency, which cannot be ignored. In the above example, the adjective is imminent. Imminent means ‘oncoming’: a sense of urgency. If you don’t pay attention now, you’ll miss it. You see the effect it has?

On the other hand, not-so-compelling adjectives do not have the same effect as compelling ones. Let’s change the adjective in the sentence, to make it:

Radio Waves Warn of Distant Storm

A typical person reading this might feel ‘Hmm… seems faraway – no need to worry!’. There still is a sense of danger in this sentence, but the urgency is gone: the effect is reduced.

A Strong Noun

An adjective describes a noun. Both the adjective and the noun together make for a lively, and good description. So, if the noun isn’t strong (or compelling) enough, the compelling adjective’s effect is reduced.

Strong nouns server to alert the reader of something very important, and something that could affect them. The noun disaster, for example is a strong noun. It sets off alarm bells – I should know about it to remain safe! It also has a negative tone to it: disasters are not welcomed, are they?

So, by using a strong noun, you make the whole thing seem important, and worthy of attention. Combinations of adjectives and strong nouns often heavily the way a reader thinks about something, as this study shows.

Also, sometimes it is worth to use a noun with a negative tone (disaster, death, fire, failure, extremism, bomb blast,…), since a title containing such a noun is more likely to capture the attention of anyone who looks at it, and not let it go.

To prove my point, look at the front-pages of a few newspapers (or news sites). More than likely, you’ll see several of these strong (and sometimes negatively-toned) nouns accompanied by compelling adjectives. For example, here’s a look at CNN’s frontpage:

You see? By using a strong compelling verb [plunge] along with a strong (negative) adjective [failure], this headline manages to pack a punch. A person not interested in financial matters is pulled in too. Think of the power it has.

If you notice, all of the five examples I gave in the beginning of the post contain strong, compelling adjectives and nouns [and verbs too].

To Finish Off

The only way you can learn something really good is by practicing it. Practice, practice, practice, is what will make you good at anything you do.

So, what do you think? Do you have ’secret formulas’ you use to write post titles? Please do stumble this post or save it to Delicious, if you liked it!