How to write titles and influence people - part 1
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 15:12
Titles make people want to read books, articles, and - wait for it - your church's newsletter, your charity's fundraising leaflets, your mission's magazine or your Christian business' brochures.
In fact, a good title can make all the difference between someone immediately reading your stuff or putting it to one side 'to read later' - which effectively means it'll be forgotten. In our world of junk emails, junk mail and information overload, only the best titled material will grab attention.
Emanuel Haldeman-Julius single-handedly sold more than 100,000,000 "little blue books" during the first part of the 20th century (yes, 100 million copies!). How? Simply by changing the title of a book to increase sales.
He later wrote a book called 'The First Hundred Million' that explains how certain tried-and-tested title words increased his sales. This classic influenced marketing for the next hundred years. Amazingly, Haldeman-Julius advertised his books by title alone. There was no long explanation of why each book was so good. Just the title.
Not convinced? Perhaps you think what makes the difference is the smiley faces on your website, the great design on your leaflets, the special discount you offer, the free gift you mention, etc. Now, all these things are useful in attracting attention, but what if you don't have a graphic designer who can make your stuff look a million dollars? Or what if your charity, mission or business is facing harsh economic realities and can't afford to give away lots of free stuff, or make lots of half-price offers? And what if your supporters would start to think you were getting too gimmicky for a Christian mission or charity if you did?
Well, it costs nothing to write a good title - so long as you know how.
It's a well-known fact within the newspaper industry that a good sub-editor is the unsung hero of journalism. Sub-editors check articles for accuracy, libel, house style and grammar, improve readability and flow, and may write introductory paragraphs, but by far their most important contribution is... the title. Sadly, this specialism is disappearing as economic pressures force journalists and editors into doing the sub-editor's job as well as their own. But any good editor who still has a 'sub' knows that he would rather have his 'sub' spend 25% of his time on checking the article and 75% on getting the title right! Tabloid head-lining is a special art.
Why so much attention to headlines? Because newspaper owners know that their papers are bought and sold, in large part, according to the strength of their headlines.
Next time I'll tell you what Haldeman-Julius changed his titles to, and later I'll share some of the sub-editor's secrets...