The problem with clever headlines is that not everyone gets the joke.
Sure, some people will, but most people will just be confused. It’s worse on social networks, where people skim everything. If they don’t get your headline, they’ll skip it.
How to Write Better Headlines
- Make sense immediately.
- Don’t reference inside jokes. Or even not-quite-so-inside jokes.
- Explain the cleverness. (Do You Have a Vampire Problem? 10 Ways to Recognize a Problem Client)
- Use simple language. Big words sound pompous.
- Use buzzwords. They catch the eye.
- Shorter tends to be better. Brevity, anyone?
I knew this, of course, but I had to learn it the easy way and the hard way. A post titled “How to Kill a Great Idea” exploded on Twitter. But a post titled “Do You Have a Vampire Problem” more or less tanked.
Funny thing, though. The easy way came first.
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