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.
Showing posts with label article writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label article writing. Show all posts
Monday, 9 April 2012
Monday, 27 February 2012
Article Writing - Get Inspiration For Topics By Reading Magazine Headlines
If you're writing articles to submit to article directories, or to add content to your home page or blog, you're probably in constant search for new ideas to write about.
One that works great is by checking the headlines on articles in your niche. Go to your nearest shopping center, and take a look at the magazines there. Or you can find them online, perhaps. See, what they are talking about, and get inspiration for articles, you can write yourself.
If you're in the weight loss business, you can probably find a large number of articles talking about how to lose weight. You should have enough knowledge about your niche to write your own article, solely inspired by the headline.
Also, a great way to find inspiration for your article titles are the headlines, the magazines use. You should know that these are designed to be eye-catching and selling. So if you can twist them around to suit your own use, you'll have a great headline for your article.
This doesn't necessarily have to be headlines from within your niche. You can substitute a word or two, and make it your own, in a totally different niche.
That way: "How To Lose Weight In Eight Simple Steps" could end up being "How To Get Your Ex Back In Eight Simple Steps", or whatever you're writing about.
When you're writing your article, you should obviously not copy the headline word by word. You should only use it for inspiration. If the magazine headline is "How To Lose Weight With Yoga", you could write an article titled "Weight Loss - Is Yoga Your Solution?" Just use the main idea as inspiration.
When you have the main idea, and if you don't know exactly what to write, you can do a search online. Find three sources, and skim through the articles. Search for the main points in these three sources, and write them down in your own words.
Now you should have enough to write a full article. Just start with an introduction to the subject, and write what you're about to write about. Tell the reader that they'll learn more about these three main points.
Then write a paragraph for each of the three main points. If you need a conclusion, you can do a resume, and tell the reader what you just told him.
There you go - you have your article written and done.
One that works great is by checking the headlines on articles in your niche. Go to your nearest shopping center, and take a look at the magazines there. Or you can find them online, perhaps. See, what they are talking about, and get inspiration for articles, you can write yourself.
If you're in the weight loss business, you can probably find a large number of articles talking about how to lose weight. You should have enough knowledge about your niche to write your own article, solely inspired by the headline.
Also, a great way to find inspiration for your article titles are the headlines, the magazines use. You should know that these are designed to be eye-catching and selling. So if you can twist them around to suit your own use, you'll have a great headline for your article.
This doesn't necessarily have to be headlines from within your niche. You can substitute a word or two, and make it your own, in a totally different niche.
That way: "How To Lose Weight In Eight Simple Steps" could end up being "How To Get Your Ex Back In Eight Simple Steps", or whatever you're writing about.
When you're writing your article, you should obviously not copy the headline word by word. You should only use it for inspiration. If the magazine headline is "How To Lose Weight With Yoga", you could write an article titled "Weight Loss - Is Yoga Your Solution?" Just use the main idea as inspiration.
When you have the main idea, and if you don't know exactly what to write, you can do a search online. Find three sources, and skim through the articles. Search for the main points in these three sources, and write them down in your own words.
Now you should have enough to write a full article. Just start with an introduction to the subject, and write what you're about to write about. Tell the reader that they'll learn more about these three main points.
Then write a paragraph for each of the three main points. If you need a conclusion, you can do a resume, and tell the reader what you just told him.
There you go - you have your article written and done.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Article Writing Tips - Find Out the Reason Why Many Writers Have Weak Headlines
Why is it so many article writers out there suffer from weak headlines? There are actually a few main reasons this problem exists. These include:
· They don't realize the importance of headlines
· Don't know how to work their keywords into an attention-grabbing headline
· Focus so hard on the article, they skip the headline
· Not a lot of experience writing headlines
· Afraid catchy headlines will be "too much" or "over the top"
The thing about article headlines is that a little bit of sensationalism is sometimes needed to get the attention of the reader. Because there is so much content on the Internet, you need to stand out some way. Bland, boring article headlines will get overlooked for something catchier even if the article itself is not as good.
Now that you know the reasons why so many writers have weak headlines, it's time to learn how to improve it yourself. It's easy to improve your headlines when you identify why you have the problem. Consider the reasons above and which ones apply to you.
Now what can you do about it? You now know that headlines are as important as your article content itself. So now you just need to learn how to write great ones. Article headline templates can be one way to start doing this until you learn to do it well on your own.
You can use these templates and then just fill in the blanks for your subject and keywords. This will then make the article headline apply to your specific article. After time of doing this regularly, you will start tweaking these templates to your own attention-grabbing headlines.
· They don't realize the importance of headlines
· Don't know how to work their keywords into an attention-grabbing headline
· Focus so hard on the article, they skip the headline
· Not a lot of experience writing headlines
· Afraid catchy headlines will be "too much" or "over the top"
The thing about article headlines is that a little bit of sensationalism is sometimes needed to get the attention of the reader. Because there is so much content on the Internet, you need to stand out some way. Bland, boring article headlines will get overlooked for something catchier even if the article itself is not as good.
