How to Write Joyful Headlines That Comfort Amidst Crisis
By: Cynthia Marinakos
Tags: Social Media, Headline Hacks, Writing, Business, Creativity

Classic Headline Techniques

Frontload and backload keywords

Word placement is important in headlines. The first three words and last three words have been shown to catch reader attention — I’ve bolded them in the headlines below:

Use short headlines

Buffer tells us that according to science, the ideal length of a headline is six words since we absorb only the first three words and the last three words of a headline.

Here are three short headlines (note that one is seven words):

Use long headlines

Backlinko analyzed 912 million blog posts and suggests 14 to 17 words are the way to go, generating 76.7% more social shares than short headlines.

I’ve noticed COVID news headlines tend to be long, rather than short. This allows clarity through specificity. Also, many headlines tell a story and it’s easier to provide more detail with longer headlines.

Headline length may seem contradictory and confusing. For a deeper discussion about whether to write long or short headlines, read Long or Short: Which Headlines Are Better?

Tell a story

You’ll notice many articles tell a story. Even before paper was invented, this was the way humans passed important messages down through generations. In research conducted in 2018, researchers at McMaster University found that our brains relate to and focus on the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist of each story (The art of storytelling: Researchers explore why we relate to characters).

We’re wired to tune into stories, whether they’re true or not — whether they’re through words, gestures or drawings.

Use highly rated sensorial words

Our senses help us create richness in life. They help us connect, learn, navigate, and so much more. When used in your headlines, sensory words can help you initiate a bond with your readers.

But researcher Barbara Juhasz discovered that not all words evoke the same sensory experience. She created an index she called the Sensory Experience Rating (SER) scale to rank the strength of the sensory experience evoked by nearly 3,000 mono-syllabic words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

Using highly-rated words in our headlines can strengthen the power of our headlines. Here are three examples of headlines and highly rated sensorial words — the word ranking (out of 5) has been included:

To learn more about sensorial words and headlines, visit The 194 Highest-Rated Sensorial Words for Gorgeous Headlines.

Focus on your reader’s needs

Use the WIIFM approach. WIIFM stands for “What’s In It For Me.” It’s what every reader thinks. They’re busy. Make it quick and easy for them to figure out if you’re giving them something relevant and useful.

Ask yourself if your title tells your reader how this content will help them get better at something, solve a problem, deal with fear, keep their jobs or find a new one, help them avoid anxiety, or work better at home.

If you have trouble, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a great way to understand what’s important to us: you’ll see it’s more than tangible needs.

Physiological needs: food, shelter, clothing

food, shelter, clothing Safety: health, employment, personal security

health, employment, personal security Love and belonging: friendship, family, sense of connection

friendship, family, sense of connection Esteem: recognition, freedom, respect

recognition, freedom, respect Self-actualization: desire to fill their potential

How can your headline fulfill one or more of these needs? How can you connect more deeply to your customers during this unsettling time? Here’s how four uplifting COVID headlines do it, and the need they connect with for readers:

Show credibility

Opinion on its own is weak. Experience and reputation strengthen credibility. Experts are generally thought of as reliable and credible. Research provides objectivity and reliability. Statistics also help as our brains use statistics to make objective decisions.

Highlight the extraordinary

Daily life tends to get boring… our ears perk up when we read something out of the norm. Typically we’re attracted to negative news. Yet research such as this scientific research about happiness by Steptoe and Marmot, two of the world’s leading experts on the psychobiology of health and disease, finds that positivity leads to more happiness and better health.

Use proven templates

Templates are a quick and easy way to write headlines. We all need a prompt now and then, don’t we? Well, you can easily create your own templates from analyzing headlines as shown below. Test them out to see if they hold, as we’ve done below — then store them in your headline hacks collection.

Headline: Social distancing has actually been an asset for creating

Template: <something> has actually been <a surprising outcome>

Test: Homeschooling my 7-year-old has actually been fun.

Headline: Why these chalk messages could be ‘really important’ for getting through the coronavirus pandemic

Template: Why <something> could be ‘<expert opinion>’ for <doing something>

Test: Why two minutes of meditation every day could be the way to keep your relationships strong

Headline: Got a 3D printer? You could help supply hospitals with essential PPE

Template: <question> <benefit>

Test: Got a pillar? You could keep rockclimbing at home to keep your sanity

Make a statement

A firm statement may arouse curiosity. Assert authority. It may answer a question. Surprise. Or simply give information. You need to fully understand what your reader’s desires, fears, and challenges are when writing headlines statements.

For instance, the headlines below are fascinating to all of us because it gives us surprising insight into how the environment has improved without masses of people around. It reassures us that the medical staff we need to help us are being looked after. It gives us hope that we may be close to getting a vaccine that can end all of this. And it reinforces our need for human connection during this time.

Challenge

Challenges give us something to aim for, make us curious about whether we can take them on, and drive us to give them a go.

Play with power words

Power words can help you catch your reader’s attention. They can be simple, sensorial, call a reader to action, or unusual. I’ve highlighted the power words in bold for you.

Gujarat: 44-year-old brain-dead worker turns saviour for three persons

Mass. hospitals getting massive machine that can sterilize 80K N95 masks in a day

South Africa comes with Blockchain application CoviID, will reward you for isolating

Irish Researchers Have Developed Hospital Robot That Uses UV Light to Kill Viruses, Bacteria, and Germs (‘Kill’ is used here in a positive context)

Focus on your main message

Our brains are designed to save energy. Make it easy for your reader’s brain. When it comes to headlines, you help your readers by giving them the gist of the article so they can either read more if that’s what they feel like doing now, save it for later, or take your message and never return.

Here’s where it’s crucial to understand your reader and make sure your headline is clear so they know it will be relevant and useful. Be careful not to deceive — instead, learn how to write genuine, enticing headlines without clickbaiting.