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

Favourite Free Image Sources and Graphics Tools for Small Business Marketing

Image
Wondering where to find free images for your newsletter or blog? These are the most common sources we use for free images: FREE: http://pexels.com http://pixabay.com http://gratisography.com https://www.goodfreephotos.com http://www.freeimages.com https://morguefile.com http://unsplash.com FREE with Attribution: https://creativecommons.org Here are some graphics tools we use often: Create favicons for your website or blog  http://www.favicon-generator.org Create buttons easily  http://dabuttonfactory.com Convert graphics files from one version to another  https://cloudconvert.com Colour picker for Chrome  http://eye-dropper.kepi.cz Compress images  https://tinypng.com Of course, snapping your own photos is always a great choice! photo by Live to Create Photography / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Complex to Simple: Images for Social Media Posts

Image
Rocket Science Version The sizing of images for the various social marketing platforms, post types, and headers is becoming a bit complex. In fact, it would be a very practical way to teach equivalent fractions and geometry in Grade 9. But if you're long out of school and want all the details, get them on Twirp's Cheat Sheet: The ONLY social media image sizes you need to know . Squares and Rectangles The diagram below shows a very simplified rule of thumb for matching image shapes to social media posts on common platforms. Size Matters While bigger is better, it often means a larger file size and then icky compression stuff happens and... well, you've probably seen it on other people's feeds. I suggest your squares be a minimum of 600px by 600px; and 1200px by 1200px is about the largest you'll need. For rectangles, use minimum 600px by 300px, or maximum 1200px by 600px. originally published in Work Better, Not Harder newsletter August 31, 2017 Clic...
Keep reading »

Why a lot of eMail Marketing Advice is Wrong

Image
You might be thinking I'm off my rocker using that subject line, since I regularly dish out email marketing advice . The thing to remember is that almost all the advice you'll read is situational . One expert will say that subject lines like "Wow" or "Hey" work best, while another will tell us to avoid them at all costs. Because I have experience with informational marketing for small businesses in particular, I evaluate all of the advice I read in that context. Sometimes I get great ideas that I can use with one or more clients, but rarely do I read anything new that would apply to all of them. That's because a really successful email campaign needs to be specific in its strategy . Here are some of the things that will affect your strategy: if you sell to consumers or to businesses, or both your very specific target market if you have a small or large list if you know your subscribers or don't how new subscribers get on your list how...
Keep reading »

Good, Fast, Cheap

Image
On the inside of one of our garage doors, in black permanent marker, the previous owner - a mechanic and race car driver - wrote: good fast cheap pick 2! I know Mike was talking about cars but this trifecta has implications for other (small business type) things, like marketing, product development, project management, and problem solving. Let's say you can get a good website built fast; you shouldn't expect it to be cheap. If it's fast and cheap, don't expect quality, and so on. If you think you're getting all three, beware! Economics - and people - don't work like that. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Summer Marketing Sets You up for Success in the Fall

Image
You might think blog (and newsletter) readership drops over the summer when many people head on vacation. And you would be wrong. Some people have more time to read during the summer months. In fact, they will read more deeply, taking the time to click links and follow a topic or call to action. Before you start tossing rotten fruit my way... I not suggesting you skip vacation in favour of marketing. Your summer holiday may be as important to your body's health as your marketing is to your business health. In the same way you'll figure out how to take some vacation days this summer, you can also figure out a way to keep your marketing alive and kicking. Make a content plan in advance. I'm not the best person to dish out this advice as I do most of my content creation on the fly as inspiration strikes me. But summer has even me doing some necessary planning. At the least, jot down a list of possible topics to use over the summer. (Do it now; I'll wait for you....
Keep reading »

Colour Palettes for Summer Marketing

Image
A photo can be a powerful marketing message , an expression of brand with more impact than a logo. It's worth a thousand words and expressed through many thousands of colours. We have feelings about the image itself and about the colours. You know how you feel when looking at a beautiful photo of sand, sun and surf? Aquamarine, white, pink, and deep blue. Even if you don't own a bathing suit, you want to be there. Summer colour schemes can be bright and vibrant, or cool and relaxed. What does your summer marketing campaign look and feel like? Here are some photos that inspired me. I've included html colour codes and links to the original photos on pixabay.com if you want to download for yourself. Can a fallen leaf be elegant? I think this one is - elegant and earthy. And, if I have time to contemplate this leaf, I must be feeling relaxed and at ease. Gazania are attention hogs in the garden with their warm colours and pinwheel designs. ...
Keep reading »

5 More Inspired Ways to Develop Content Ideas

Image
Here is more inspiration as a follow-up to  5 Inspired Ways to Develop Content Ideas . That list had suggestions that you can do in minutes while sitting at your desk. This list of inspiring quotes requires you to get out from behind your desk. “Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.”  - Sidney Sheldon #1. Swing by your local library and run your hand along a row of books. Enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and poke around for ideas by scanning book titles in the stacks. “I've found that many of the greatest ideas surface in bars because that's where many people cultivate inspiration.”  - Herb Kelleher #2. Off you go to your neighbourhood bar ... or coffee shop or... . Take a notepad and pen. Listen to what people are talking about. Ask people for their opinion on something about your busi...
Keep reading »

Newsletter Ideas for Real Estate Professionals

Image
Your goal is to provide useful and interesting info which will make you a trusted resource. And you want to be top of mind when one of your subscribers decides to buy or sell property. There are a lot of ideas you can incorporate into your newsletter strategy. Here are a few to get you started... and some of them don’t even require you to write! Neighbourhood profiles Visit a neighbourhood and talk to people who live there. Check out the schools, shopping malls, and places to eat. Drive the main routes to understand the traffic. Take pictures and videos. You can include the best of it all in your newsletter. Community event listings Ultimately useful, this strategy is a real winner. It’s also very time consuming. You’ll want to connect with all of the organizations in your community that put on events - this can have other benefits too. Industry information It’s easy to include content like trends in mortgage rates, property sales, and house design. Also consid...
Keep reading »

What I Learned from a Marketing Guru

Image
I am fortunate to be good friends with a sales and marketing consultant. After years of advice, some things are definitely sticking. One of the most useful has been the P-O-S formula: Pain - what is your clients' pain? Outcomes - what will be the result of working with you? Solutions - how do you achieve that? I use this formula for all of the marketing writing I do. If I'm having trouble getting started, it helps me focus and draft my thoughts. If I had no problem writing, I use it as a checklist to edit at the end. It's quick, simple and memorable. Give it a try! Thanks to Debi Hartlen MacDonald of New Life Business Solutions ! Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Is your Sign-up Form CASL Compliant?

Image
You already know about the identification requirements that need to be in the footer of commercial electronic messages (CEMs) to be compliant with CASL : name, mailing address, plus either phone # or email address. Do you know that this information must also be near, or "easily accessible" from, your sign-up form if you want to gain express consent? Take a moment and check your website to see if this contact information is there. Perhaps you have a contact page with this info on it, or have it in your page footer - that's good. You might also put it on your redirect page if you have one. (That's your web page where a new subscriber ends up after clicking 'sign up'.) Also note: "An individual must take action to opt-in to a stated purpose ." Is there a description of what people are signing up for? (It's also a good time to test your form by signing up to make sure it works.) While you're there looking, think about how you can mak...
Keep reading »