Our next pick on this list of headline writing tips is almost too simple to believe. Adjectives are meant to clarify the noun in a title or sentence. They can also add color and interest.
Let’s look at one of the example headlines above: “17 Running Tips You’ve Been Missing”
How can we bring this to life and make it more interesting for readers?
I might change this to: “17 Practical Running Tips You’ve Been Missing”
This means that the article will be filled with valuable, actionable material. I could exchange this adjective for many others:
Each of these adjectives helps clarify for the reader the meaning of the noun.
Use superlatives when appropriate.
Superlatives (words that indicate best, highest, greatest, etc.) can make or break your headline. If you use them special database when they don’t apply, you’ll get more eye rolls than clicks. However, if you can back up your claim, go ahead and use superlatives.
YouTuber Joshua Weissman loves to grab attention with bold headlines.
For example, check out his video titled “The Easiest Chocolate Cake Ever.” This clever title speaks to the challenges home bakers face and is sure to get you more views.
Be concise to write a powerful headline
Writers — especially new ones — sometimes write wordy pieces. That’s okay, but once you’ve finished your first twitter launches blue for business draft, go through it and trim down the verbosity.
Let’s look at two examples of passages I might write for our fictional article about marathon running:
To stay in shape, you need to run at least three days a week. On the other two days, focus on keeping your body flexible through stretching.
To stay in shape, run at least three days a week. On two days, focus on stretching to stay flexible.
In these examples, we have a long text services passage number one and a shorter one number two
How? I mostly removed unnecessary phrases. “In order to” becomes just “To”. I didn’t need to say “a minimum of” and “at least” because they mean the same thing. I removed unnecessary words and rephrased to make the second sentence clearer.
This is especially true when you are creating a headline. A headline that is too long or wordy will either confuse or irritate your readers. They may not even understand what you are trying to convey.