First, I have a confession.  I’m a writer, but it’s sometimes (often) hard (nearly impossible) for me to get started on a writing project.  So I dither a bit, and look for inspiration (or a kick in the butt) to get me started.

This time I decided to Google “how to write headlines” (you can Google anything) and found tons of articles, blogposts, etc. from other writers. How depressing!  I thought I had a unique idea, but it turns out countless others have weighed in on the topic.  Crap-tastic. So if you want other perspectives on why it’s so important to have a strong headline, search away.

Anyone still with me? Good. 

Why do strong headlines matter?

There’s a lot of talk these days about how we’re a visual society.  Videos are the next big thing on Facebook.  YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest are huge. 

But words are still critical.  You need an attention- grabbing subject line on your email to get folks to open it.  Your blog will benefit from a headline that draws in readers while including the right keywords for search engines.  In fact, search engines don’t look at pictures. They look for words.

The headline’s the hook that draws the viewer in.  In the words of the great David Ogilvy (a real-life “Mad Man”)

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

Pictures are great for catching the eye, but you need words to make your point clear.

Guidelines for writing headlines

Although there are some who promote formulas for how to write headlines, I’m not a formulas girl. Instead, I use some guidelines.  Here they are:

1.       Know your prospect   This is essential. People are more likely to buy from folks they’re comfortable with, so the more you’re in touch with your prospects’ world, the better. The prospect’s needs should drive what you offer. Her environment needs to inform your cultural references.  His language should be your language.  Headlines need to grab attention, and an understanding of the prospect makes it easier do that.

2.       Take your time   Creativity takes time. Whenever possible I jot down headline ideas and then put them away for a while. Hours or days later I find I can hone them and maybe come up with something better.

3.       Consider several ideas   There’s a myth that great ad campaigns are born fully formed through some kind of creative magic – like Athena springing full grown from Zeus’ head. The truth is that great ideas come from lots of thought, study and brainstorming. Many ideas are generated before THE ONE is chosen.

If you’re tasked with headline-writing, jot down everything that comes to mind. Then sift ideas through the filters of prospect knowledge and your piece’s objectives.

4.       Show your personality   People like to know who they’re dealing with, so don’t be afraid of showing some personality.  If you can do it in a way that rings true, consider using humor. Humor, done right, can grab attention and demonstrate that you really know the audience. 

5.       Keep the tone appropriate to what you’re writing   It probably goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway: appropriateness of tone depends on the type of piece you’re writing. The subject line of a sales email can be promotional and fun, whereas a white paper’s headline should be straight-forward and factual.

Contact me if you’d like help with headlines, body copy or both.

Photo by Karen Roe

 Do you know the joke?

    Tourist in NYC to man on the street: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

    Man on the street:  Practice, dude, practice.

All my life I’ve tried to be perfect.  The perfect daughter. The perfect mother. The perfect student. The perfect employee.  Needless to say, none of these efforts has been entirely successful, and the pursuit of perfection stressed me out.

Now I’m self-employed as a freelance marketing writer, and the saying “practice makes perfect” has been on my mind.  It’s one of our fundamental beliefs: anyone can do anything if they just work at it hard enough.  In fact, I started this blog as a way to practice my writing.  (Yes, I thought I could become the perfect writer.) 

The trouble is there are a few holes in this “Practice makes perfect” belief.  While repetition of an action will improve performance in some cases, talent, enjoyment and motivation have more to do with achievement.

Turns out the joke should go:

    Tourist in NYC to man on the street: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

    Man on the street:  Talent, dude, talent.

After reading and thinking, here’s what I’ve figured out:

1. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder.  When I send a piece of writing off to a client, I’ve worked hard and agonized over every word.  It’s perfect in my mind.  Then my client sends the piece back and tells me all the things that need to be changed to make it acceptable.  What was perfect to me wasn’t perfect to him or her.
2. Perfect is an unattainable goal.  Perfection is an absolute – a black or white thing.  The real world is made up of permutations of gray.  I’m a happier person when I’m not pursuing the unattainable.
3. “Good enough” can be good enough.  The pursuit of perfection can make me spin my wheels and get nothing done. It feels good to do something. Plus when I take action I get a reaction that teaches me and moves me forward.

So I’m working on being OK with “good enough” and forgetting “perfect.”  How about you?

I’m a Wordie.  That’s kinda like a Foodie.  I LOVE words so I read a lot, pay attention to the writing on TV shows, and take note of online writing in all its forms. But where Foodies can be snobs (eat this, don’t eat that, cook it this way) and certainly don’t promote playing with your food, I believe in having fun – in playing with words. 

Think about it.  Why describe your day as “Good” or even “Fabulous”, when you can say “Fantabulous” and capture more attention?  And who can resist a word like “crap-tastic” that captures the bittersweet essence of life together with a dash of cynicism.

Sometimes you’ve gotta stick to facts, stay professional (and not use non-words like “gotta.”) But when it’s OK to loosen up, have some fun, show some personality.  Say “”fantabuloso” instead of “good”. When you play around with words it makes the listener stop and think. Maybe smile.  Thinking and smiling are good outcomes.

The Internet is responsible for some wonderful (and less-than-wonderful) new words and word mash-ups: netizens (denizens or citizens of the Internet), blog (web log), hashtag (from the hash symbol “#”).  Plus there’s the “–ify” epidemic: Spotify, Hashtagify, and so on. You can change any noun into a verb by adding “ify” at the end.  This trend is getting old, but I like the creativity that started it.

Creativity is at the center of my word play philosophy.  Creative use of words gets attention.  Fun gets attention.  While kids and animals go for any kind of attention (positive or negative), marketers want to get the right kind of attention (positive recognition) from the right people (their prospects).  That takes market knowledge and writing skill.

If you want to add some fun to your marketing writing, contact me for writing, editing or proofreading.