If You Pay Attention to Your Headline, It will Get Attention


When a client mentioned CoSchedule's Headline Analyzer, I hopped on over to check it out. (Thanks Natasha!) Here's the promise I found there: "The free blog post headline analyzer will score your overall headline quality and rate its ability to result in social shares, increased traffic, and SEO value."

My initial thought was that it would have to be run by algorithms so its value would be limited. But my skepticism turned to enthusiasm with my first use. The rather mechanical breakdown of my proposed subject line was detailed and looked at different success factors.

The Headline Analyzer was useful to help me brainstorm alternatives and especially to consider options I wouldn't have otherwise devised. I think success came partially from paying more attention instead of rushing to publish. Go check it out - it'll take only a few minutes to improve your headline score.

photo by Benjamin Ellis / Flickr

Click to Tweet this Article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ideas for Your Holiday Email Campaign

Image
It’s that time of year when our email boxes quickly fill up each day with special promotions – Black Friday will kick it all off. Depending on your type of business and target market, you may be (should be?) considering doing some extra promotional emails leading up to the holidays. This is something you need to plan now and start executing very soon. I'm not encouraging you to start blasting your subscribers with advertising. I am suggesting that a well-planned email campaign can be very effective at this time of year. To get you going, here are some ideas to work into your plan: If you sell gift certificates , you'll definitely want to promote them. Recommend who they will be suitable for. Insert Buy Now buttons directly into your newsletter with an immediate call to action. Do a holiday countdown with the number of shopping days left and something special for each day. Create special offers or promotions only for your email subscribers . This can also help to get new subscr...
Keep reading »

Build It and Work at It

Image
A newsletter is not one of those ‘build it and they will come’ things. It takes work to both maintain and build on each relationship that you (re-)start with each issue. Maintain: Give your readers what they want, not what you want to give them. Deliver VALUE in exchange for your readers' time. Respond to everyone who replies to your newsletter, even if it’s just to say “Glad you enjoyed it.” Build: Add new contacts to build your list. Promote each issue through social media to extend your reach. Make it easy for people to share and subscribe. photo by subsetsum / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Keeping in Touch

Image
Photo:  Wim Mulder One of the most common reasons for starting a newsletter is to keep in touch with clients, past clients, prospects, colleagues, suppliers and other contacts with the purpose of staying top of mind . I have said that this shouldn't be your only reason for having a newsletter but, in fact, sometimes that’s just what it is. "I'm just writing to say hello..." Here are some questions to consider: Do you still have to give value to succeed at keeping in touch? Do you even need your readers to open your email to achieve that? If you’re not giving value , what reason do you have for emailing? How often do you need to email your contacts to stay top of mind? This might be a factor of how often your readers would need/want your product or service. Remember, if you want someone to know you're thinking about them , a card by snail mail is more appropriate. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

6 Lessons Learned from Prepping for the Social Media Day Halifax Conference

Image
photo credit @onceadaley on Instagram If you attended Social Media Day Halifax 2018  on Friday, I sure hope you enjoyed yourself and learned lots. I know I did! And not all my learning was from the presenters and sessions. Here are a few examples from the event organizing side of things. 1. It doesn't matter how many lists you make or how prepared you are, tech will give you a tummy ache at some point. Anything last minute that needs tech, also needs a backup plan. (Big thanks to my sister for helping me print conference nametags at 11pm the night before!) Note: If you buy labels or cardstock items at a Staples store, don't expect that their Copy & Print shop will print them for you. 2. Test things that can be tested. And not just tech things. When a vendor's website says one item goes with another, that doesn't mean it's so. For example, 4"x3" nametags do not fit into 4"x3" nametag holders. 3. Automate as much as humanly poss...
Keep reading »

Why Use a Bulk Email Service?

Image
For a small cost, a bulk email application gives you LOTS of benefits: Cost is minimal. It allows you to schedule your email sends. It allows you to auto-post to your social media accounts. It handles subscribes and unsubscribes effortlessly and accurately. It has built in functionality to manage your contact lists and segments. It saves you time and mistakes. Take advantage of templates plus spell/spam checkers. It keeps you compliant . It keeps you up-to-date and ready to take advantage of new functionality. It raises you above amateur status. Statistics drive strategy . Without them there is no way to know if you are being successful , what works and what doesn’t, and what readers are interested in. The real question is, why not use a bulk email service? If you can think of a reason, please share! Photo:  markyweiss Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Typos Tell a Deeper Story

Image
If you don't think spelling mistakes matter, consider this: photo: CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS The headline was: "Kathleen Wynne’s ‘open government’ launch marred by spelling mistake." So, while she was talking about important stuff, eyes were on the spelling error, mouths were snickering, and fingers were tweeting. Her message was lost in the distraction. Do you think someone got reprimanded or even fired over this mistake? Who goofed? Was it the person who requisitioned the sign? The person who ordered the sign? The person who approved the proof? The person at the printer who processed the order? The person who printed it? The person who packaged and shipped it? The person who received and unwrapped it? The person who placed it on the podium? The camera and sound crew who set up and tested, looking right at it? Kathleen herself as she walked to the podium? This wasn't just one person's mistake. There were a lot of people going through the mot...
Keep reading »

Remember Your Audience

Keeping blog content relevant to your target reader is a key factor in blog success but can easily get lost in our rush to get everything done. One way to slow down and remember your audience is to sit quietly at your keyboard for even a minute or two, just before you compose your post, to think about the topic you are addressing in terms of your target reader. Once you place yourself in your reader's chair, it becomes easier to write specifically to them. This short moment of meditation will absolutely increase your focus and build your blog success. Keeping your posts relevant, interesting and helpful will have your readers returning for more. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Resist the Urge to Ask

Image
Received this message on Facebook : What is your opinion about sending this kind of email below out? I am on the fence. (I've changed the name on their signature and company for privacy.) "Hi Natasha, We are doing a little organizing and noticed that it's been a while since you have opened any emails or shown any activity via the "XYZ" email subscription. No worries! We value your time! We just want to be sure we are bringing good vibes to the online community whilst not pestering anyone with unwanted emails. Are we bothering you? If you don't want to receive any future emails from us you can click here to unsubscribe from the mailing list. No prob. If you do want to receive these emails then you simply need to do nothing. Keep on keepin' on. Find What Feels Good. Love, A" Consider this: If the motivation for sending something to your list is personal, think twice.  Always give something of value - this email doesn't do that. Your emai...
Keep reading »

How Do You Know If What You're Doing Is Working?

Image
If you aren't looking at statistics at all, how do you know if your online marketing efforts are paying off? You don't need to have a complex Google Analytics set-up to keep an eye on trends. Yes, hard numbers are good to know but trends give you strategic information. Anita Kirkbride and I used a similar chart to the one above when we presented at BlogJam 2015  - back then the top line was 9,000 pageviews per month instead of 20,000. I can tell you exactly what I changed at key points (at Anita's urging) which had a direct effect on my blog readership: June 2011 - I started using social media. September 2012 - I started blogging more and sharing posts more frequently on Twitter, in particular; results were obvious by December . December 2013 - I started posting daily enewsletter tips on Twitter and LinkedIn. 2nd half of 2016 - I started posting daily newsletter tips on Google+. I've tried lots of other tactics, too - some have contributed in little ways...
Keep reading »