What I learned at Medium’s Headlines School
Being new to Medium, I along with two of my cohorts have written about 15 articles for our Medium publication, Our Sacred Democracy. We certainly appreciate that Medium is offering these three workshops on becoming a better writer.
This class spelled out the purpose of headlines and how to make them effective. The one-hour online class was well organized and participatory for a class online. Thanks to the organizers for a job well done.
I am including my notes from the class below. They reflect what I gleaned from the workshop and do not represent the views of anyone else.
Ken Grotewiel is a Founding Member of the None of the Above Society.
How to write a great title that isn’t clickbait
Medium workshop on February 9, 2022
The word headlines = story in this presentation.
The reader’s first question when looking at an article is “am I interested in this story?”
Headline principles: want readers to dive in without tricking them
· want readers to dive in without tricking them
· the story must be worth their time
· keywords in your headline must be consistent with story
· So what? Why now? These are the questions readers are thinking as they glance at titles.
· Present urgency to read in titles
A great headline helps find your audience faster than poor ones.
Make the story true. Truth is everything in your story.
The tone of the headline and the story should be the same.
A good headline should: define the thing, ask what is the thing, and crystallize it in one sentence.
Is and are: use “be” verbs vs action verbs
Make the headline an assertion so people click on it to agree or disagree with your assertive title. Both reasons are good.
Questions are OK. Readers come for answers — so make sure you provide the answer to your question.
Headlines without a verb are a no no. Don’t imitate a book title.
Gerunds equal “ing” words. Not committed to a position.
“how to” headlines don’t have to be a question. For example: how to drive without a license, as opposed to how do you drive without a license?
“You” is another word in your toolkit. It includes the reader in the conversation.
“I” is for personal stories, as in observation
In Medium, feel free to change the headline if it’s not resonating with readers.
Q&A
What about headlines in tech stories?
With tech articles, substance is very evident, and headlines can be very straightforward.
What is the line between assertive and clickbait? It is not clickbait if it represents your story’s value and does not feel like a trick. If the story provokes, it is not click bait.
When is a title too long?
A title should never be more than two sentences in general. Remember that a very long title does not translate very well into social media stories.
Search for how to write a title on medium.
