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5 EASY STEPS TO WRITE MORE EFFECTIVE HEADLINES
By Debbie Weil
I wrote and rewrote the headline for this article. My favorite
contender? Anatomy of a Winning Headline.
But the more I scribbled, the clearer it became this wasn't
the best headline for you, the beleaguered reader. My job
as a writer and editor is to make your job easier,
right?
So what makes a winning headline? Is it clever or cute?
Does it cut to the core? Is
it alliterative? Memorable? Does it promise a benefit? Is
it stunningly simple?
Does
it sum up your article, email or e-book? Does it use your
audience's trigger words? Does it include action verbs?
Is it descriptive? Does it appeal to your reader's emotions?
Whether
it's the headline of an article, the subject of an email
or the title of an e-book report, the headline is one of
the hardest phrases or sentences to write.
Read
on to get my five easy steps... plus a software tool that
"generates" headlines.
MORE
WINNERS OF THE E-BOOK NAMING CONTEST
If you missed this announcement
and you're interested, you can read about the winners,
the database tool I used to select them, and how I
fine-tuned the final title with reader input. MORE...
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PUB NOTE: WHAT MY MOTHER SAYS ABOUT BLOGGING |
Caution:
this isn't pretty...
Last
week I proudly called my mother's attention to debbie's
blog after I was quoted
in the Washington Post for saying something
semi-intelligent about the attributes of a good Weblog.
My own Weblog has a particular purpose: I blog so
I can experiment with this new form of online communication.
Blogging is a phenomenon that isn't going away.
I want to continue to report to you on what's valuable
- and what's not - about blogging. And how you might
use this new content publishing platform for your
business. And
I can't write about something that I don't understand
properly.
What
she wrote in her email
So, here's how she responded:
"Congratulations
on getting mentioned in the Post. To my dismay
I got into your blogs and I can't imagine what a smart
and capable person like you is doing engaging in this
infantile and boring activity. love, mom"
Ouch...
Read
my blog post and then add your own comment about
her assessment. Is she on target when it comes to
blogging?
I'm
covering a blog conference Oct. 4-5 in Boston
Before
I attend BlogCon,
I want to find out your single most burning question
about blogging for business. Look for a short email
next week in which I'll give you the opportunity to
ask it.
Finally,
be sure to read my note about free vs. paid content.
It's under Rate This Issue. I
want you to be a reasonably happy subscriber. But
you want me to stay in business, don't you?!
Yours
in the business of words online,
Publisher & Editor, WordBiz Report
P.S. Got a story idea or want to contribute
an article? Don't
hesitate to drop me a note.
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>> RSS VS. EMAIL DELIVERY:
IS EMAIL DEAD? |
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By
Debbie Weil
RSS (which stands for Rich Site Summary or Really
Simple Syndication) is the new hot topic. In simplest
terms, it's a way to deliver your news and content electronically
- without using email.
If spam filters and flooded inboxes mean the death of
email as a legitimate marketing channel, then RSS is
an alternative.
That's one side of the argument. The other is that email
marketing is doing just fine, thank you.
I've rounded up some good articles below so you can decide
for yourself.
Here's my quickie explanation of RSS: You don't receive
an RSS feed through email or your Web browser. Instead you
use simple downloadable software called a news reader.
Your news reader scrapes (yes, that's the "in"
word) and delivers to you headlines and summaries of
newly-posted content you've subscribed to.
Newsgator
is a popular news reader (also called a news aggregator)
because it works seamlessly with Outlook.
 Most
Weblogs (blogs) are available as RSS feeds by clicking on
an orange XML button, like the one above. But so are an
increasing number of e-newsletters, as well as new product
announcements, eBay listings, etc.
I may produce WBR as an RSS feed before the end of the year.
In the meantime, here is what my blog looks like in RSS:
http://www.debbieweil.com/index.rdf
(It's a way of coding or formatting a page, just as HTML
is a code.)
If you have a news reader installed, you can "subscribe"
to my blog by going to www.debbieweil.com.
Scroll down and right click on the XML button.
Good, clear definitions of RSS
Informative
letter to her subscribers
by SurfNetKids publisher Barbara Feldman
RSS:
Wave of the Future? by Jeanne S. Jennings
My
earlier quick explanation (from 5 key questions about
business blogs)
RSS
described as a "Web
standard" that makes it easy to get news and other
content (from PCWorld.com)
A
really simple content solution by Rebecca Lieb in ClickZ
EEVL's RSS Primer
(a little techie but very complete)
Yahoo explains RSS
Cons: email is doing just fine
DoubleClick's 2003 2nd quarter Email Trend Report
Most notable stat: click-through, open and delivery rates
have increased since Q2 2002 (as much as 10.7%).
Download
this three-page PDF
Email
marketing still works (MediaPost)
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Market Research,
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Resources for E-mail
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compiled twice-a-month in The Jennings
Report, a free e-mail newsletter published
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Yours will be too when you see how easy it is
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want in this well-organized second edition.
Oh, and you get the results of a WordBiz
study on publishing in HTML vs. text on
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It's
back to regular programming with this issue of WBR.
Last
issue was a bit of an experiment. I tried to sell
you pretty hard on my new e-book report (direct
response tips from The Big Seminar) and on AudioGenerator,
a cool Web-based tool that can make
your Web site talk!
Follow both links above if you're curious...
you can try AudioGenerator for $1
till Sept. 30th
A few readers strenuously objected. Hey, where's all that
great free content Debbie usually gives us?
Hmmm... well, it's here this time. Along with links to paid
content or products I recommend.
Fact is, I can't continue to publish this newsletter unless
you, dear readers, also become customers.
If you haven't already, I want you to consider consuming
some of the paid content I point you to - both my own e-books
and other useful resources, like the all-new 2nd edition
of the Email Marketing Metrics Guide above.
We'll be adding new information products to the WordBiz
Store. Plus we're re-organizing the storefront so you'll
know where to find what (single articles vs. longer reports,
for example).
Visit the WordBiz
store now
I was surprised to discover recently that some of my longtime
subscribers didn't know I was selling e-book reports.
Well, I am. And I want you to buy them!
Am I saying that clearly enough? (I don't want to
scream... so only one exclamation point.)
Oh, and did I mention... visit
the WordBiz store.
If you don't find something immediately useful, drop
me a note to suggest e-report topics related to e-newsletter
publishing, blogging or online copy & content that would
help you save money, make money or make your
job easier.
And remember, every purchase in the WordBiz store has a
no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee.
Click
on a link below to rate this issue
Lemme have it; say what's on your mind!
1 - Great stuff! Hits the spot
2
- Interesting; at least one useful tidbit
3
- So-so; doesn't grab me
4
- Sorry, topics are off the mark today
5
- Stop wasting my time
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