How Do You Stack Up

Chris, this is a real fresh perspective. To be honest.. I pretty well suck at writing headlines. Tonight I checked out an interview that Trey Pennington did with author Sam Horn. His niche is helping others make their content pop. Good stuff. I guess the biggest issue I have with the science of copywriting is that it all seems very cliche. List posts, linkbait, the biggest secret to this, the revolutionized process of that… a bit too inflamed and cliche for me.

Last year I wrote a post titled “How to get a landslide of Retweets” To be totally honest it was more of a joke than anything but it landed me a landslide of retweets. I remember hearing Chris Penn talk about creating headlines and copy that sells and attracts. His comment was that you would think much less of humanity when you see what people fall for and click on.

When I write I guess I write from the heart but if fewer people read it then you are doing yourself and them a disservice. I try to find a balance.

Now lemme see, I need to write a good article, I need to put on a catchy headline, I need to promote my articles on Facebook and Twitter, not to forget FriendFeed, I need to gift my Twitter followers everyday with precious tweets, I need to….aaarrrrghhh, the list keeps on increasing everyday man. Morale of the story, if you feel that you are being made to socialize online, then probably “make money online” or blogging is not your kinda stuff. You should try something suitable for the soft hearted, like maybe playing guitar on the sidewalk. I guess even that needs quite a dedication.

Chris

I pretty much feel as Keith does about my headline writing abilities. I am rebuilding the blog and in doing so get to see 6 months worth of headlines. Some I find myself scratching my head wondering what I was thinking but that is a sign of growth. The more posts, the more you learn and can be come better at it. I tend to read a lot of blogs each day (or try to) and I do notice the headline but not in how it got me to read but how it was written and ties to the article. That does seem to help with getting better.

You know, Chris, to be honest…I've always thought your titles could be improved upon. But, strangely, I view that as a testament to the actual quality of your work. People don't care what the hell the title is, they want to read your content no matter what!

That's a great tip to go browse others' titles on Alltop for ideas/inspiration. Where else can you find so many topical titles in one place?

Instead of a headline that says, “hey, look at me”, always strive for “here's something of great value to you”.

And you probably want to put “Anna Undercover” *after* the titles so that the different titles have room in mobile browsers. : )

Lawrence, KS? I think I'll be there in April for an event.

Nice reminder. My tendency is to write the post and then slap on the headline almost as an afterthought. This is Bass Ackwards for course – especially if you come from a newspaper background where the headline is the story (and there are writers who do nothing but write these – or at least there used to be).

An old teacher back in the day used to have her own litmus test for headlines: how would they read on a T-Shirt? Would it be provocative enough as a stand alone?

On the contrary, I find it's often useful to write the headline after a blog post. Many times, an idea isn't fully developed at the beginning and conclusions and key points are drawn during the process. Stewing over the headline first and trying to get your writing to fit within the confines of the headline can be limiting, especially if you really love the headline.

Considering I write about insurance, headlines are critical just to avoid the perception or boringness.

Hi Chris – what a great idea.

I'm writing a post for a renewable energy blog I look after / write for on a daily basis which will publish on Monday – basically, it's a list of the headlines I've used during January (with links to each post) and asks the readers what caught their eye and whether they feel the topics covered are a good spread or they'd like to see more (or less) of certain topics.

Here's the blog url itself: http://solarpanelquoter.blogspot.com – keep an eye out on monday won't you?

Thanks for the continued inspiration Chris.

Jonathan.

I expected my headlines to leave a lot to be desired but surprisingly they weren't too bad — often better than the post itself (which means they were a bit misleading, I suppose, though not deliberately).

One thing I did notice with a few of them was that they were quite locally focused and with the geographic spread of my visitors, I'm sure many were uninformed about the background (though I think some of the links I had would have provided that).

So that brings up a question: even if it is within the scope of your blog, should you be local if your audience is from all over the place? On one hand, we're told local (even hyper-local) is a big deal for building audiences (at least with news). On the other, it strikes me that someone in Omaha isn't likely to find something about New Brunswick, Canada terribly compelling.

A check against Alltop's list is valuable. I like comparison and reading other bloggers' tips. Still, I am an experiential type of guy. I'll touch the fire to see if it is as “hot” as people say. My blogs are works in progress, so I don't mind using them to learn. The good news, Chris? I am proving that your tips work. ;-]

Very well put! It's that learning process that separates those who will succeed from those who won't.

Most copywriters will tell you the same thing. Work on the headline after you've written the article.

Thanks Chris, We do get too much involved in our own work to stop and think what we are really doing. At least that is what I realize of myself right now.

Thanks Chris..this is definitely important to think about, as writing for blogs is different that writing a “term paper”! We are geared today for “impact and brevity” You get 140 characters and 2.7 seconds to get my attention: the new bar for engaging readers it seems. What's interesting for me is it isn't always consistent with what I think is engaging and what actually is to readers? So, I continue to post and learn. Ultimately, it's about what adds value to my world and what I can share with my sphere of interest. One of my biggest headline responders was “Johnny Depp leaves Five Thousand Dollar Tip”. Go figure!!

If you want great headlines, hire a newspaper copyeditor! These folks are the funniest, wittiest most devious people I have ever worked with and I say with with the highest praise and awe. Great Alltop tip. I've been using that ever since Alltop came out. Thanks for giving away the secret :-) (BTW, the topic Dogs is STILL not there.. we have to be under Pets with cats and birds.. )

Great headlines are ok, but the byline is still the bigger draw. It's just a fact. Chris and I can write the same headline, but his will get clicked on tens of thousands of times more than mine.

Testing is also important. When tweeting out a new blog post, tweet out under a few different headlines and see what draws more. Then, change it if the first one does not test well. And write the headline after writing the blog post. Sometimes, the post takes a different turn as you write; I know mine do… What was I saying??

Ivan I agree about writing the content first. BBC do have great headlines but the Americans just seem to be able to top us all. It's seems like an in built ability they are born with.

Chris you no longer need headlines, I anticipate you content everyday. However, thanks for expanding the minds and thinking of us who with your input are making headway into our marketing businesses. Keep it coming Chris, with or without headlines.

I love your last sentence, Keith, because I'm the same way. I strive to write things of substance that push for growth and conversation. But if it's hard for people to find, read, and share, then how can that growth and conversation continue?

Definitely a delicate balance between salesy, flashy headlines and headlines that are more subtle and “clever”. I wonder if we'll ever find that balance exactly!

Am still considering putting the blog name after the entry titles. I have liked it in this format:

Anna Undercover: Catchy Entry Title

http://www.footwearclothes.com
Lacoste shoes
Gucci jeans
Fendi handbags
Lacoste shoes

http://www.footwearclothes.com
Juicy handbags
LV handbags
$45/pcs hot forsell