4 Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Headlines

Headlines are often the last thing a reader sees.

That’s right; for a headline to be good it has to awaken interest in your reader's mind.

We use them nowadays and they have been used decades and centuries ago.

Their purpose has remained the same: to hook the reader and get them interested so they keep reading your content.

From big smartphone companies;

To small local businesses like this real estate agency;

It doesn’t matter the industry, your message will never be delivered if your headline doesn’t catch your reader's attention.

So what are those 4 mistakes I am talking about?

Well here is the first one:

1) Bad grammar

I know many people say that a book shouldn't be judged by its cover but we both could agree that if we find something like this here; it's tough not to.

Yes, this is from a real newspaper in Mansfield.

Bad grammar instantly kills the interest in your reader's mind, that’s why it must be avoided at all costs.

2) Confusing your reader

The idea of a catchy headline is great! But overthinking often is not the best way.

If you ever write a headline like this one it will cause your reader a bad migraine… Well, at least that happened to me.

The solution is to use active language and be clear with what you say and how you say it.

I would have said something like this:

“Annoying Flying Bugs”

I use simple active language to get to my point.

3) Saying Something Obvious

I will give you an example.

Let’s imagine that you are in a bank one day, and you see 4 big guys walking in with masks and guns, they lock the doors, shoot to the ceiling, and yell; EVERYONE ON THE GROUND.

The last thing the girl at the front desk will wonder is if they are there to open a new account right?

She will know what they are there for….

Here is one example with a headline:

Here is how I would fix this.

“Police lack information about homicide victims”

Do you see the difference? I am getting my point across without saying something that they already know.

4) Really long headlines

Remember, you don’t want to be boring so keep it simple.

Like this: “NY school regionalization sparks fear on Long Island”

Like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said, “Less is more.” And honestly, it’s worth saying again.

We will talk more soon.

Phil Cabrera.

PS: If you could use a hand with blog writing, get in touch with my agency.

If we’re a good fit I will personally take a look at your marketing and content, come up with a strategy and discuss it with you in depth on a brief call.

With no cost, obligation, hard selling, or annoying sales tactics.

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