Jason Unger

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So few writers and editors publish good Web headlines with their stories … and I love it.

If you're not being clear and concise with your headlines, you're losing readers to your competition.

Individual stories aren't just a part of your Web site — they're a part of the entire social web. With links jumping from site-to-site, aggregates like Google News and Digg, and RSS readers, your stories aren't competing with each other.

They're competing with every other story published on the Internet. And that's a lot of competition.

There is no box for your Web site. There is no beginning and end. All your stories are out there.

Make them stand out and you'll have a chance at succeeding.

Here's 5 ways to avoid bad headlines:

1. Be Clear. Tell the reader exactly what the story is about.
3. Be Upfront. You've got two words to convince someone the story is worth reading.
4. Make it Personal. If it's not a news story, it has to have some relevance to the reader. Tell them why it effects them.
5. Sell It. You've got a lot of competition for their attention. Tell them why they need to read your story.
6. Don't Be Clever. You don't have a magazine. Your reader doesn't have your story in their hands with the headline, body and text. If there's no context (which there isn't), you can't be clever.

You obviously don't have to write good headlines. If you don't, it can only help me — your competition.