The document discusses writing effective web content and headlines. It states that writing for the web is similar to writing for broadcasting in that it should be written for the ear. Headlines need to grab attention and make people want to read more. There are two types of headlines - ones optimized for search engines with keywords, and ones that create a "curiosity gap" by teasing just enough information to make the reader want to click. Specific, engaging language and questions are most effective at generating interest.

1. Wri$ng
for
the
Web
...
isn’t
much
different
from
wri$ng
in
general.
What’s
always
been
interes$ng,
what’s
always
been
can’t-­‐
put-­‐it-­‐down,
is
s"ll
interes$ng,
can’t-­‐
put-­‐it-­‐down.

2. Wri$ng
for
the
Web
The
difference
is
...
...
now
we
know
what
works
and
what
doesn’t.

3. And
it
turns
out
...
Wri$ng
for
the
Web
has
a
lot
in
common
with
wri$ng
for
broadcas$ng
–
wri$ng
for
the
ear.

4. From
1993
$nyurl.com/journclass
(click
“Older
Posts”
at
boLom
of
page)

5. Secrets
to
geOng
people
not
to
tune
out
-­‐-­‐
for
radio
and,
it
turns
out,
just
about
anything
on
the
Web
...
•
Select
the
most
interes$ng
word
or
phrase.
•
Make
that
the
first
element
of
your
story
(and,
on
the
Web,
your
headline),
and
let
your
wri$ng
flow
from
there.

6. But
what
are
the
most
interes$ng
words?
•
Develop
a
sense
of
your
audience’s
priori$es
by
monitoring
clicks.
•
And
develop
a
sense
of
the
wider
world’s
priori$es
by
checking
sites
like
Google
Trends
<google.com/trends/>

7. Secrets
to
geOng
people
not
to
tune
out
-­‐-­‐
for
radio
and,
it
turns
out,
just
about
anything
on
the
Web
...
Omit
needless
words.
-­‐-­‐
Will
Strunk,
The
Elements
of
Style,
1918
TwiLer.
Tex$ng.
Tiny
smartphone
screens,
2012.
Need
we
say
more?

8. Read
your
wri$ng
out
loud.
Especially
important
for
broadcas$ng,
but
a
great
test
of
any
piece
of
wri$ng
or
repor$ng.
If
your
ear
doesn’t
get
it,
neither
will
others’
ears.
Or
eyes.
Bonus
proofreading
/p:
Change
font,
font-­‐size,
window
width,
etc.

9. Secrets
to
geOng
people
not
to
tune
out
-­‐-­‐
for
radio
and,
it
turns
out,
just
about
anything
on
the
Web
...
Really,
not
that
different
from
the
ol’
“inverted
pyramid.”
hLp://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Inverted_pyramid

10. All
your
work’s
for
nothing
if
people
don’t
read
your
work.
...
So
you
need
great
headlines,
great
subject
lines,
great
Tweets
and
Facebook
posts.
If
the
headline
doesn’t
hook
’em,
the
rest
of
your
work
goes
unseen.

11. Headlines
that
work
Two
kinds
of
headlines:
• Search-­‐engine-­‐op6mized
headlines.
Good
for
story-­‐level
placement.
• “Curiosity
gap”-­‐op$mized
headlines.
Good
for
front-­‐page
and
email
placement,
for
print
publica6ons
...
and
for
social
media
(TwiCer,
Facebook).

12. SEO-­‐friendly
headline
techniques
• Place
the
story's
most
interes6ng
word
or
phrase
as
close
as
possible
to
the
start
of
the
headline.
• Simple,
direct
headlines
(with
familiar
names).
• “How-­‐to”
or
“Why”
headlines.
• Accentuate
the
posi6ve.
Say
what
did
happen,
not
what’s
unchanged
or
stable.

13. ‘Curiosity
gap’
The
difference
between
what
you
know
and
what
you
want
to
know
Like
The
Onion,
the
editorial
team
at
Upworthy
begins
with
dozens
of
headlines
and
works
on
them
un"l
they
create
what
Mr.
[Eli]
Pariser
called
“a
curiosity
gap”
—
a
need
to
know
more
that
prompts
the
impulse
to
click
on
something.
-­‐-­‐
David
Carr,
The
New
York
Times
hLp://mediadecoder.blogs.ny$mes.com/2012/07/09/two-­‐guys-­‐made-­‐a-­‐web-­‐site-­‐and-­‐this-­‐is-­‐what-­‐they-­‐got/

14. ‘Curiosity
gap’
headlines
• Assume
most
people
aren’t
interested.
Write
headlines
to
engage
people
who
think
they’re
not
interested,
and
your
core
audience
will
s$ll
be
there
for
you.
(Dare
them
not
to
be
interested.)
• Play
down
loca6on.
(Except
for
famous
loca$ons.)
• Play
down
names.
(Except
for
famous
names.)

15. ‘Curiosity
gap’
headlines
• Simple,
direct
headlines
(with
generic
nouns
for
unfamiliar
names).
The
most-­‐clicked
Internet
headline
(or
most-­‐
read
newspaper
headline)
ever
might
be
...

16. Most-­‐clicked
headline
ever?
-­‐-­‐
Credit
for
headline:
Paul
Muth,
Concordia
University

17. ...
or
maybe
more
so:
With
a
puppy.

18. Elements
of
Style:
Use
definite,
specific,
concrete
language
• Regardless
of
headline
or
wri$ng
style
...
Consider
words’
“point
value.”
hLp://www.amazon.com/University-­‐Games-­‐1520-­‐
Man-­‐Bites/dp/B000087BDT

19. ‘Curiosity
gap’
headlines
• Ques6ons:
‘Who
was
Deep
Throat?’
• Ellipses,
teases:
‘Na$on’s
faLest
city
is
...’
• Pull-­‐quotes:
‘Suck
it
up,
wussies.’

20. The
power
of
YOU
• Works
with
SEO-­‐friendly
headlines.
• Works
with
“curiosity
gap”
headlines.
hLp://www.theonion.com/
ar$cles/secondperson-­‐
narra$ve-­‐enthralling-­‐you,
30380/

21. Bad
headlines
• Unfamiliar
words
and
names
–
including
all
but
top-­‐line
acronyms
and
abbrevia$ons.
• “No-­‐change”
words:
– “Stable”
– “unchanged”
– “s$ll”
– “con$nues”

22. Bad
headlines
A
string
of
words
that
can
be
both
noun
and
verb,
or
verb
and
adjec$ve,
or
...
• Police
chase
winds
through
3
towns
• Teacher
strikes
idle
kids
• Owners
responsible
for
bi$ng
dogs
• Juvenile
court
tries
shoo$ng
suspect
• Downtown
hogs
grant
cash
• Cop
picks
open
can
of
worms

23. Bad
headlines
Words
out
of
order:
• Sisters
reunited
aner
18
years
in
supermarket
checkout
line
• Services
for
man
who
refused
to
hate
Thursday
in
Atlanta
• Trial
ends
in
mercy
killing
• Poten$al
witness
to
murder
drunk
• Clinic
gives
poor
free
legal
help

24. Charlie Meyerson
Bit.ly/Meyerson
linkedin.com/in/cmeyerson
708-TEQ-NEWS