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Article PR headlines - the reader is secondary
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By Glenn Murray
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A great headline can be the difference between having your freereprint article published once (on your own website...) andhaving it published hundreds, if not thousands, of times allover the Internet.
Sure, the content has to be worthwhile; it has to be helpful,informative, and not just a sales spiel. And there's no denyingthat a well written article can be very compelling. But if yourheadline doesn't cut it, the article won't stand a chance. Thebest article in the world will never see the light of daywithout an effective headline.
Now, more than ever, article submissions need a good headline.But it's not just the reader you have to worry about. In fact,the reader is secondary! When it comes to article PR headlines,your main focus should be the publisher.
You may think the requirements of a good headline haven'tchanged over the years, but they have. Unlike headlines fortraditional newspapers, magazines, etc., which target only thereader, article PR submission headlines target first thepublisher, then the reader.
So how do you write a headline for an online publisher?
Here's a few tips...
1) State your domain
No matter what your business, you can be sure that potentialpublishers of your article are inundated with information everyday. Imagine hypothetical 'Publisher Pete'. He's the webmasterof a high PR site. He receives hundreds of article submissionsevery day. Additionally, he farms article submission sites (aka'article banks', 'article submit sites', 'free-reprint sites')for articles on a regular basis. Because so many of the articlesubmissions he sees are spam or unrelated, Publisher Pete isquick to dismiss anything that isn't obviously - and immediately- relevant to his website. So make sure your headline signalsthe general subject area of the article submission, not just theexact topic.
2) State your argument
Every website has an agenda. Whether it's to sell, persuade, orinform, there's always an angle. When our friend Publisher Petelooks for free reprint content for his website, he wantssomething that complements his agenda. If he's selling chemicalgarden fertilizers, he doesn't want an article about the evilsof chemical fertilizer. Nor does he want an article espousingthe virtues of organic fertilizer. He wants an article promotingthe value of chemical garden fertilizer. If that's what yourarticle is about, make sure the headline lets him know.
3) Don't make empty promises
Sensationalized headlines may work in traditional media, butthey're not so effective in article PR submissions. Few thingsfrustrate an online publisher more than being lured in by apromising headline which turns out to be nothing more than hotair. For publishers who take the time to carefully filtercontent before publishing, empty headlines are nothing more thantime-wasters. For publishers who are a little less meticulous,empty headlines result in a site which is characterized bydisjointed, contradictory, low-quality content. Either way, thepublisher isn't impressed, so make sure the headline of yourarticle is relevant to (and validated by) the body of yourarticle.
4) Put yourself in the publisher's shoes
Always think about ways to make the publisher's job easier. It'sas simple as that. Brainstorm 5, 10, 20 headlines, then putyourself in the publisher's position and ask which one you'dchoose. That's the best headline for your article submission.
5) Think about your publisher's readers
Publishers want articles that readers will open. But remember,your publisher's website may cater to an entirely different typeof reader to your website. Whenever you find yourself thinkingabout your secondary audience (the reader), make sure you'rethinking about the publisher's readers - not your own. Thatsettled, you can go on to focus on regular audience-headlineconsiderations such as making the headline attention-getting,targeted, and benefit driven.
Conclusion
With the emergence of article PR as a great way to generate ahigh search engine ranking, and the associated proliferation ofarticle submission spam, the right headline is more importantthan ever. The important thing to remember is that you're facedwith a gatekeeper, and you need to address their needs first.
By following all the publisher-focused tips above, you'll notonly see your article published many more times, you'll also seeit published on more relevant websites. This will help both yourranking (because links from relevant sites are always the best)and your click-thru traffic (because the audience will be morerelevant).
Happy headlining!
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