Really interesting mate! Headlines basically made my living for me, particularly on UK tabloids ... Headline writing was/is an art but rapidly falling apart ... you are spot on though, headlines sell the story along with top images ... Then the intro! Headlines are somebody shouting in the marketplace ... Buy me! Buy me!
Question: I see how your advice works for nonfiction, but isn't fiction a little different? The way Substack is set up, the "headline" is going to be the title of the short story or whatever. Titles, ought to be interesting, but it's hard for them to check all the boxes by itself without becoming too long. I've always thought the first line below that (for example, in the Note advertising your post) could do part of the work. Or am I wrong about that?
Yeah it’s definitely different for fiction, I guess this primarily applies to non-fiction pieces. Agreed about the first line in the post being the hook (or maybe the subheading?).
Having written a bunch of headlines this week I SO agree with all of this. My golden rule (which also applies to the first sentence) is that if your headline is trying to make more than one point then it's not a good headline.
My thoughts run parallel to fellow commenter, Bill Hiatt, and I’d love to hear more of your ideas on this, David. I value your advice and I have snippets of your wisdom in the form of post-it’s all over my desk and computer. Give me a bulleted list to follow and I’m typically a lemur but I’m tempted to force this non-fiction advice into the ill-fitting hole of every post and I know it doesn’t necessarily work. I think it’s the ‘numbers’ part for me, like I’m not sure how to add numbers into my titles. Then again, as I’m writing this upon having just woken at 5am, I may simply be thinking too rigidly and looking for absolutes when I should be thinking more holistically.
Yeah, since I started blogging on Medium and Substack a couple of months ago, I've paid a lot of attention towards creating effective, attention-grabbing headlines.
I agree with your points, David; headlines are indeed crucial, especially given the poor attention spans of many people these days.
Love this, David. Writing compelling headlines is an essential skill for writers to develop. Love the example and how you walked through its development.
Wisdom! This is awesome and I thank you so much for this! I am working on this week’s post and now I have a few new ideas for the headline! Have a great day!
Have to admit the headline for the article got my attention (for this article) and interest. Being a person with severe hearing loss, dependence on the written word has become increasingly important. Knowledge is gained through reading (and listening!), and as you say must stop the scroll .. Thank you.
Really interesting mate! Headlines basically made my living for me, particularly on UK tabloids ... Headline writing was/is an art but rapidly falling apart ... you are spot on though, headlines sell the story along with top images ... Then the intro! Headlines are somebody shouting in the marketplace ... Buy me! Buy me!
Cheers
Leigh
Question: I see how your advice works for nonfiction, but isn't fiction a little different? The way Substack is set up, the "headline" is going to be the title of the short story or whatever. Titles, ought to be interesting, but it's hard for them to check all the boxes by itself without becoming too long. I've always thought the first line below that (for example, in the Note advertising your post) could do part of the work. Or am I wrong about that?
Yeah it’s definitely different for fiction, I guess this primarily applies to non-fiction pieces. Agreed about the first line in the post being the hook (or maybe the subheading?).
Ooooh! This is good! It could have been a SNIP though.....
* Specificity
* Numbers
* Intrigue
* Punch
🤩
Having written a bunch of headlines this week I SO agree with all of this. My golden rule (which also applies to the first sentence) is that if your headline is trying to make more than one point then it's not a good headline.
Thank you - really helpful article about the thing I am most bad at!
My thoughts run parallel to fellow commenter, Bill Hiatt, and I’d love to hear more of your ideas on this, David. I value your advice and I have snippets of your wisdom in the form of post-it’s all over my desk and computer. Give me a bulleted list to follow and I’m typically a lemur but I’m tempted to force this non-fiction advice into the ill-fitting hole of every post and I know it doesn’t necessarily work. I think it’s the ‘numbers’ part for me, like I’m not sure how to add numbers into my titles. Then again, as I’m writing this upon having just woken at 5am, I may simply be thinking too rigidly and looking for absolutes when I should be thinking more holistically.
Yeah, since I started blogging on Medium and Substack a couple of months ago, I've paid a lot of attention towards creating effective, attention-grabbing headlines.
I agree with your points, David; headlines are indeed crucial, especially given the poor attention spans of many people these days.
Thanks for the tips. 🤩
All the claps!!! 👏 I already know I need to revisit my headline game lol
Great reminder, thanks!
Love this, David. Writing compelling headlines is an essential skill for writers to develop. Love the example and how you walked through its development.
Wisdom! This is awesome and I thank you so much for this! I am working on this week’s post and now I have a few new ideas for the headline! Have a great day!
I love this formula and example. Very helpful. I must practice now.
Great insight! Love the phases you take us through to get to the 🤌
Terrific tips — easy, implementable, and your examples were excellent.
Have to admit the headline for the article got my attention (for this article) and interest. Being a person with severe hearing loss, dependence on the written word has become increasingly important. Knowledge is gained through reading (and listening!), and as you say must stop the scroll .. Thank you.