Headlines for News And Headlines for Advertising
Headlines are headlines. They have the purpose of grabbing the attention of the consumer and persuading him/her to read further and even to purchase the newspaper, magazine, or product. Look at the headlines that grab your attention while standing in line at a store and you can model your headlines to do the same.
The Function of the Headline.
Headlines have developed during the last century, next to the article or advertisement itself, as the most important part of our media. From mere labels to indicate the kind of reading matter to be found in the columns under them, headlines in this country have developed into bulletins giving the substance of the articles to which they are attached. By presenting conspicuously in large type the important facts of the article or ad which it precedes, the headline serves a double purpose: it makes possible rapid reading of the copy thus outlined in the head, and it becomes an advertisement in and of itself to attract the purchaser.
Headlines Promote Rapid Reading
As concise summaries of the facts of the news or advertisement headlines fill an important place in contemporary life, for, by reading only the headlines, the busy man or woman can get in brief outline the news of the whole world. But also headlines in advertisements get the bullet points across as the busy consumer skims down to the most important part; the hook. The size of the type and the arrangement of the parts of the headline aid in a marked degree this rapid reading. Well-written heads that give clearly and accurately the information of greatest significance are an integral part of the page.
How Headliness Advertise
By their form and position, likewise, the headlines act as advertisements. Like all good advertisements headlines should create interest and lead to the sale of the product. By arousing the reader's curiosity and at the same time partially satisfying it, the head, when skillfully written, attracts the reader's attention and influences him to read more about the product.
A salesperson that aims to have large sales will naturally take advantage of the advertising element in the heads, by making them as attractive as possible. In fact, the efforts of some salespeople to make the most powerful appeal possible, have led to extreme forms of headlines with great black type, with varicolored effects, animations, sounds and so on. In general, blogs and news sites with regular subscribers are less inclined to employ large heads for advertising than are those that seek to just have large sales from unique visitors. Large heads extending across several columns are well calculated to catch the eye as the visitor arrives at the website or scans the magazines and newspapers at a stand. As in advertising in general there is always a temptation to make alluring statements at the expense of truth, so in headline advertisement there is a tendency to exaggerate and magnify in order to catch the unwary reader.
Large Headlines and " Yellow Journalism."
Since the more sensational papers have taken advantage of this advertising element and have yielded at times to the temptation to exaggerate or even to misrepresent, as is not unheard of in advertising generally, large display effects in headlines have come to be associated in the popular mind with so-called "yellow journalism." The connection between the two is by no means inevitable, however, for large headlines need not be any more sensational or inaccurate than smaller ones, and may legitimately be used to attract attention to the real features of the news. We have all seen these, once again, while standing in line at the store.
Clearness and Conciseness
Regarded as a bulletin of the most important facts, the headline should present these facts in a clear and concise manner. To be clear the form should be one that can be taken in by the eye at a glance. The relation of the divisions, or " decks," of the head should be evident, so that the reader may get a clear idea of the bearing of one statement on another. The statements should be concrete and specific. The limitations of space make it necessary for the headline to be concise so that the maximum number of important facts may be included.
Action in Headlines
As advertisements are largely concerned with activities, headlines should express the action related in the advertisement. In defining oratory Demosthenes said that the three essential elements are: first, "action " ; second, "action " ; and third, " action." The same characteristics may well be ascribed to the most effective headlines. Life and vividness of expression give interest to heads as they do to the advertisement. Freshness and originality of phrasing are also successful provided the uncommon form is clear. Short, crisp, specific words constituting definite statements that can be readily grasped in rapid reading, generally make the best headlines.
Donald [http://www.donomite.com]DonOmite Hammond has been a freelance webdesigner and programmer for over 10 years. He has done marketing of himself and his products as well as customers' products on their websites. DonOmite is the author of a popular e-book [http://www.donomite.com/psychologyofadvertising.html]The Psychology Of Advertising
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