Many writers — including journalists and bloggers — focus a lot of energy on crafting catchy headlines. After all, headlines are what bring readers in to view an article, advertisement or social media post. It’s one of the most critical parts of news writing — and it can be hard to do well.
Often, stories get more than one headline. Some go through a full-scale digital buildout that features photos, quotes and other visual elements. But even with that extra work, it can be difficult to make a story stand out in its short form. This is especially true of online news, where people can make a snap judgment about whether to read an entire article based on a single headline.
To help entice readers, try using impact words and benefits in your headlines. These will signal to readers that the article they are about to read is worth their time.
Other headline-making tips include using active phrasing rather than passive. This helps engage the reader and also makes your headline more scannable. Generally, you want to avoid using pronouns (a, an, the) and definite articles in your headlines; stick with indefinite articles instead.
For long headlines, try going “long” wherever truncation isn’t an issue (like in
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