Your press release headline is the most important sentence in your press release. Without a good headline no one, not even the media, is going to pay attention to your release. Don\u2019t believe it? Head to a press release distribution site and try to read a press release without seeing the headline first.\u00a0 You won\u2019t do it, and neither will your readers. Experienced press release writers know that they\u2019ll spend as much time writing the headline as they do writing the actual release.<\/p>\n
The trouble is that even experienced press release writers stumble occasionally when writing their headlines. Here are some of the unusual tactics that they use.<\/p>\n
1. Pretend it\u2019s an Article<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead of approaching the headline as if it\u2019s for a press release, let go of that concept and write is as if it were for an article or blog post. Chances are, you have good experience doing that. That means using common article headline writing tactics like using questions, numbers, or arousing curiosity and other emotions. For example:<\/p>\n 2. Write it, Then Make it Active<\/strong><\/p>\n Go ahead and write your headline first. In fact, write twenty potential headlines. Then go back and start making each headline more active. That means using present tense and power words to add liveliness and interest. For example, the following headline, \u201cIs an End in Sight for State Schools Struggling with Poor Test Scores?\u201d could be changed to \u201cFinally, an End is in Sight for State Schools Struggling with Poor Test Scores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n