How to Write Catchy Headlines

chillibreeze writer — Akanksha Saxena

A universally catchy headline is hard to come by without nudging controversy. The information overload that exists in every sphere today makes it near impossible for a line to do the trick. The burden to hold attention falls on art, and while art may communicate just as well, copywriting wasn't made a profession for no reason.

The most often quoted headline will be one you saw in bold on the front page of your newspaper, and remembered because it had implications for the world, for you. In advertising, the key to a catchy headline lies in the thought behind it. If you were an advertising executive with a remote interest in the field, you would have come across the headline dominated print ads released by The Economist. The stark white text against a signature bright red background wasn't why the ad held your gaze.

“I never read the Economist - Management Trainee, aged 42."

The power of this line lies in the way it evokes that ambition to move up, so deeply seeded in every aspiring executive today. The ad, in one subtle line, tells you why you need to read The Economist. For your own well being. Simple, crisp, hard-hitting.

What's more, it's relevant. There's an insight in there - a keen understanding of the target audience. Readers of t The Economist are ambitious. They read to learn about the world, so that they get a head start on the externalities that may impact their lives - lives that they have planned years in advance. They are intelligent people, with foresight.

I can't imagine learning how to write a catchy headline by reading an article. What is to be learnt, however, is that a bunch of difficult words put together won't be half as impactful as a simple line with a solid insight. The line should impregnate discourse in the reader's mind - a self-questioning perhaps, of whether this line applies to him/her. Bashing convention is a route often employed. But every writer eventually finds his own way. To end, I give you one of my all time favorite lines from Diesel, the apparel company: “Smart may have the brains, but stupid has the balls.”
Daring thoughts, anyone?

 

 

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in July, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

 

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How to Write Catchy Headlines

 

 

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—About our writer: Akanksha Saxena has lived in at least 8 different cities and been to 9 different schools in all parts of India. She graduated in Economics from Delhi University in 2010 and followed it up with a diploma in Advertising from Bombay. While she prefers not to divulge details of her profession, she likes to write on justabout anything that piques her interest. As a seasoned writer, she likes challenges and versatility in her projects. Her work will be thorough, and she understands deadlines.

 

 

 

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