Why are headlines so important in web content?
Headlines are extremely important in web content, as discussed in class, as they are the first thing that the user reads and what makes them decide whether or not to click the link. Writing for the web is not a guessing game, it’s a craft that we must learn about and practice extensively to get it right. The most important part of writing for web is writing headlines, because the digital user is guided by headlines. As we discussed in class, the digital user wants to be told what to do next, is impatient and will move on to the next thing quickly, wants to be surprised, and gets a lot of content from social. Most importantly, headlines are so important because the headline is the “shiny hook that lures the fish” by grabbing its attention. Headlines that are made in service to the customer can accomplish that by being interesting and relevant to the target audience that it is made for. The headline is the single most important aspect of any marketing document, because it is our first and only opportunity to capture the attention of our audience. With the knowledge that most of the population has an attention span of less than 8 seconds total, we know that we have only a few seconds to promise our audience something valuable. That is what the headline is, a promise. It is how we convince our users that we have something that they want, and that if they click, they’re getting their time and attention’s worth of good valuable content. The headline is so important because it is what we must use to make an immediate instant impression on our audience. If a headline is weak and doesn’t get any clicks, the content within goes to waste because the headline wasn’t strong enough to convince users that they will receive something of value. Headlines that are direct and sell to the reader that they are missing out by NOT clicking the link are what gives the rest of the marketing document the chance to be seen by the target audience of people who will find value and act on whatever the content pertains to. A great headline is what people will share, because digital users want to discover and share things that are interesting and relevant. By crafting headlines that draw in the right kind of traffic, perform great in search engines, and stand out from competitors, we give our content a great shot at resonating with our audience and making a real and actionable impact on them.
Headline I recently clicked on: 16 Cheap, Healthy Dinners for When You’re All Out of Ideas https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/cheap-healthy-dinner-ideas
Why I clicked it:
I recently clicked on this headline from an article in the New York Times Cooking subfolder, which I thought resonated deeply with me and would provide me valuable information on cheap healthy dinner ideas. First of all, I clicked this headline because the number “16” gave the headline an authentic feel and provided a tangible number to understand how much value I will get out of reading this article. I knew that if I read this article, I would have at least 16 more healthy and cheap dinner ideas to add to my rotation of meals I make for myself on a daily basis. Next, the word “cheap” in combination with “healthy” was very enticing to me and brought a lot of value to the content because, like many young college students, eating healthy while also trying not to spend a fortune is something that I struggle with. The combination of “cheap” and “healthy” makes me think that this headline was crafted with young health-conscious people like me in mind, who want to fuel their bodies with good healthy food but don’t have the financial ability to buy groceries without considering price as a factor. The last part of the headline, “for when you’re all out of ideas” also spoke to me and was a factor in why I clicked the link because I tend to get bored of meals if I am eating them too often, so I am constantly looking for new ideas for healthy meals I have not tried yet. The sub-head “let us make the decisions for you” ties perfectly into this idea that people like me want a quick and easy guide on some dinner ideas to make when we’ve run out of ideas ourselves. I clicked this headline because it promised value by communicating effectively and quickly to me that it will give price sensitive people like me who want to eat healthy on a budget 16 cheap and healthy dinner ideas.
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