Jason Unger

Here's Visual Proof Your Headlines Matter

Posted by junger - 10/07/08 at 12:10:22 pm

We've talked a lot about how much your headlines matter online and that when you produce a bad headline, your competition gets a leg up.

But if you still don't believe me, take a look at this listing of headlines:

(from the pfblogs.org RSS feed)

Without clicking through, can you tell me what these stories are about?

• Still Risky
• The Worst Decade Since the Thirties
• Long tin hats and canned food?
• Important Level
• Biweekly Mortgage Spam

While you can get a general idea from these titles ("Biweekly Mortgage Spam" is probably about emails or letters about a mortgage that come every other week), these headlines fail to tell the reader what the story is actually about.

There's a reason you should write your headline first — without it, you're not going to tell readers why they need to check out your content.

How to Write a Great Headline

The easiest way to write a great headline is to distill your story down to its root. Ask yourself these questions:

• What's the point of the story?
• How does it benefit the reader?
• If I was looking for this, what would I Google?

Once you've established the point of the story (hopefully something you've thought of beforehand), back up and look at it from your reader's point of view.

Is your reader going to get anything out of this story? What are they going to take away with them?

You can easily write a story for yourself, but if your reader doesn't benefit, you're not going to keep them around.

The third question — "what would I Google?" — is arguably the toughest question to answer. You need to step out of the silo that is your Web site and user base and think like a newbie.

If you want to teach someone to balance their checkbook, consider what they would look for — "how to balance my checkbook," "how do i balance my checkbook," or "how to balance your checkbook" all seem like logical searches.

3 Great Headlines In Action

Penelope Trunk, whose blog Brazen Careerist attracts a dedicated and vocal community, uses great headlines.

• 3 Things to learn from the crashing careers of the super-rich
• How to find meaningful work
• You should make Sarah Palin your mentor

They give you the point right away. You don't need to dig deep to find what they're really about. And to top it off, they're provocative (Disclaimer: Brazen Careerist is a client of Junger Media).

How to Easily Practice Great Headline Writing

There's an easy way to practice your headline writing without having to write any stories: Twitter.

With its 140 character limit, you're required to get straight to the point and tell your followers exactly what they need to know. It's not a great medium for in-depth writing, but it's an easy way to analyze what you want to say and the best way to say it.

While you're at it, follow me on Twitter and I'll check out your status.

Toshiba Lost Money in HD DVD? No Way!

Posted by junger - 03/19/08 at 11:03:21 am

Man, do I love stupid headlines.

Toshiba losing money in HD DVD business – Associated Press

I can remember when I was up late enough to actually watch Jay Leno … "Headlines" was my favorite segment.

Look for more stupid tech headlines soon.

Bad Headline of the Day: Jessica Alba Edition

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 06:12:43 pm

"Jessica Alba Cashes in on Engagement"

So, what could this mean?

- Jessica Alba wins the lottery
- Jessica Alba gets a lot of money for getting engaged
- Something about Jessica Alba, money, and getting engaged

What's the problem with this headline? It isn't clear.

The author is trying to be funny by using the name of Alba's fiancé, Cash Warren, in the headline. But unless you know the details, the headline doesn't tell you what the story is about.

In fact, I was mislead into thinking it had something to do with money. It doesn't.

Next time, try this headline: Jessica Alba Gets Engaged to Cash Warren.

Don't forget that your bad headlines are good for me.

Your Bad Web Headlines Are Good For Me

Posted by junger - 11/16/07 at 12:11:02 pm

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.
2. Be Upfront. You've got two words to convince someone the story is worth reading.
3. 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.
4. Sell It. You've got a lot of competition for their attention. Tell them why they need to read your story.
5. 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.

When Good Web Headlines Go Bad

Posted by junger - 06/05/07 at 08:06:08 pm

Finding the right headline for your Web story is nearly as important as the story itself. If no one knows what it is about, then no one will read it.

Continue reading When Good Web Headlines Go Bad…