K atie c ouric

Find Your Headline
Here is an exercise I like to use with clients for discovering their hook
point: Imagine you’re given the cover feature article about you or your
business in a major magazine or newspaper publication. Now imagine that a
potential customer is walking down the street and passing a magazine stand.
What headline would grab their attention and get them to stop, buy the
paper or magazine, and read your article? Make sure to put yourself in your
customers’ shoes. Be really honest about what would get someone to stop
what they’re doing and pay attention to your message. Remember, there are
more than sixty billion messages sent out every day. Your hook point needs
to help you STAND OUT.
Headlines are important in all kinds of industries. The 1999 movie 
The
Blair Witch Project
was a huge success because the marketers behind this
movie understood how to choose a headline. They based the campaign
around the idea that the story was real, which grabbed people’s attention
and made them want to learn more. These were the headlines they created:
“In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods
near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary . . . A year later
their footage was found”; “Everything you’ve heard is true”; and “The
scariest movie of all time is a true story.” These headlines (or taglines, as
they are called in film lingo) captivated the viewer’s imagination and left
people curious about what happened. Many wondered if the movie were
actually true, which enticed them to go see it. Also, the idea of the
filmmakers disappearing moved people on an emotional level by provoking
fear and curiosity and made them feel invested in the story.
Another movie that had a good tagline is 
Paranormal Activity
(2007):
“
What happens when you sleep?” This is a concept that grabs people’s
attention because it’s a question that most people are curious about and
have asked themselves before. If your headline asks questions that your
audiences are already asking themselves then your headline is strong.
Good headlines stand out. An example of a great news headline is “The
Truth Hurts: The Million Dollar Video Game Competition.” It attracts
attention because “The Truth Hurts” is specific, succinct, and evokes an
emotional response. And combining it with “The Million Dollar Video

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Game Competition” perks interest because most people have not heard of a
video game competition that offers a million dollars as a prize. This is a
headline that could get many people to watch at least five seconds of a
video or read a bit more about the article. It’s relevant to people’s lives and
taps into their needs, wants, and desires.
Another strong news headline is “Buckingham Palace: Police Injured
Arresting Man with a Sword Near Buckingham Palace.” This captures your
attention because it’s not every day that a man with a sword is attacking
people. It’s something unique, has a royalty/celebrity angle, taps into
people’s fear of the unknown, sparks interest, and grabs attention.
Now that you’re starting to become familiar with headlines that work,
let’s look at an example of a headline that’s not effective: “Trump Under
Fire.” This headline is too vague and doesn’t really make you want to click
on it (unless you are just obsessed with knowing anything associated with
President Trump). This could easily be improved by replacing it with one of
these headlines: “5 Reasons Why Trump Will Be Impeached in the Next
Year,” “New Details of Mueller’s Investigation Point to Trump’s Eventual
Impeachment,” or “Mueller’s Investigation Reveals Shocking Details on
Trump’s International Business Dealings.”