Now that you know the reasons why so many writers have weak headlines, it's time to learn how to improve it yourself. It's easy to improve your headlines when you identify why you have the problem. Consider the reasons above and which ones apply to you.
Now what can you do about it? You now know that headlines are as important as your article content itself. So now you just need to learn how to write great ones. Article headline templates can be one way to start doing this until you learn to do it well on your own.
You can use these templates and then just fill in the blanks for your subject and keywords. This will then make the article headline apply to your specific article. After time of doing this regularly, you will start tweaking these templates to your own attention-grabbing headlines.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Article Marketing Tips - Writing "How To" Headlines
When you're writing articles for article marketing, you need to put some serious thought into your title (or headline). Yes, your title is an important part of your article, as it is often the only opportunity you have to grab a reader's attention and lure them into reading your entire article.
Your headline should clearly tell what your article is about, and it should be eye catching to a reader who is looking for information on your topic. Remember, your article title is competing with many other article titles on similar topics--take some extra time to brainstorm different headlines and pick the one that you think will stand out in the crowd.
Some of the most popular articles on the web are "How To" articles. A "How To" article simply teaches the reader how to do something related to the author's niche.
Writing "How To" articles is pretty straight forward, but did you know that there are several different types of "How To" headlines that you can play around with?
Let's go over the major ones:
1 - The headline that conveys a benefit. For example:
"How to collect stamps" (Benefit: learning to collect stamps)
"How to scale a fish" (Benefit: knowing how to scale a fish)
"How to run a marathon" (Benefit: learning how to run a marathon")
These titles are very simple and no frills, but they work. They very clearly state what the article is about and the benefit that the reader will receive from reading the article. I don't think you can go wrong with the classic benefit stating how-to headline.
2 - The double benefit headline. For example:
"How To Win Friends and Influence People"
"How To Declutter Your Office and Organize Your Desk"
"How To Save Money and Experience True Wealth"
If one benefit is good, then two are better, right? Well, sometimes. Look at your topic and see if the double benefit title might be appropriate. Or, come up with a double benefit title, and then write an article to go along with it.
3 - How To [your topic] that [benefit]
Some examples using this title template:
"How To Find A Job That Gives 5 Months Vacation A Year"
"How To Plan A Budget That Will Decrease Your Spending By Half"
You might not have thought about this type of title before, but just try coming up with some makeshift topic/benefit titles on your subject matter. You can use the titles to inspire the articles.
4 - Just use "How"...
Sometimes the "to" part is not necessary. Try cutting straight to the point with a "How" headline:
"How I got washboard abs while still eating pizza and chocolate"
"How I improved my productivity by working less"
Or try making your title more personal (for the reader) by using "you" instead of "I":
"How you can get washboard abs while still eating pizza and chocolate"
"How you can improve your productivity by working less"
What do you think? Will you try these on your next articles?
I bet you never imagined that there were so many different types of "How To" titles to choose from. I encourage you to experiment with each one of these different headlines--sometimes the title gives you the idea for the article!
Your headline should clearly tell what your article is about, and it should be eye catching to a reader who is looking for information on your topic. Remember, your article title is competing with many other article titles on similar topics--take some extra time to brainstorm different headlines and pick the one that you think will stand out in the crowd.
Some of the most popular articles on the web are "How To" articles. A "How To" article simply teaches the reader how to do something related to the author's niche.
Writing "How To" articles is pretty straight forward, but did you know that there are several different types of "How To" headlines that you can play around with?
Let's go over the major ones:
1 - The headline that conveys a benefit. For example:
"How to collect stamps" (Benefit: learning to collect stamps)
"How to scale a fish" (Benefit: knowing how to scale a fish)
"How to run a marathon" (Benefit: learning how to run a marathon")
These titles are very simple and no frills, but they work. They very clearly state what the article is about and the benefit that the reader will receive from reading the article. I don't think you can go wrong with the classic benefit stating how-to headline.
2 - The double benefit headline. For example:
"How To Win Friends and Influence People"
"How To Declutter Your Office and Organize Your Desk"
"How To Save Money and Experience True Wealth"
If one benefit is good, then two are better, right? Well, sometimes. Look at your topic and see if the double benefit title might be appropriate. Or, come up with a double benefit title, and then write an article to go along with it.
3 - How To [your topic] that [benefit]
Some examples using this title template:
"How To Find A Job That Gives 5 Months Vacation A Year"
"How To Plan A Budget That Will Decrease Your Spending By Half"
You might not have thought about this type of title before, but just try coming up with some makeshift topic/benefit titles on your subject matter. You can use the titles to inspire the articles.
4 - Just use "How"...
Sometimes the "to" part is not necessary. Try cutting straight to the point with a "How" headline:
"How I got washboard abs while still eating pizza and chocolate"
"How I improved my productivity by working less"
Or try making your title more personal (for the reader) by using "you" instead of "I":
"How you can get washboard abs while still eating pizza and chocolate"
"How you can improve your productivity by working less"
What do you think? Will you try these on your next articles?
I bet you never imagined that there were so many different types of "How To" titles to choose from. I encourage you to experiment with each one of these different headlines--sometimes the title gives you the idea for the article!
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