Got Great Headlines?

We’ve all seen the headline in the paper or online that immediately grabs you by the lapels and draws you into a story. Nevermind the quality of the story, writing great headlines is a skill good writers practice and hone. With so many articles vying for attention, we’ve got to find a way to draw in the audiences.

Here are a couple tips on writing headlines that will draw in readers:

1. Create controversy. Getting readers riled up isn’t all that bad, some issues will create mixed feelings and will serve as a lightning rod for companies or issues. The key to putting out this kind of message is that you need to be ready for the backlash and be able to manage the story as much as possible. In this case the proof is in the pudding, 113 comments in the first 5 hours the story has been online.



2. Write something shocking. The next example says it all.



3. Just be creative. Whether it’s using a tongue twister, funny or a variation on a cliche, whatever, the bottom line is to grab the reader’s attention.

I think you get the point. Good headlines get readers, the fact is, more people will read your headline and lead paragraph than the article. Writing catchy, eye-grabbing headlines increases the chances readers will pick your article over another.

Seen any good headlines lately? Post the URL or headline in the comments.

Happy Earth Day (Late)

Many companies (including a few of our own clients) slanted environmental news for release on April 22, Earth Day.

One announcement that caught my attention was the launch of the Patagonia Footprint Chronicles Web site.

The site highlights 5 of the company’s newest products with interviews and photos from the factory and to the finished product. Beyond providing a transparent view of “friendly business practices” the company says it hopes to encourage thought and discussion. Something they term “learning out loud.”

What I like the most about this move is that Patagonia puts a lot of information out there. They give what they call “the good” and “the bad,” each section highlighting what they know they are doing right and where they need to improve.

SEO PR Efforts DO Get Results!

The use of Internet search engines has become so pervasive, so matter-of-fact, that top public relations and communications professionals are blending Search Engine Optimization strategies and tactics with PR efforts.

Successfully deployed, these SEO PR tactics help create greater relevance for a product, service and/or company within the proprietary algorithms used by search engines (Google and Yahoo! being the most prominent) and produce a higher “organic” ranking for the particular words, terms and/topics. (In this context, organic ranking refers to a non-paid ranking or listing that occurs naturally.)

Hence, the savvy PR pro will sprinkle critical SEO terms and words within news releases and other PR materials. And just to be clear about this, this concept is just one SEO PR tactic that will help increase one’s results/rankings on the Internet.

Does it work? You bet.

How do I know?

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ZDNet’s Krigsman is Correct: I.T. DOES Lose Credibility by Speaking in Technical Jargon

Michael Krigsman, driving force behind ZDNet’s IT Project Failures blog, nailed it yesterday when he wrote, “Is IT becoming extinct?”

In one of seven points he makes as to why he believes that the average Information Technology department is headed for death’s door, he writes,

“IT loses credibility by speaking in technical jargon . . .”

Michael Krigsman, “Is IT becoming extinct?” ZDNet, 3-23-08

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Royale Energy Lands the First Sad Betty Award for its Most Recent News Release

There are a couple of questions in life you never want to answer, such as

• Does this dress make me look fat?
• Have you made that appointment yet for your prostate exam?
• You paid how much for that?

Well . . . I’ve got another question to add to the list. It’s

• What do you think of our news release?

Unfortunately, Royale Energy (NASDAQ: ROYL) has just landed the first Sad Betty Award for its January 11, 2008 news release. In my opinion, this is probably one of the most confusing and most awkwardly written announcements I have ever read.

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Politis Pointer #7: Sometimes Circumstances Require a Longer Headline

Although the post below did not run originally as a Politis Pointer (when it first ran on DavidPolitis.com on February 2, 2007), I believe it’s worth re-posting here as part of The Betty Factor. Truth be told, sometimes you have to write a longer headline.

So with minor edits, here’s the original post.

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However, Sometimes Circumstances Require a Longer Headline

Notwithstanding Malcolm Atherton’s comment in our recent training meeting about the rule to keep headlines in news releases short in length, the truth is that sometimes reality trumps the rules. Here’s a case in point.

One of our clients at Politis Communications, HandHeld Entertainment (now ZVUE), notified us the other day that it was going to be adding a new “outside” member to its board of directors. Obviously, adding a board member is significant news, so we began drafting up a release.

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Politis Pointer #6: Shorter Headlines are Best

On February 1, 2007, the post below originally appeared on DavidPolitis.com. Although not officially a Politis Pointer in the original form, I believe it is worth including here as a Politis Pointer.

So with minor exceptions, here is Politis Pointer #6.

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Shorter Headlines are Always Best

This was just one of the “loud and clear” messages that struck home in a recent training meeting with Business Wire’s Malcolm Atherton at the Politis Communications offices.

To be specific, news release headlines eight words long was deemed the ideal length. Such length was best for several reasons, Atherton explained.

1. Shorter headlines improve results in SEO efforts (Search Engine Optimization).
2. Shorter headlines have greater impact with readers as there is less to read.
3. Shorter headlines don’t get truncated in returned search results. (Both Google and Yahoo! only include the first 50 or so characters of a headline in the returned summary result; everything else is cut-off in the summary.)
4. Shorter headlines force writers to truly understand the thrust of a release, boiling the content down to the absolute essence — the core of what is needed — no more, no less.

TIP:

A simple lesson then. When in doubt, shorter headlines are best for news releases.

Politis Pointer #5: PR & the Bottom Line

Although not labeled originally on DavidPolitis.com as a Politis Pointer on January 22, 2007, the post below definitely fits the bill.

So . . . with some modifications, here are some thoughts on the relationship between public relations and an organization’s bottom line.

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When I began my first professional job in public relations in January 1984 at Tycer-Fultz-Bellack in Palo Alto, California (then the largest high-tech ad/pr agency west of the Mississippi River), we had to write or type our news releases by hand and then give them to a secretary who would get them “word processed” for us.

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Politis Pointer #3: Misspellings by Journalists?

The Politis Pointer below was originally published on July 8, 2006 on DavidPolitis.com. It is re-purposed below with minor edits.

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So what should you do if you find your name (or your company name or a product/service name) misspelled in an article or editorial?

Simple, tell the author. That’s it? Yeah, that’s it.

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Politis Pointer #2: Sending Unsolicited Emails

This Politis Pointer first ran on June 16, 2006 on DavidPolitis.com. It is re-purposed below with a few minor changes.

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Back to this same unsolicited email I received yesterday (6/16/06) from a job applicant, included in the To field were email addresses for 15 different companies, some of which are direct competitors of Politis Communications.

Nope, I’m not kidding. And in reviewing the addresses, it’s clear that this job applicant did a bit of Web digging/scraping and came up with potential employment email addresses. These included addresses beginning with contact@, employment@, info@ and resumes@.

Naturally, since I felt a lot of personal attention from this job applicant I had a lot of interest towards this person. NOT!

TIP:

If you’re going to send an unsolicited job application/inquiry to a company,

• take the time to identify a real person inside the company, and

• email that person directly.