5 Headline Writing Lessons From Print Media

Guest Post by James Adams

Bloggers like to think that they are a completely different species of journalists. After all, very few bloggers had to earn or even apply for their positions. This means that they also tend to shy away from the use of traditional journalism techniques. Writing styles vary from blog to blog and even between posts. One thing that bloggers cannot afford to ignore is the power of a strongly developed headline.

For centuries, traditional journalists have worked to develop artful headlines that capture the attention of readers in just a few seconds, making them want to read the article that follows. In the age of the internet, the purpose of headlines hasnt changed. It makes sense that regardless of the type of media, someone writing a journalistic piece would want to follow the techniques that are already proven to work.

Here are 5 headline writing Lessons from print media that every blogger should be considering in order to be successful.

1.) Keep Headlines Short:
Print journalists are required to use short headlines of ten words or less for most publications because there is a limited amount of space in which to print the headline. The internet is limitless, right? This doesnt mean your headline should be.

Content consumers are used to traditional journalism and whether they realize it or not, they are looking for a style that is familiar whether they are reading blog posts or magazine articles. They make certain allowances for blog posts, but a long title will get you less attention than a short and concise one.

In addition to the length of the headline, consider the words that you are using as well. Small words stick in your readers mind. Active words stick out more than passive words. Choose your words carefully when crafting your next headline.

If you want to take a look at how you can write short headlines, consider the option of checking out Twitter. Tweets are limited to 140 characters, but there are some people who have mastered the art of getting their point across with even less than that.

2.) Write Headlines with Purpose:
If your headline is misleading or it does not give readers a true sense of what your post is about, they will make a note. When you write a headline, you should use it to tell readers how to react to the content they are about to read. Do you want them to learn something? Do you want them to take some action? You have the power to set their expectations before you write a single word of your post, just by using a short headline with a call to action.

3.) Use Numbers in Your Headlines:
The most effective tool in headline writing is using a number. Seeing a number in a headline will indicate to readers that what follows will be a list. A list means digestible content and it means quick reading. Read over your posts once you write them and see if you can get a number into your headline one way or another.

4.) Watch Magazine covers:
Magazine cover editors are masters at developing catchy headlines that grab the attention of millions of people every week. If these headlines didnt catch peoples attention, the magazine would not sell nearly as many copies. Often, the actual title of the article will be different from the one on the cover, but the cover headline caught their attention enough to get them turning pages.

5.) Ask a Question:
The easiest way to get someones attention is to ask them a question. Just think about how you act in a conversation that is starting to lag. You ask a question of the other person and let the conversation build up based upon their answer. When you are writing a headline, keep this in mind. If you can raise an interesting question to your readers, they will look to your post for answers. Sometimes, they will answer the question and then read the blog post to figure out if there is another perspective they could consider.

Hopefully, these five ideas for crafting the perfect headline will get you thinking about how you can use them to grab your readers attention quickly and get them coming back for more. There are many blogs out there, and when you want to stand out among the rest, you have just a few seconds to get people to come to your site. Be provocative in your headlines and you will see that readers really cannot resist checking out what you have to say.

among the rest, you have just a few seconds to get people to come to your site. Be provocative in your headlines and you will see that readers really cannot resist checking out what you have to say.