The headline, or your blog title, is the most important part of a blog post. It's the first thing that people read, and if it's not written well, it will be the only thing of yours that people read. On average, eight of 10 people will read the headline, but only two out of 10 will read the rest of the article. The headline may seem like the easiest part of the article, but it's also one of the aspects of blogging that has the most craft to it. There are many general rules and guidelines that should be followed when putting together your headline or blog title. Here are a few of them:
- Keep It Short - Six to ten words, or no more than 60 characters, is about the right length for a headline. This is just enough space to make it clear what the article is about, but isn't so long that your headline will turn people away instead of draw them into your article.
- Keep It Clear - Sometimes, it may be tempting to get creative with your headline by using a play on words or an idiom. Don't. A headline needs to make it clear and obvious to the reader of what the article is about. Getting too creative can get in the way of that.
- Use Strong Words - Blogussion has a fantastic list of words that will make your headline pop. Use them where appropriate. Another way to use strong words is to put the most important words at the beginning of the headline. So, instead of "A New Crisis About Salmon", do "Salmon Spawn New Crisis." Spawn is a very strong word there, and the new headline is a tad bit shorter than the old headline. It's crisp and clear.
- Capitalize, or Don't Capitalize - Some publications want their writers to capitalize the every word in the headline. Others say that you only need to capitalize the first word in a headline. You may have noticed that I capitalize every word. Traditional media outlets will only capitalize the first word. Whatever you choose to do, be consistent. If you do just the first word one time, and then do all the words the next, it looks like you don't know what you're doing. For more of the grammatical rules on headlines, check out this guide from Kansas University.
- Consider Keywords - This one applies more to web journalism and online blogging, but search engines like it when there are keywords in urls. If possible, include a keyword in your headline or blog title (but don't force it for the sake of SEO). For example, “Making $$” isn’t the same as “Making Money” or “Money Making”, two frequently searched for keywords. When was the last time you typed in $$ in a search engine to search for information on money or finances? This goes along with rule number two.
- Don't Forget the Subheading - If you feel that you need a longer headline, or really want to put a keyword up there, consider utilizing a subheading. A subheading is a quick 20-word summary about what your article is about. This should either go right after the headline, or should be included as the meta description for your post (more on meta descriptions in a later post). In journalism, a subheading is also called a deck head, summary line, or summary blurb.