How to Make a Great Headline

Web Design | on Jul. 17, 2011 | by 0 Comments

Writing content might seem like a hefty chore, but trying to come up with a great headline can be agonizing. It does not matter if you are writing an article, a novel, advertisement copy, an e book, or a blog, coming up with good titles is a tricky business.

When you are making a title, you basically want to try and summarize all of your content down into a simple phrase. It might be difficult to think of a great headline, but doing so can be just as important as writing the rest of your article, book or blog.

Why you need a great headline

If you think of yourself as a fisher man, and your desired audience as being the fish you are trying to catch, you can then consider your headline to be the bait that you use to entice them to get hooked. If you want your fish to take the bait, you had better ensure that it looks and smells very tasty. If you use just any old bait, you might not catch as many fish as you could by using the right sort of bait.

Most of the time, a good headline is important than the whole article. If you have ever received a newsletter through email, you will know that the subject has to be good if you are going to read it. If the headline sounds boring, or like something you would not be interested in reading, there is little chance that you will even open the email. There are a lot of advertisements on the market, so in order to get your message through; you have to really stand out from the crowd. These days, most people do not have very long attention spans. If you cannot grab their attention straight away, you are unlikely to be very successful.

Tips for making a great headline

Avoiding cliches

So many people are desensitized to advertisements, that they will not even respond to cliches, such as “the best,” “number one,” “high quality,” and “top of the line.” These days, it will take a lot more than a few time tested cliches to get people interested in your content.

Creative versus straightforward headlines

There are certain times when creative and straightforward headlines work, respectively. Sometimes, it is best to get right to the point and tell people what you are offering. Other times, it helps to use a creative headline that really grabs attention.

If you are trying to write a straightforward headline, make sure that you get down to business right away. You do not have to use fancy word play or creative language here. Simply, tell people what you have to offer. For example, if you are giving away free copies of the latest SIMX software, make a headline like “Latest SIMX software give away.” Tell people exactly what they will find when they take a closer look, and do not mess around with any frills.

A creative headline will try to draw attention with a less direct method. You should come up with something clever and creative, so that people will be attracted to your content. Using word play, rhymes and alliteration are good techniques for a creative headline.

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