How to write Headlines for Gun Blogs.

Headlines or post titles are the bread and butter of blogging, without them people will not read what you write no matter how well you wrote it. So how do you write those pesky headlines?

1. The “Who” and “What.” Suppose you see this headline in a newspaper: “Police: Gun-carrying passerby ‘did noble thing’ halting Mpls. store robbery.” Not bad, but it’s a little too long. That’s why I wrote: Minneapolis Gun Owner Saves Muslim Shopkeeper.
It’s short, it’s sweet, it’s not something you see every day.
2. The “New” and “Free”:  As a copywriter I can tell you there are no more powerful words than new and free. Think about it, who doesn’t want to read: New Ways to Pay Credit Card Debt, The New Nissan Altima, New Music from Justin Bieber, Free Money for College, Free German Lessons, Free Trip to Hawaii. I think you get the picture.

3. The How Headline: Who doesn’t want to know how to do something? In the 1960s, a famous pen company published an advertisement with the words “How to Write a Love Letter.” The ad itself was an interesting piece of the do’s and don’ts’, it wasn’t addy, it was newsworthy, informative, and that’s the kind of thing that brings traffic to your blog and keeps them coming back for more.

4. The Rhyme Headline: Suppose you’re blogging on Justin Bieber retiring from music. You can write something plain like “Bieber retires from music” or something interesting that makes people want to know more, like “Bye Bye Bieber” or “Bieber Beats It: Justin says Bye-Bye to Music.”   Just don’t overdo it, the key to being an interesting blogger is always surprising them and never being predictable.

5. The Negative Headline: Some naysayers claim the negatives are a no-no, yet it’s been proven scientifically that negative advertising campaigns work, especially in politics. Here’s an example of a negative headline: Knockout Game is NOT a HOAX. Ann Coulter herself is famous for negative headlines, “Words with Fiends” is a good example.

6. The Humorous Headline: People like to laugh, whether it’s wit, dry humor, black jokes, etc, your headline is an opportunity to put a smile on their face. As a fan of South Park, I appreciate the humor of the song “what what in the butt,” which was based on a YouTube sensation from the 1990s. Thus when I heard of a woman who told her arresting officer that she had a gun where the sun don’t shine, what better headline than: I say “gun gun,” in the butt.

7. The List Headline: For whatever reason, people like lists, whether it’s “10 Ways to Make More Money” or “5 Perfect Gifts for Valentine’s Day,” they work wonders. Just try to avoid unlucky numbers like 13 unless you’re writing for Halloween or a Jewish audience (13 is the age a boy becomes a man in Judaism), and remember that people’s patience is limited. “50 Ways to Keep your Dog Healthy” is not something everyone will read.

 

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