1 Simple Way to Make Your Headline Sell Like Never Before
Some have called this the age of “quick-glance journalism.” People will only invest seconds in your website, blog, email and e-newsletter, so the quintessential tool becomes the headline (or subject line or title).
Some do headlines very well. If you receive Business Insider emails you know exactly what I mean. It’s hard to describe what they do well, but I read a blog by Kevan Lee that sums up headline writing perfectly: He developed a simple equation that leads to what he called the “ultimate headline.” It is, “Number + Adjective + Keyword + Rationale + Promise = Ultimate Headline” or “10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That will Make You Happier.”
It should be difficult to write an enticing headline for each of your Web page content blocks. It should take time to develop subheads that help attract search engines and viewers. Your title for your YouTube video is more important than your video–think of it this way, more people will read your YouTube title than actually view your video. You must also think of your email subject line as a headline that is the thumbs-up or thumbs-down demarcation point for any email marketing effort.
So follow Mr. Lee’s equation and boost your readership. Your content blocks, emails, videos, blogs and newsletters will thank you.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.