Heart Stopping Headlines

The headline of a press release is everything.

A bad one will ensure your story is never read. A great one will draw people in magnetically. They'll keep reading until you stop writing.

Here are some points to keep in mind when writing a press release title:

1. The main keyword should preferably be the first word in the title. Otherwise it's harder to rank in Google (this is true for all pages, not justpress releases.)
    
2. Include your brand name in the title if possible. Here's one of the simplest reputation management tricks in the book. Over time, your releases will start ranking for your brand name and often knock down any negative feedback you don't want there! Brilliant!
    
3. The title must be newsworthy.  Otherwise, your press release will likely be rejected by the distributor. Newsworthy titles also happen to get more clicks, so it always helps. People are addicted to learning what's *new*.
    
4. The title cannot be sensational or come off as biased.Otherwise, it will again likely be rejected by distributor. Your customers can also sniff it from a mile away.
   
   And, most important:
    
5. The title must be fascinating! Grab the reader by the throat!Otherwise, it won't get many clicks (even if it is ranking in Google.)

So, taking the time to write a GREAT press release title is truly worth the effort. A successful press release can bring incredible amounts of business.

A great way to find powerful headlines is to skim through a newspaper, paying attention to which stories grab your attention and which don't. 

What's common about the interesting ones?

Here are 3 Tips for Writing a HEART-STOPPING News Headline:

1. Embrace controversy. Your headline cannot say "Herbalife is a Pyramid Scheme" … that would be an opinion, right? (It also wouldn't be news, because it's not about something recent.) But it CAN say "Herbalife Accused of Being A Pyramid Scheme" ... which is still controversial, sounds more credible than the original and will get a ton clicks when it ranks in Google.
    
2. Use powerful verbs. Most people try to use adjectives to make things sound interesting. But verbs are actually what makes a sentence exciting. "Stocks Shudder After Fed Meeting" is more startling than "Stocks Sold After Fed Meeting" ... Get it? Don't be afraid to break out the thesaurus.
    
3. Include numbers when possible. For whatever reason, numbers grab attention. People love to hear specific details, like "Cable Companies Fined $2 Million" … so work them into your headlines. Also, they draw the eye if they're written in numeral form. 2 instead of two, etc. Specific numbers are also better than round numbers. So "Fined $2,039,393" would be even better than $2 Million if you have space.

I know improving your titles isn't the MOST exciting sounding thing in the world. But there's nothing that makes a bigger difference, and it costs $0. 

In SEO, your click through rate (CTR) is everything!

By the way, this headline advice doesn't just apply to press releases. Take a look at every single page you ever write to make sure they're all interesting. 

A quick title audit for the pages you have ranking can easily increase your traffic by 10% or more (seriously!)

That adds up to a whole lot o' free business.

To your success,

Michael X, Bobby MacDonald, and Kevin Bombino
https://PressAdvantage.com