Writing the perfect headline for a press release is one of the hardest parts of making your news worthy to stop the editor and make him/her think… hey, I want to know more about that and so do my readers.
PRNews, one of my favorite sources of late, shared several tips for creating that perfect headline. Here they are…
1. Make it Punchy. A strong, concise headline attracts readers and encourages sharing on social media.
2. Avoid Spammy Keywords. As we all know certain words trigger alerts for spam filters including free, you, mortgage, order now, etc. Excessive punctuation also triggers spam filters.
3. Don’t link… at least in the headline. Putting a link in the headline basically encourages readers to go elsewhere without reading your actual news. Search engines are also suspicious of copy with too many links and may even write your release off as Web spam.
4. Use natural language. Avoid industry jargon and make sure to use the words and phrases your audience actually uses when talking about your subject.
5. Keep it tight. Tell one story in the headline, don’t clutter it up with a bunch of different themes.
6. Use your heads… as in subheads. Recommended no more than 200 characters in the summary or subhead if you feel the need for more information.
