Showing posts with label article. Show all posts
Showing posts with label article. Show all posts

Monday, 9 April 2012

Writing Article Titles Made Simple And Easy

Writing article titles is an art and science in and of itself. The purpose of your title is to make people want to read more, so writing titles is something that you will want to focus on today if you want to have the most success with your article writing efforts. I would know, because I write articles everyday.

You can consider writing titles along to writing headlines. Headlines are the most important part of an article because it will tell the reader whether or not they should continue reading more. When writing titles, be sure to lead with your biggest benefit first. This is the benefit that will compel people to continue reading more.

If you're intending on writing an article for a newspaper, you may want to study a lot of the articles for the newspaper that you're writing for. This will give you a good indication on the style that their looking for. For example, in my local newspaper, a lot of the article titles aren't that long. The max number of words in an article title may be about 5 words, and that's it.

Can you see yourself writing a 5 word title? Many people can, and it is what it is. It all depends on what you're writing about and the relevance that it has to the news story. Writing titles doesn't have to be hard - you just need some background knowledge of what to write about and you will be good to go.

Hopefully you're able to use these tips when writing titles to produce something good.

Good luck with writing article titles.

Friday, 16 December 2011

Writing Great Headlines Made Easy

Do you think it takes magic to write a great headline? Nothing could be further from the truth. It just takes a touch of talent, mixed with a bit of technique. And great writers are highly sought after and highly paid.

The number one rule in copywriting, according to copy legend Joe Sugarman, is every single sentence must compel the reader to read the next sentence. This includes the title. Your heading should make a promise to the reader, and your article should back up that promise.

You want to tap into your reader's emotions. Your writing should be passionate and emotional, taking advantage of their wants, needs and desires. You convey the article's main idea by creating titles that are short and punchy.

You don't have to be funny or creative. In fact, it's actually better if you're not. Your headline should almost never be clever or cute... you'll rarely pull the reader that way. (One of my funniest was Roasted Penguin Tastes So Good It Would Make Gandhi Slap His Kids! It was cute; it was clever; and it failed miserably.)

You'll want to spend some time mastering this ability, as it is an art. Not everyone can successfully craft attractive, eye-catching headings. The good news is that by developing this ability, you'll leave your competition in the dust.

Writing headlines is much like writing a song. In a song, the words must be appealing and in harmony with the music. The same is true in copy. A banner must sing. In other words, it should be in harmony with the story and sound satisfying to the reader.

Short, sweet, and active. That's the sign of a good heading (and good writing, in general.) Say only what is needed to make your point and give a benefit to the reader. Support that point with short, active paragraphs. Promise even more benefits in the body, too.

Getting attention is the main objective of a great heading. Think of it like a pickup line in the clubs... if you don't get slapped it just might get you a few more minutes to tell your story.

You can make a headline funny if you want, but this generally works best offline. People are just not searching for clever headlines; they're searching for information. So create clear, concise, lines rich with the keywords they're using. These are much better. Plus, you get rewarded by Google with higher rankings because you're relevant. And higher rankings is what you're after, right?

Monday, 5 December 2011

Article Writing - Headlines, Your Point of Contact

Where to find that silver bullet that does the job in your article writing, every time? Hunting is an art that includes finding the hang out of your prey, identifying your target, using the right weapon, stalking, taking aim at the heart /mind and firing with a powerful bullet that is sure to hit. Which gives you a clean kill there and then. You only have one shot at it and if you miss you'll have an empty bag. What am I talking about? ...Headlines, your point of contact!

For any writer to be successful they need to perfect the skill in finding that silver bullet that will do the job as a headline. In order to find the right ammunition, you first need to identify your target and see where your prey congregates. This will give you an idea on how to go about sourcing the correct components to suit the circumstance and environment that you are hunting in. This means identifying your topic, category and key words and phrases that best suits your targeted reader. We will presume that articles will be your choice of weapon and your headline is the silver bullet of the perfect caliber.

If you have sourced these first components correctly, then this makes putting these powerful words together far easier. A hunter tries to get into the heart and mind of his prey, learns their habits, preferences, place of feeding and watering. Understands the habitat and finds the best stalking methods to suit the environment. The bullet you chose is important, you don't want to wound your prey and let it get away, nor do you want an over kill.

Article writings most important component is taking careful aim at the heart and mind, by using a headline with powerful words to suit your target.

Monday, 3 October 2011

Article Writing Secret: Hyped-Up Headlines Help Boost Your Article Marketing Success

My clients often want to know how to make their articles stand out from the thousands that already exist in their marketplace. I encourage them to consider using alliteration in their headlines. What's alliteration you say? It's when you use words that all have the same sound. Check out the headline for this story as an example.

Here are a few tips I created to make headline writing a bit easier for you:

Don't force it.
Hey, if it's not there, it's not there. Look for a way to use words that begin with the same sound for a few minutes. If it doesn't come, then go with the old standby, "How to" or "3 Ways to" and move on.

Accompany the headline with an equally clever article.
You finally have a great alliterative headline, now what? You'd better have a funny, amusing or interesting article to back it up. The reader's curiosity is piqued, give him the information you promised in that great headline of yours.

Have a look at other alliterative headlines for inspiration.
Let's face it, these kinds of headlines can be a challenge. To make it easier, consider reading the work of others. Keep your eyes open because these headlines are used everywhere, magazines, newspapers, brochures - keep a file of these gems. It's worth it.



Here are a few from the undisputed kings (and queens) of clever headlines - The New York Post - for more inspiration:

PAYBACK'S A PITCH

MANIC MOB TRACKS THE TIGER [TIGER WOODS]

GANGLAND GALA AT GOTTI GRAVE

SALE SURVIVORS


Alliterate every word? Not so.
Not every word in your headline has to begin with the same sound. Conjunctions and prepositions such as: of, and, or, from get a pass. (Note: There are exceptions to this rule. Sometimes the first few or last few words in a headline have alliteration and all others don't.)

NICOTINE NAZIS ARE ASH-KING FOR IT THIS TIME!

BUGGED BRASS ORDERS JACKO COPS TO HUSH

TIGER BAGS HIS BABE


Don't forget your subheds.
It can be a risky move to use alliteration in your main headline. If it's too much for you, save your creativity for your subheds. This will move your readers through your copy swiftly and effortlessly - with a little flair.

Secondary headlines help, too.
Keep in mind these headlines don't offer a bevy of information. To connect the reader to the article, build a bridge with a secondary headline that clearly spells out what you're going to say. And it's a good idea not to use alliteration in the secondary headline either. Just tell it like it is.

There you have alliteration basics. Spice up your headlines with this bit of writing and watch response rates soar.