You’ve probably heard the old adage, “Headlines sell!” In fact, many people only read headlines, if the headline is compelling enough, they might read a blog post, newspaper article or magazine feature. Your job is to write headlines for your press releases that entice the press to read the rest of your news and hopefully print it.
So how you learn to write great headlines? Grab a newspaper, magazine or go online to your favorite source of news and study the headlines. What grabs your attention and why? When you begin to study headlines, you will see trends.
Here are 3 tried-and-true headline techniques:
- List headlines. Lists are used in headlines all the time and for good reason – they make people want to learn more. A mother will want to learn Six tips to get Your Toddler to Listen and many women and men alike will want to know about the 5 Quick And Easy Exercises to Take Inches Off your Waist. So how can you use lists to your advantage? A potter might write about Five things to know before you put your clay in the kiln and a digital artist might use a title that boasts Ten new techniques for creating texture in digital art
- “How to” headlines. People want to learn how to do things so putting How To… in the headline is another way to get attention. An artist could easily use this type of headline. How to Sell Art Online, How to Recycle Your Leftover Paint or How to Create Sculptures that Sell. Think about the many things you know how to do that might be of interest to others and create a How to headline of your own.
- Unusual comparison headlines. When two things that don’t seem to have anything to do with each other are compared, interest is piqued. “What your Child has in Common with the School Yard Bully” would make a parent want to make sure the article isn’t talking about their child, and “What Artist Jane Doe has in Common with Dung Beetles” might make people curious as well. Can you compare your art or your process to something in current events, to a historical time period or figure or to something completely unexpected? Take a few minutes to do some out of the box thinking. If you get stuck, head to the grocery store and look at tabloids for inspiration, they are great at unusual comparison headlines!
Make your headline works for you and doesn’t serve as a roadblock – stopping the press from reading further to see what else you have to say. If you can’t get their attention, you will never reach their audience. So spend some time finessing this very important sentence that sets the stage for the news to come.
Learn more about how to write compelling headlines, press releases and get free publicity for your art and business. Artist Tara Reed has compiled all the tips and techniques to interact with the press in one easy to use eBook that you will turn to again and again. From how to write press releases to who to send them to, what to add to your website and more. Visit PressFriendlyArtist.com to get all the details today!
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