Many wire services allow headlines with up to about 115 characters. Google will cut off the headline after 65 to 80 characters.
Once you’ve tackled these steps, see if you can make the headline shorter. Include the company name to detail further the topic of the press release.Consider whether you can add a surprise element that informs the reader of something they didn’t know ask yourself what is new, different or remarkable about the news.Decide whether you can add any relevant, eye-catching statistics.Ask yourself whether the headline portrays a popular trend, addresses a controversy or introduces a new insight these elements will make it pop.Use a thesaurus to find power words that replace some of the weaker terms or phrases.Make sure that you write in the active voice.Some other things to do after you’ve narrowed down your headline options include: You might combine two or more of the headlines that you brainstormed to make them more useful. Who cares about the news that the headline delivers?Ĭontinue to fine-tune your headline based on the answers to these questions.If you were reading the headline with no background knowledge, would you have any questions about its meaning?.Does the headline paint a picture of your entire story?.Does the headline have fewer than 20 words?.Once you’ve created several headlines, ask yourself the following questions:ĭoes the headline sound like something that you’d read on the front page of the newspaper? During this brainstorming phase, don’t worry about being perfect. Challenge yourself to craft at least 10 to 20 headlines before you settle on the perfect one. You’ll be better able to sum up your story in a few words after you’ve written all the details.ĭon’t go with the first headline that you write down. This strategy is not the best way to go about writing a headline.Įven though the headline is the first thing that people will read, it should be the last thing that you write when putting together your press release. You end up hammering it out and moving on to the body of the press release. You’re staring at a blank document on the computer, trying to come up with a concise, specific, punchy headline. If journalists must think too hard about whether they should read further, they’ll probably scrap your piece. Being too clever, vague or open-ended weakens the impact.
Readers should get the point of the story just by looking at the headline. If you want to make your headline effective, ensure that it’s specific and to the point. Maybe the headline was overlooked because it wasn’t that enticing.Ī bad headline can send your press release directly to the trash bin, and you’ll never know what happened. Many people think that their story didn’t get picked up because it wasn’t exciting or newsworthy enough. Your headline must invite them in so that they catch the lead paragraph, which can solidify their decision to run the story. Moreover, journalists only spend about one minute reading every press release. In a world where only about 20 percent of people read a story after glancing at the headline, your headline must grab attention. The headline is the entry point to your press release. That’s the power that your press release headline must-have. How many of them do you delete? If you’re like most people, most of your emails go unread unless they’re from a personal contact.Įvery once in awhile, though, a subject line will capture your attention. Think about what happens when you scroll through the subject lines in your email. That’s even truer when it comes to press releases. You already know that there’s power in first impressions.
#Clever headline to attract attention download#
Keep your headline objective, free from personal opinions, and free from generalizations.įree Download – The Advanced Headline Checklist Frequently Asked Questions What Is a Headline?Ī headline is the first thing that journalists, editors, and your audience will read when they see your press release. When talking about “fluffy” headlines, this just refers to subjective words that bloat a headline. However, if you’re working on a story about YumYumBeenz Edible Coffee Cups and your headline suggests life-or-death scenarios, perhaps you’ve ventured a bit far into sensationalist territory. What’s more, this is a news release, not an end-product news story: leave the sensationalizing to journalists.ĭon’t get me wrong: if you have a factually accurate headline that’s going to turn heads, run with it! Sensationalist headlines are shocking! Exciting! Scandalous! Which is great, except they’re often wildly inaccurate as well.Īvoid derailing a story’s accuracy (and thus your legitimacy as a newsmaker) just to generate a little interest and frenzy. Headline Things to Avoid AVOID: Sensationalism
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