The headline plays a crucial role to make the audience want to read a press release. An interesting, relevant and newsworthy headline always gets their attention.
How do you make a headline newsworthy? A well-crafted headline gets more people to read a release. They ignore it if the headline isn’t appealing or it is boring.
However, more journalists and people will read content if it has a catchy and strong headline. Here are more tips to help you learn to write a newsworthy headline:
-
Create a strong headline.
Make the headline interesting and as strong as possible. No one will have the interest to read a release if the headline is boring and irrelevant for the audience.
Offer a unique angle that would generate interest. Include primary keywords in the first few words to give them a hint of what the content is all about.
Avoid buzzwords, adjectives, clichés, and industry jargon. You don’t want to give them a different message.
Think of a great headline that you yourself would find it interesting to read. The message should be clear in the headline. You want to make sure that it offers value.
You also want to make sure that you use power words and active voice. It makes the headline more powerful and enticing for the audience.
-
Provide a unique angle.
As mentioned, think of a unique angle. Write a headline that is not seen yet by your readers.
Make it unique that they will have the urge to read it. Before writing, think of the key message of your content.
From there, pick the most important and relevant. Craft the headline based on the main message.
As much as possible, think outside the box. While providing value, you want to make sure that the angle would pique the interest of the media.
You should know their viewpoint. You can relate to a trending issue. It works.
-
Make it SEO-friendly.
The headline must be optimized for the search engines. It is the best thing that you can do to make your content highly visible on the internet.
Use relevant keywords to make it appealing and search-friendly at the same time. You can use keyword tools available online to search for the most appropriate keywords that have high search volume and low competition.
You want to use these tools that can help you in analyzing the right search terms for your content. Using the wrong keywords can hinder your visibility in the search result.
Use keywords that your target audience is using to find content like yours. This is the most relevant search term that you can use.
Make sure to include it within the first three words. This gives readers a clue that they found the content that they are searching for.
-
Right context.
The headline should provide the message that you’re sharing in your content. If it is not in sync with the content, readers will surely be turned off according to the editors of Open Sky News.
They will be discouraged to continue reading. The worst is that they will remember you. Audiences don’t like brands that don’t prove their promises.
The headline and the content should have the same context. Always make your release smooth flowing from the headline down to the end.
If the headline and the body of the release don’t have the same context, readers can notice it and would surely be turned off. It is highly important that there is a smooth flow of ideas from the title to the bottom.
-
Follow the right length of the headline.
Headlines are indexed by Google in the search results. Make sure that your headline is between the length of 60 and 80 characters, including spaces.
Google cuts off headlines that go beyond the required length. Press release distribution sites follow a different length. Usually, they accept longer headlines like between 100 and 125 characters. This is something that you should consider when crafting headlines.
Writing a lengthy headline can result in audiences missing the real message. Before you finalized the headline, consider the 65-character long to make it safe before the search engines index it.
If you find it hard to craft a short and concise headline, observe how newspaper headlines are written. This should give you an idea about how you can craft it.
-
Answer who cares?
When crafting headlines, you need to address the question, “Who cares?” Who is going to benefit from the announcement?
Whom are you targeting? What some marketers fail to realize is that they write headlines, without a clear indication of their target audience.
Define your market persona. Before writing a release, you should have a guide of who your ideal audience is.
Study your target audience’s needs, behavior, buying decisions, and preferences. When you can answer these questions, you can clearly include your audience in the headline.
People will click on a story when they know that they can benefit from it. If they aren’t the target, they can quickly share the content to let others benefit from it.
A newsworthy headline defines who the target audience is. It is clear and
-
Include enticing facts.
Include interesting key facts in the headline to attract the reader’s attention. Don’t overwhelm readers by including the 5W’s and H right away in the headline.
Choose one of two key facts. Then trim it to one and include it in the headline.
Make it enticing as possible as it makes the story attractive for the readers. It also enhances the story to make it memorable.
Dry and boring headlines usually don’t include interesting facts. As a result, audiences are not going to read it.
Your purpose is to make it attractive for the readers. If it sounds plain and simple, offer
-
Use numbers.
Does your story make use of numbers, data, or statistics? If yes, then highlight it in the headline. Several studies have shown that people are naturally attracted to numbers because it gives them a message that something in the content is really important.
Here are some tips on how you can use numbers effectively in the headline:
Use Arabic numbers. Don’t spell it out. Readers want to get it straight than spend time reading the number.
Start the headline with numbers than putting it inside the headline.
Make sure that the number you promised in the headline is the number that you include in the content. For example, if your headline is “10 Tips to Write a Compelling Press Headline,” the content should have 10 tips to offer.
-
Use an active voice.
Headlines must be written using the active voice. It is a simple and more direct way of conveying the message.
The active voice clearly defines the doer of the action. This makes a sentence easy to understand. This is the main reason why it is preferred by writers and editors.
When used in writing a release, an active voice makes sentences shorter and sharper. Active voice in the headline helps readers visualize the message clearly.
It is important in presenting complex ideas because it becomes convincing, short, and clear. It appears that the writer is in control of the story, which helps readers to quickly trust what you are trying to say. Moreover, active voice creates a big impact, so using it in the headline makes it powerful and resounding.
-
Use a question.
You can use a question in the headline as readers want to know how their questions can be answered. Asking questions can motivate people to think and spark their curiosity. This can trigger them to click and continue reading your content.
Follow these tips when you want to use questions in the headline:
- Avoid asking apparent questions. If you are asking a question that can be readily answered or can be searched on Google, it isn’t going to work. No one will have the interest to click on a story if they already know the answer.
- Don’t ask questions that can be answered by “no.” If you asked something that could be answered by “no,” audiences are surely not going to click to the story.
- Use “why” questions. It is one way to encourage the audience to click because it raises their curiosity. They are convinced to think first before reading it.
- Provide a question and answer in the headline. It is one method to invite readers to click and read further.
- Ask questions that don’t provide answers. It is one way to raise awareness of audiences. It encourages them to think and provide their own insights.
Remember these tips when writing a newsworthy headline to ensure that content will be picked up by the media. A well-written headline that provides value has a higher click through and shares.
Headlines must offer value to the readers. Avoid making it a sales or promotional pitch. Writing a newsworthy headline increases the chance that audiences will read and act on the call-to-action.
Focus on the benefits that your offer provides rather than its features or your brand. Prove that you know and understand their needs, behavior, and preferences. Doing this will help improve their trust.
