Writing Great Headlines: A Tip from The Hound

Here's a great way to get ideas for compelling headlines for your articles, ezines, blogs and other web copy, and it comes from Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound in her latest ezine.

The article she writes is titled "Can Your Purse Make You Sick?" If you're a girl, you probably want to know the answer to this strange question. But there's a lesson here for everyone. Here's her tip on writing great headlines:

"That's called a formula headline, and it's the kind of headline you often see on the covers of big magazines.

"That got me thinking. Many Publicity Hounds can use a variation of that same headline in their own press releases, blogs, ezines, articles, columns, letters to the editors or even direct-mail pieces. A health expert could write an article titled "Do Video Games Make Your Kids Sick?" A chiropractor could write one titled "Does Your Office Chair Make You Sick?"

"Here's how to find formula headlines and turn them into your own.

Stand in front of a magazine rack with a notebook and a pen. Or visit Magazines.com at http://www.Magazines.com  Then click on a few magazine covers. Look for headlines that catch your attention. Can you remove a word or two and substitute your own words to conform to your own topic?"

Great tip, Joan, thanks. If you want more great tips from Joan, send a blank email to subscribe to her Publicity Hound ezine here.

Comments

[Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound]

Dr. Patsi,

Your readers might be interested in seeing lots more examples of formula headlines in this free article at my website: http://tinyurl.com/y62ydh

Have fun writing articles!