Business Improvement and Social media

5 Headline Creation Secrets

 General Rule - I try to live by the billboard 7-word rule. Sometimes I stretch headlines to 10 or 11 words and those titles rarely work as well as the short, sharp ones. 

Here are 5 Secrets To Create Great Headlines. 

Tip 1 Use Clichés
Clichés are sticky, that's why we remember them. When you turn a cliché upside down your readers will be hooked and want to untangle it. Using clichés is what the Heath brothers mean when they say sell the unknown from the known in their excellent book Made To Stick.  

Example Cliché Rework
Money Is Root Of Evil Except With Mobile Wallet
iPhone: Best Phone Since Sliced Bread

The second example shows another little trick. Sometimes I use a cliche in a way that doesn't make sense. Leave a little mystery in your headlines because the role of the headline is to convert browsers to readers. 


Tip 2 Shock A Little

Shock and surprise work great, but cross the line between shock for good and just making people mad and you can lose readers. I like to combine this tip with Tip 3 Use Humor. 

Example Shock
A Naked Woman, An iPhone, A Bar, What's Your Question?
Does Google Still Matter?

Shock can come from out of place contrasts (naked women in bars is not usual) or an early statement many may be thinking but no one has articulated in a succinct way yet. If your headline is better you might wind more social shares on content you curate from others. If your headlie creates a new readership be sure to credit your source. 

Tip 3 Steal From Great Authors and Popular Culture
I like to lift or rework pop culture or well-known literature. Shakespeare played an important role in our education, so I riff of William frequently.

Example Shakespeare
Out Damned Spot Twitter Says To Pinterest (Macbeth)
To Be Or Not To Be Is The Question For Facebook (Hamlet)

I flag beautiful phrases with an eye toward mashing the author's hard work into a headline when I read. 

Tip 4 Ask And Then Answer A Question
When you read a question your mind begins answering. I have two variations of the Q&A headline. One is ask and then answer the other is ask and leave open.

Example Q&A
Is Content Marketing The New SEO? A: YES
Is Content Marketing The New SEO?

I answer when I'm looking to reinforce authority. I leave open when mystery might prompt the click better pure judgment call. 

Tip 5 Create Alliteration Or Rhymes & Use Numbers
Words that have the same sound can create authority, cohesion and plant a good "should read this" hook. I mashed this tip up a bit to include several common headline elements. I do mash alliteration, rhymes and numbers sometimes. 

Example Alliteration
Clear Concise Content For Lent
6 Clear Concise Content Tips For Lent

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What about you? What are your favorite headline creation secrets. Share and I will curate into a blog post. Thanks, Marty