33 Foolproof Headline Strategies
June 23, 2008 by Brad Shorr
Filed under Copywriting
Headlines may just be the most important part of a blog post. These days, it takes a pretty good one to capture the attention of readers who are scanning scores if not hundreds of Web pages every day.
Here’s my compilation of headline styles, each a proven winner for blog posts. What may be different about this list is that I’ve used one topic, global warming, to illustrate various ways you can make the same topic appeal to different types of readers and reader interests. You can plug in your topic to each of these examples and see how it fits.
Hope it can give you ideas for turning a ho-hum headline into a powerhouse.
- Ask a question. “What Can You Do to Stop Global Warming?”
- Propose urgency. “What You Can Do Today to Stop Global Warming”
- Explain how. “How You Can Stop Global Warming”
- Explain why. “Why We’re in Denial about Global Warming”
- Explain what. “The Real Danger of Global Warming”
- Explain who. “The Global Warming Conspiracy”
- Suggest mystery. “How You Can Stop Global Warming – All by Yourself”
- Offer an irresistible benefit. “How You Can Stop Global Warming and Double Profits”
- Create a list. “7 Ways to Stop Global Warming”
- Be contrary; debunk. “Why Global Warming Is a Myth”
- Be provocative. “Why Global Warming Is Humanity’s Best Friend”
- Use an offbeat word. “Why Global Warming Is Balderdash”
- Use humor. “The Global Warming Debate Leaves Me Cold”
- Use a pun. “Global Warming: Future Schlock”
- Use a metaphor. “The Global Warming Debate: Age of Enlightenment or Salem Witch Hunt?”
- Use a simile. “Global Warming Is like Frying Earth on the Sidewalk”
- Adapt a cliche. “What Part of Global Warming Don’t You Understand?”
- Take an offbeat angle. “What Sushi Chefs Can Teach Us about Global Warming”
- Deliver useful knowledge. “How Global Warming Is Revolutionizing Product Design”
- Provide background. “How Global Warming Sneaked up on Us”
- Add perspective. “What Everybody Overlooks in the Global Warming Debate”
- Bring people up to speed. “What Everybody Needs to Know about Global Warming”
- Reveal a secret. “The Hidden Agenda of Global Warming Activists”
- Introduce a magic formula. “The Secret to Boosting Sales through Global Warming Awareness”
- Offer comfort. “Stop Losing Sleep over Global Warming”
- Solve a problem. “How to Discuss Global Warming without Sounding Dumb”
- Save the reader time. “Understand Global Warming in 5 Minutes”
- Tell a story. “How Global Warming Inspired a New Product Design that Tripled Acme’s Sales”
- Tell your story. “My 24/7 Battle against Global Warming”
- Self test. “What Is Your Global Warming IQ?”
- Invite into a community. “Join the Movement to Stop Global Warming”
- Suggest danger. “Things You Do Every Day that Cause Global Warming”
- Make a prediction. “The Global Warming Crisis of 2015″
Can you add any other styles to the list? What kind of headlines work for you?
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All I could think of while going through the list was: “Global Warming, Life is Short, Live it Up!” and then it made me want to go out and buy my jet ski today.
Oh but wait, that would be contributing to global warming!
Ha ha!
Good one Karen, that jet ski sounds like a great idea.
Brad, what can I say - a treasure chest of great ideas for choosing effective titles. And titles are critical to - unless the title grabs the readers attention, it probably doesn’t matter how good the underlying content is.
One more thing I would add about titles. Do not over-promise on the title and under-deliver on the post.
If, for example, your title is “Seven Ways to Stop Global Warming, then it is imperative that your post actually lists seven ways (not five or six). Or if your title is “What Can You do Today About Global Warming?” then you must be sure to list some clear, specific and immediate steps which the reader could take.
It is absolutely imperative, in my opinion, to ensure that your title does not promise something that your post does not deliver.
Cheers
Andrew
Very nice piece Brad, and thanks for all the work and thought that must have gone into it. Headlines aren’t really my strong suit and my brain seems to have gone blank trying to add something to your superlative list! But if I think of anything I’ll pop back
Joanna
Karen, I love your title! It falls under the category of humor, but also a category I left out - inspiration.
Andrew, You are absolutely right, as usual. As a matter of fact, if I am disappointed by a post after being drawn in by a flashy title, I’ll seldom go back to that particular blog.
Joanna, If you took the time (and I realize you haven’t had much lately!), you’d become a master.
Hi Brad
A wonderful list - all the more powerful for all being on the same topic… a clever idea.
I don’t know if this actually helps the (anti) global warming cause…
Retro-Vision: How would early Twentieth Century Industry magnates react to future Global Warming?
(This of course means that some super visionary would have had to tell them that such a possibility exists!)
Yvonne, Thanks. I was thinking a single topic would make it easier to identify the stylistic nuances among these approaches.
Jeevaniyoti, Another outside the box idea, like Karen’s. You’re taking a speculative approach - how innovative! As a sci-fi fan who enjoys alternate history stories, I’d read an article so titled in a heartbeat.
Wonderful list of possibilities, Brad! But where would my “Duck’s Posterior” headline fit? Seems like it’s more than just an offbeat word.
As for me, give me a long list of headlines, and I’ll go for the quirky ones first every time. I try not to use them too often, though. Don’t want to scare the readers off, you know…
Robert, that particular headline defies pigeonholing. It seems to be a combination of #1, #3, #12, #13, #18, #21, and #29. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad — much more analysis is needed.
Ah, Robert, your Ducky story would have a catagory all by itself in the “Quirky Headlines” section.
Oh, good; a category all to myself! NOW I’m happy!
Wow, Brad, is this ever a significant article. You’ve got my noodle buzzing to add to this amazing list. Here’s my addition… “Develop Curiosity”
Good one, Robyn. This is a fine example of how blogs can be truly collaborative.
Thanks Brad, when we put all brains together we gather collective intelligence! That’s something I just coined on the spot. Like it?
Robyn, It’s marvelous! Don’t recall ever hearing the phrase before, either. What are you going to do with it? If you write a book, remember me in the footnotes. BTW, I danced around your concept in a recent post -
http://tinyurl.com/5opjvs
Nice list! What I like about it? Your headlines include the keyword - Global Warming - and most of them are under 60 characters. Here’s an article on how headline length affects Google results: http://tinyurl.com/3xdram. What would I add? Tie the headline into your subject area, reader demographic or location. Will keep this post handy as a reference resource.
Barbara, thanks for pointing us to your article. Those are great guidelines for composing headlines, definitely!
Just what I needed. Duly bookmarked, Brad. In my haste, I forgot to leave a comment, just left with the goodies without even a proper thank you. Well, thanks! This will keep some tired neurons very busy.
jan geronimos last blog post..Blog Contests To Help You Become a Better Writer
Hi Jan, Well, at least you have neurons this morning!