Writing A Headline Like This Could Save Newspapers
It’s not exactly the algorithm for virality, but a job posting for Spartz gives journalists a few hints about how to make a post go bonkers on social media.
Like other big-name media disrupters, such as @buzzfeed, @upworthy and @vox, Spartz attests that the headline is the greatest opportunity for sharable content.
“The primary purpose of these titles is to get users to click. Whether the user sees the headline on our homepage or on social media, we want them to read the article—and that only happens if they click the headline,” says a three-page document included in a job posting for associate editor positions at Spartz.
The document for the Chicago-based startup distills headline writing to five basic rules:
Speak With a Strong Voice
Create a Curiosity Gap (Not Curiosity Cliff)
Approach The Article From Different Angles
All Headlines Must Be Written In Title Case
Its founder, Emerson Spartz, has been dubbed the “King of Viral Media” and his company’s website claims it is “turning virality into a science.”
Beyond the volume of pageviews and clicks, Spartz sees a connection that exists between virality and how this widespread information can lead to action.
“I thought, if you could make things go viral, that’s like having a human superpower. You could influence elections, you could overthrow dictators, you could start movements, you could revolutionize entire industries,” Spartz said in an interview with Business Insider this summer.
While news media organizations are tinkering with ways to maximize their own headline writing for the web, this document sheds some real light especially when it comes to thinking about stories with multiple headlines that go beyond a shortened version of a nutgraf.
Look at this example from the document to see what I mean:
Let’s say we had a piece of content showing what Disney Princesses would look like on the cover of Vogue. Here are a few different approaches you could try in writing a title for it:
1. If the Little Mermaid Were a Person, THIS Is What Her Vogue Cover Would Look Like
2. 11 Disney Characters On The Cover of Vogue. Some of These Are Not PG
3. Disney Princesses Get Made Over For Their Vogue Cover. Jasmine Looks Like A Kardashian
4. Disney And High Fashion Is The Best Thing That's Ever Happened To Vogue
5. These Disney Princesses On The Cover Of Vogue Show Everything That’s Wrong With the Fashion Industry
Though more traditional news websites may not want to start using all caps in their headlines, creating intrigue is something that is so important.
Just as a reporter crafts a lede to fit the story’s tone and findings, a headline writer must do the same in fewer words. An element of mystery is difficult to resist. “Suddenly” is still, in my opinion, the strongest transition any article can have, but it can only be used rarely.
Headlines need to find their “suddenly.”
“Use the curiosity gap judiciously, but be sure not to create a curiosity cliff that will cause readers to just move on to the next piece of content,” the headline-writing document states.
And, if at first your headline does not succeed, just try and try again.
As E.B. White once said, “The best writing is rewriting.”
The same holds true for headlines.
“The best title writers aren't the best because they are the most likely to succeed with their first attempt. What distinguishes the best title writers is they write lots of titles from lots of angles, NOT the same title with minor changes like swapping the word beautiful for the word gorgeous.”
