Kicking Off our New “Question of the Week” Series
If you follow us on Facebook (and you are right?), you may have noticed our teaser about this new series. Our “Question of the Week” we’re calling it.
(Although this week’s question of the week really should be… how many pounds did you pack on the last few weeks?? Ugh. Those darn holidays…)
Each week we will be answering a question someone asks on Facebook… Even if it is in a DM for those of you on the shy side.
So what is the first question? It’s one we’ve been asked quite a bit lately…
What’s the Big Deal About Headlines?
Yep…they really are pretty important!
In a world where we are inundated with messages all day long, the headline is a really big deal. It’s how potential visitors decide whether or not to click on your story.
And there are some tips that can help you create headlines that make people want to read what you wrote.
- No Link Bait: Don’t make promises in the headline that you don’t deliver in the article. It’s called Link Bait and it just turns folks off. We all want a catchy and fun headline, but it has to connect with the content of the article. Don’t promise, for example, “How to Get Your First 6 Months Free When You Move to XYZ Assisted Living Community” only to have the reader click over and find it’s actually a one in a million contest or some fancy accounting tied to a promotion.
- Know Your Audience: While I won’t name names, there are a few design magazines I follow on Facebook who are guilty of this. They think just throwing the Kardashian name in to a title will make people click. Clearly they don’t know their audience. Most of us who are interested in home design don’t really associate that family name with good design. Fair or not, the stereotype for the Kardashians doesn’t connect with design readers. (It does, however, elicit a lot of negative comments on the magazines’ Facebook pages that are kind of fun to read…)
- Avoid Positive Superlatives: We’re all tired of these aren’t we? Everyone wants to be the “best” but it’s not a headline that converts. In fact, negative superlatives do 63% better than positive ones. Even posts without a superlative perform better by about 29%.
- Make Readers Curious: Even an uppity cat (and let’s be honest – is there any other kind?) can’t resist being curious. So make your headline a little tantalizing… adjectives and action words help. Asking a question is another great way to make your reader curious. Just make sure you don’t answer your own question in the headline or ask a question they can’t answer “NO!” to. If you do, they have no reason to click over and read your content right?
- Spell It Right & Mind Your Grammar: If a headline has spelling mistakes and poor grammar, it makes us all doubt the credibility of the article and the source. Just the way it is folks… So have an extra set of eyes proof your work if you don’t have your own team of editors drawing vicious red lines over everything you write like yours truly…
And that’s the quick and dirty on Headlines!
Don’t forget to drop us a Comment or DM us on Facebook if you have a question you would like to see answered here. We will be tackling one a week all year long…
Now I’m off to try to create a dinner for us that doesn’t blow our 21-Day Sugar Detox program goals…