How to write compelling captions
Too often, editors crank out captions (aka cutlines) in the 15 minutes before happy hour on a Friday night.
Their loss.
Handled well, captions can be workhorses of communication. That’s because:
- Images get the most viewership on a print page. (Online, eyetracking is very different.) That makes the caption, or caption under the image, a power point for communication.
- Captions get 16 percent more readership than text.
- Telling students what to look for in a picture increased comprehension, according to research by W.H. Levie and R. Lentz.
- Removing the captions from a series of cartoons reduced recall by 81%, according to a study by Richard E. Mayer, et al. And it reduced problem solving, or the ability to apply the information, by 66%.
- Text that’s larger or bolder than body copy gets more readership. Caption style at most publications stands out from the text.
As a result, captions offer an opportunity to draw the reader in and communicate to flippers and skimmers.
Captions “can be to stories what trailers are to movies — intriguing, compelling previews,” says Monica L. Moses, deputy managing editor/visuals for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
So don’t slap yours together at the last minute.
Catch readers with captions
Here are 12 ways to make the most of these power tools:
1. Include a caption with every image. Yep, every image. Even if:
- It’s a small image.
- The reader can easily tell what the image is.
- It’s a conceptual illustration.
Why?
Because you’re not writing captions to explain what’s in the picture. You’re writing captions to draw readers in and communicate to flippers and skimmers.
2. Write subject, verb, object. Call them “action captions.” The way to capture the action is with a simple sentence and active verb. Which means you need to …
3. Avoid label captions. That’s where you simply describe what’s in the photo, such as “Bill, 42, holds a fish.” Even worse: “Loring Leifer, president, WordsWorth Communications.”
“Don’t insult your readers,” writes Gregg McLachlan, associate managing editor of the Simcoe Reformer. “If you have a photo of an environmentalist standing next to a fence at a toxic dump site, don’t write, ‘John Johnson is standing next to the fence …’”
Instead, use the photo as a jumping-off point to …
4. Deliver a key message. Encapsulate one of your key ideas into the caption. More people will get it than if you just run it in the body copy.
5. Include a catchline. A catchline is a mini “headline” for your caption. Adding one increases caption readership.
6. Complement the other display copy.
Captions work as a package with headlines, subheads, callouts and the other display copy on the page. Don’t repeat or contradict what you say in the other display elements.
7. Answer reader questions. If the CEO is wearing a cast, explain why. Otherwise, readers will be distracted by wondering.
8. Use a special typeface. Make the caption larger or bolder than the text. That will increase readership. I like a bold san-serif type, such as Arial, for captions.
9. Use the present tense. Write your cutline as if it’s happening now.
“Your caption represents a specific moment in time captured by a photograph,” McLachlan says. “The photo is the window that takes readers to the scene and captures ‘live’ action.”
10. Keep it short. Limit the depth to one inch. If your caption doesn’t look brief and scannable, it will lose its properties of attraction.
11. Avoid awkward navigation. If you’re writing “Bottom photo, clockwise from top left,” there’s too much going on.
“Don’t write, ‘John Johnson, second from left in the middle row starting next to the boiler room door opposite the men’s washroom,’” McLachlan counsels. “Don’t turn your cutline into a maze.”
12. Expand the caption into a mini-story. Given the power of images and captions, why not run an entire super-short story under the photo? Cover the 5 W’s, or at least the who, what, when and where. That will transform your photos and captions into little information modules.
Reach them where their eyes are.
How do your captions stack up?
A version of this post was previously published on Wylie Communications.
Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications, a writing training and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Keep up with Wylie’s Writing Tips via her free ezine. Check out her upcoming writing workshops.
