The #1 Headline Blunder Every Writer Makes (we’ve all done it)
By: Dave Schools
Tags: Creativity, Writing, Headlines, Content Marketing, Ideas

Note: As with all writing, there are no absolutes. There are exceptions to everything. So take this recommendation with a grain of salt, but I think you’ll be surprised how this simple tweak will make a big difference with your article click-through rates.

I see people make this dreadful shot-in-the-foot mistake all the time: a headline that starts with a gerund.

A gerund is a noun birthed from a verb by adding -ing to the end. Examples of gerunds at the beginning of headlines include:

Bringing the power of AMP to Gmail

Tackling Inequality With an Entrepreneur’s Eye

Making Interactive Art

Fostering Independence, One Student at a Time

Recovering from Historical Amnesia

This is a horrible mistake. And I want to show you why and how to fix it

If you analyze the top ten best performing headlines on Medium for each year since Medium was founded in 2013, you’ll find that only one of them starts with a gerund.

Have a look for yourself (thanks to Michael Deng for the resource):

In other words, the best blog post titles don’t start with a noun ending in “-ing”.

Every month, Inc. Magazine editors send out the top ten Inc.com headlines. It’s spurs healthy competition among the authors. These most successful pieces generate between 100k and 1M+ page views.

You will never find a gerund in these top headlines. I looked through all of 2017’s top headlines and didn’t find a single one.

Lastly, Austin-based marketing firm Buzzsumo analyzed 100 million headlines of articles shared on social media. According to the exhaustive study, they found the most popular first words that started headlines were as follows:

Not a single gerund.

The most successful and viral articles have headlines that do not start with a noun ending in “-ing.”

Look at the blogs of well-known companies: Evernote, Zapier, SurveyMonkey, Product Hunt, just to name a few, and you will rarely find a gerund at the beginning of the headline. These blogs know what they’re doing.

Why starting your headline with a word that ends in “-ing” is a big mistake

It may not seem like a big deal, but results show that if you want to write a top blog post you should drop the gerund starter. Here are the three reasons why:

First, headlines that start with a gerund are ambiguous. The reader can’t tell who the article is about, and for whom it’s written. The subject and audience are completely lost.

For example, consider this headline:

Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture

Who is creating a healthy org culture? We can’t tell.

And who should read this? CEOs? HR managers? Employees? Consultants? Nonprofits? Startups? Corporations? Clubs? It could apply to a number of different audiences and I doubt it’s written (well enough) for all of them, unless it’s a huge article.

Second, headlines that start with a gerund are not reader-centric. These unhelpful headlines come from the writer’s perspective, with little thought about how the reader will perceive it. The writer asks himself or herself, “What is my blog post about?” The answer to this questions is always a gerund. “Oh, well, it’s about launching our new iOS app.” “It’s about reviewing 2017 and looking ahead to 2018.” “It’s about solving the problem of poverty in third-world countries.”

And that’s exactly how the articles get their boring titles:

Launching Our New iOS App

Reviewing 2017 and Looking Ahead to 2018

Solving the Problem of Poverty in Third-World Countries

To fix this, think about how the reader will think, feel, or respond to reading the article. Make it about them and what they will learn and take away from the story. Take another look at the same headlines from above, but slightly modified:

This New iOS App Will Make You Sleep Better Than Ever Before

What 2017 Taught Us About Vulnerability and Why 2018 Will Be a Little Scary

4 Ways Cash-Poor Millennials Can Still Feed the Hungry in Uganda

Third, headlines that start with a gerund are weak. It’s passive voice and that’s a no-no, especially in headlines. Also, it’s time-insensitive. There’s no urgency to read the article. Lastly, it limits the most powerful word in the headline — the verb — to a bland generalization. Examples:

Changing the Way We View Horses

Cooking Like an Iron Chef

Breathing Freshness Into Your Tired Mind

Watch what happens when you drop the gerund and tweak these headlines.

Change the Way You View Horses in 2018

How to Cook Like an Iron Chef

This 10-Minute Exercise Breathes Freshness Into Your Tired Mind

Not perfect, but they’re stronger, sharper, and more effective.

4 tips to write captivating headlines that get more reads

The next time you sit down at the computer to think of the right headline for your freshly inked blog post, avoid asking yourself the trap question, “Well what is this about?” Instead follow these guidelines to make it more appealing to the readers passing by.

Create a “curiosity gap.” Inc. editors train us to write headlines that pique a reader’s curiosity to the point where they must learn the answer. Put tension or drama in the headline, but don’t cross the line into clickbait. The difference between a strong headline and clickbait is specificity. Clickbait is overhyped and sensational like this: You Won’t Believe What Trump Just Said. Whereas, a strong headline is specific and though-provoking: Trump Rails Against Border Wall Protests Calling Them ‘a Disgrace’. Say something that puts a question in the reader’s mind — a curiosity gap that will be satisfied by your article. Put “How to” in front. Many blog posts try to teach the reader something new. Instead of leading with a weak gerund, show the reader exactly what they’re going to learn. “How to” is a beautiful starting phrase for this because it’s focused on the reader and what the reader will learn. For example, Designing Logos with Illustrator — is unclear and a little boring — How to Design Logos with Illustrator — not perfect, but better. Pick a niche and be specific. Identify your audience in the headline. Take the example above about Illustrator. It doesn’t say whether it’s for beginning, experienced, or advanced designers. And there’s a ton of ground to cover in designing a logo. Pick a subtype (e.g., wordmark) and focus on that. And Illustrator? Have you seen how massive of a program it is? It takes people years to master it. Pick a tool or aspect (e.g., the pen tool) and focus on that. If your article is truly a book about a general topic, then say that in the headline with something like: The Solopreneurs Handbook: How to Design an Outstanding Logo in Illustrator. In the end, the more specific you can be, the better. Chop off the “-ing” and use the base verb to make it an imperative. Try this exercise: revisit your blog posts and ask: Do any of them start with a gerund? Shorten the verb into an imperative or a call to action. For example, Sending Direct Mail That Works would grip more people if it read Send Direct Mail That Actually Gets Read. Here, it’s more about the reader, than the writer. Throw a “How to” in front and you’ve got a nice headline.

Don’t feel bad if you’ve published an article with a gerund starter. It happens all the time and we’ve all done it. But if you want to write an incisive headline that sticks out from among the rest, try following the tips in this piece. I wish you success and thanks for reading.

Also, if you have any questions about headlines, feel free to ask in a response below. And if you learned something or if something resonated, I’d be grateful for your feedback and 👏 claps. Thank you!