If a research report is delivered, and nobody reads it, does it matter?
The entire raison d'etre for research is to help people feel more confident in their decision-making.
You can't make them feel more confident if they don't read your report.
In fact, if they aren't reading your facts, insights, and points of view, your work is like the tree falling in the forest when nobody is around...
It doesn't make a sound.
Don't do hours of work with no benefit.
Getting stakeholders to use your insights to solve business problems requires that they actually open and read your Topline News Reports, Research Reports, and email/Slack communications about the research you conducted.
“On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.”
🔥 Read on, and I'll show you how to write killer headlines.
Why it matters:
The way research is delivered today leads to a lot of great insights going unread.
Delivering the report alone doesn't won't cut it; you have to get people to read it.
It doesn't happen like in Field of Dreams...
This begins by writing a good headline.
There is ONE RULE to writing a GREAT HEADLINE.
Rule 1: Get people to read the next sentence.
Then, remember that your headline needs to touch on three main points:
What is the report about?
Who is it for?
Why should they read it?
For example, take the headline of this document:
Write Research Report Headlines That Get Stakeholders to Read Your Reports—and Take Action
What is is about? Writing headlines so research reports get opened—and read.
Who is it for? Researchers and those who conduct research.
Why should they read it? So research is read and inspires action.
Headline considerations:
🌰 Start with the nut graf. The nut graf is your research in a "nutshell" in the form of a paragraph, i.e., nutshell + paragraph = nut graf. State what your story is about out loud (no more than a paragraph), and that's your nut graf. Your headline should capture the essence of this.
🪝 Find the hook without spoiling the ending. The purpose of a hook is to grab attention and give your reader a reason to invest their time and energy into your writing (in this case, research report). You want your headline to stand out, but you don’t want to give away the most exciting part of the story in the headline. A good header offers enough detail to intrigue the reader, keeping them reading until they reach the end.
⏰ A headline should be relevant to the target audience and engage readers by addressing a topic that is current, important, and of interest to them. This should link to the things the business—or stakeholders care about.
🎯 Brevity is a fundamental characteristic of a good headline. It should be succinct and to the point, using as few words as possible to convey the story's essence (3-10 words is the target—less is more). Long and wordy headlines can lose readers' attention and fail to make an impact.
💬 Be conversational. Write a sentence that would sound natural if you said it out loud. Eliminate unnecessary words and jargon. Headlines should be clear, easily understood, and quickly digestible. Readers skim through headlines, so it's crucial to convey the essence of your article or news story in a succinct manner.
🔑 Simplicity is key. Identify the story’s key points. If you had to choose one takeaway, what would it be? Less is better. If you can say something in two words that was said in four, go for two. Creativity can be cool, but don't sacrifice clarity for cleverness. Also, pun with caution. You don't want to distract people with a dad joke, pun, or outdated cultural reference. Avoid being clever for the sake of being clever. Wordplay should make sense even if a reader doesn’t get the reference.
❤️ Appeal to emotion. Use strong action verbs in your headlines to convey a sense of urgency and excitement. Choose verbs that evoke emotion, imply movement, or suggest a transformation to captivate your audience's attention. For example, instead of using passive phrases, use dynamic action verbs. You'll make an immediate impact and increase the chances of people engaging with your content.
🧐 Appeal to logic. Incorporate numbers, percentages, or statistics in your headlines to make them more compelling and attention-grabbing. Readers are often drawn to specific figures because they provide a sense of credibility and authority. Using data also helps convey information quickly and efficiently, making it easier for readers to grasp the main point of your article. Accuracy is another important factor. A headline must reflect the truth and accurately represent the content of the story. Clickbait headlines suck.
Test your headline:
Read it out loud. Then, put yourself in your reader's shoes. Stop thinking of your headline from your perspective and start thinking about it from their perspective.
🛑 Now, before you continue, when you read your headline out loud, does it make you want to continue reading?
🌰 Does your headline explain your nut graf?
🪝 Does your headline have a good hook? Do you feel excited reading it?
⏰ Does the headline align with the content of the report?
❤️ Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion?
🎯 Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)?
💪 Does it use strong and persuasive language?
✔️ Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors?
By following these principles and using this checklist, you can craft effective and engaging headlines that capture the essence of a news story and attract readers' attention.
Examples of Killer Headlines:
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? Holy shit! The President resigned? Why?
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Two words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Name of the President and Resigns. Check.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? Biggest stock market crash in history? I'm listening.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Six words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Greatest crash in history? Like ever? Wow.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? The man responsible for the World Trade Center has finally been neutralized? I'd say that evokes emotion.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Four words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? <Mic Drop>
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
As an added bonus, take a look at the lede. The headline here captures your attention. The lede summarizes the most important aspect of the story. If you read nothing else but the headline and the lede, you'd know the gist.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? Martin Luther King is dead. As one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, everyone is listening.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Nine words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? "Shot to death" and "Gunned down" are strong.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? Do I even need to answer this?
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Two words!
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Evil shithead dead? Yes, I'd say so.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? US attacked? The world is watching.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Two words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Yes.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
As an added bonus, take a look at the lede. The headline here captures your attention. The lede summarizes the most important aspect of the story. If you read nothing else but the headline and the lede, you'd know the gist.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? The president was assasinated by sniper; I'd say that captures emotion.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Seventeen words. A bit long, but I wanted to show that sometimes that is ok too.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Yes.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Some business examples:
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? The reader will be curious about growth and how we can use self-service support to make it happen.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Seven words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? It's good. I think this can be better.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Why it works:
Does the headline align with the content the report? Yes.
Does the headline create curiosity or evoke emotion? The reader will be curious about why this is happening.
Is the headline concise and to the point (3-10 words)? Five words.
Does it use strong and persuasive language? Plunges is a great word.
Is the headline free from grammar and spelling errors. Yep.
Conclusion:
A good headline is essential in capturing readers' attention and engaging them with the content. It should be concise, engaging, and relevant to the topic. The headline should also be unique, standing out from other content. Additionally, optimizing the headline for search engines can increase its visibility. Ultimately, a well-crafted headline serves as a gateway to the article, attracting readers and encouraging further exploration.