Headline heroes vs villains
We have all seen it happen…
…a brilliantly crafted sales letter suffocated by a daunting headline.
…a young, adrenaline-pumping campaign’s future nipped in the bud when a headline puts “too much fire” under the audience.
…a finely-aged press release format falls flat on its face because of one tragic, accidental headline.
As a copywriter or public relations / marketing professional, you need to shape a single sentence into:
1) A title that sums up your body copy without lying to the reader. Nobody likes a tease.
2) An enthralling cliff-hanger of a subject they want to learn more about. Leave enough mystery so they actually want to continue reading. If you simply got someone to save the email for later, pat on the back – that is half the battle right there.
3) Something you would want to read if you were in their shoes. If you feel dirty after sending out email campaigns, chances are you probably don’t feel good about what you are selling. Before taking on a client – or campaign – you must do comprehensive research and learn the best benefits for each market segment. This way, every single audience will be receiving a message you honestly believe will help them save time, lives or money. If you can’t convince yourself, you may want to rethink your business model.
Obviously, different media require different types of headlines. Copyblogger best describes blog headlines in his series, Magnetic Headlines.
These rules are amazingly efficient when your only goal is to get people to view your blog post; however, more specific rules apply when you are put under intense deadlines to increase B2B sales, foster and maintain strategic partnerships, boost sponsorships, drive ideal customers to a specific event or promotion, etc.
The trick is to slow down, think carefully about who you are sending what pieces, and what tone of voice that particular audience should receive. For example, a simple cheesy pun is cute for customer holiday e-cards, but would not be wise for first-time newsletters or external communications to a new audience. People are slightly selfish and less attention spans then ever – tell them why / how you are going to make their lives better, in a nutshell. Or more accurately, in a headline.
Funny headlines: http://skank.tanglebones.com/2005/05/23/best-newspaper-headlines-ever/
Great headlines: http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/09/the-best-advertising-slogans-of-all-time.html
700 NYC teachers are paid to do nothing
http://www.dailycandy.com/everywhere/article/43484/In+Dog+We+Trust
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/23/iran.neda.profile/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/23/review.transformers.revenge/index.html
If you do find yourself approached with the need for cheese, consider the following places for a quick kick of inspiration:
Pun of the Day (search)
Flickr images (for inspirational metaphors, etc.)
Current events comparisons
Trendy pop culture reference tie-in
Does anyone actually use the software that supposedly helps generate effective advertising or editorial headlines? If so, how does it fare against your own wit and brainpower? (If you were to “headline-race,” or “headline-off,” who would win?) Just curious. Would be a pity to know the machines won yet another battle. 
Great advice on often over-inflated and misleading headline writing. I love a great headline, one to give me enough to pique my interest but not give it all away up front. Often too many ‘untrained’ people are writing headlines, so this offers some good pointers for everyone, experienced or not.
Wow, these are really great tips for headlines. Thank you for all of the included resources as well!