You Might Not Believe What a Catchy Title Can Do...

How to Create Effective and Engaging "Headlines" for Notes and Lectures

Though lectures and notes are not exactly "presentations. Wouldn't it help students engage if the title were catchy and even played to the "What good is this in real life" issue?  

Regardless, wouldn't thinking things through from this angle help us teachers have a better target for our lectures and notes?

This is how Powtoon's blog is helping with this idea. (Examples below)

Winning Headline Formulas: The 5 Principles of an Effective Headline

1. Address Your Specific Audience (Being vague or general = boring university)

2. Highlight the Specific Benefit or Outcome They Desire

3. Highlight the Specific Pain They Most Want to Avoid

4. Create Curiosity

5. Add Urgency

From the blog: "The term [chosen] for ‘Niche’ or ‘Audience’ is ‘Avatar’. An Avatar means the identity of your target market or tribe. So let’s say your tribe are university students – then anytime you see ‘Avatar’ below, just put in the title of your Avatar. That could be ‘University Students’ or even mention the specific university you’re addressing. Of course, this applies to ANY tribe – and it absolutely applies to YOUR tribe.

Caveat: these are not black and white formulas, so feel free to play around a little. You might want to add certain elements within some of the formulas. The main thing is being specific to your tribe and leveraging the 5 principles above.

Remember, the secret to making your headlines ridiculously attractive is by deeply understanding what your tribe WANTS. The more clarity you have on what your audience wants, the easier it’ll be for you to use these formulas with power.

Also – you can use some of these together. One of the formulas might be a great Headline and another would be a perfect supporting Headline for you. Mix it up!

As you’ll see below, for some of these headline formulas I gave specific examples. Now as a fun bonus –  I’m here to help you get the most out of this list. So if you’d like some extra help making your headline irresistibly awesome – choose one of the formulas below, use it to craft your own headline and write it in the comment section below. If you’re curious how to make it even more awesome – just ask, and I’ll help you make it even better."

Introducing: The 91 Awesome Headline Formulas

1) A Little Mistake That Cost a [Title of Avatar] [Painful Loss] a [Time] (i.e ‘A Little Mistake That Cost a SaaS CEO $50,000 a Month’)

2) [Gain] Hiding In Your [Avatar’s Location] (i.e ’5 Optimization Secrets Hiding In Your YouTube Analytics’)

3) How I Made a [Gain] With a [Simple/Crazy/Wild Idea] (i.e ‘How I Got My Newborn to Sleep With a Cherry Red Gibson Guitar’)

4) Are You Still [Painful/Embarrassing Things]? (i.e ‘Are You Still Biting Your Nails?’)

5) There Are Only/Always [Number] Types of [Avatar] You Ever Want To [Result] – Which Group Are You In? (i.e ‘There Are Only 4 Types of Employees You Ever Want To Hire – Which Group Are Your Employees In?’)

6) To People Who Want To [Avatar’s Action] – but Can’t Get Started (i.e ‘To Young Mothers Who Want To Have Their Own Business While Raising Their Kids – But Can’t Get Started’)

7) )The Crimes We Commit Against Our [Avatar] (i.e ‘The Food Crimes We Commit Against Our Body’ or ‘The Creativity Crimes We Commit Against Our Employees’)

8) These [Number] of [Avatar] Messed With [Product], See What Happened (i.e ‘These 5 New Piano Players Messed With Piano-Hero, See What Happened’)

9) The Death of [Avatar's Niche] (i.e ‘The Death of Old School Social Media’)

10) How One Word Can Get You [Avatar's Worry] (i.e ‘How One Word Can Get You Fired’)

...check out the rest here.

Tweet