Tuesday, January 13, 2009

10 super-duper FREE headline writing tips that just might save your life

Subtitle: How to write a compelling headline

A headline can quite literally make or break a writing project. Don't believe me? Let's look at a classic example:

Good headline: 10 FREE Tips For When Your Dream Guy Just Doesn't Give A Damn

Bad headline: Gone With The Wind

Ok, ok, I know that Gone With The Wind was a hugely successful movie. But just think how much better it would have been with a great, catchy headline!

Here's what makes my headline clearly superior:

1. It includes a number. People just can't resist reading articles that include 10 free tips, 3 deadly mistakes or 5 helpful hints. I don't know why. (Research is not my strong suit.) They just can't.

2. It includes the word FREE in all capital letters. WHO can resist ANY word that is written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS??? Especially the word FREE?!

3. It has an element of urgency. Why would your dream guy not give a damn? Is it your breath? Your hair? Your total lack of original thought? The answer is just 10 short tips away.

As you can see, the title of this blog post also includes these three essential elements. So if you are tempted to dismiss my thoughtful, time-tested, completely unresearched opinions out of hand, just keep in mind that my headline writing expertise was enough to lure you to this post.

Next week I plan to write an article on 8 Basically Useless FREE Ways To Lure Unsuspecting People To Your Blog Posts. Stay tuned!

5 comments:

Celticblu said...

Thank you, will check your blog again, you definitely lured me into reading the post about Headlines! Don't know if it will change my life, but might make my blog more entertaining! See you around...
Caroline

Anonymous said...

Hi Lesley;

I love your fast loading blog. I'm starting a new webring for fast loading blogs. 56K Bloggers. I'd like to invite you to drop by my blog and sign up!

http://Indemnity-Income.blogspot.com/

--- Thank You ---
Mr. Steven G. Liggett
709 Karen Parkway
Newark, Oh 43055-4319

sgliggett@ msn.com

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, gonna try that.

AV
http://netherregionoftheearthii.blogspot.com/
http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/
http://thingsthatfizz.blogspot.com/

Lesley said...

Caroline, thank you! Your blog is great - quite a unique niche.

Mr. Liggett, I did not even realize I had a fast loading blog. Thank you for pointing that out.

And Argentum, just remember to always take me with a grain of salt. Though I do from time to time make a valid point just to confuse my readers.

Ashley Smith said...

Interesting tips-I'll try them, by the way stop by my blog too.

Ashley

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