giving your headlines
VERBAL POWER attracts readers
by Lynn StrausE
Headlines used to be easy. Just scan the copy and sum up the contents. Headlines read, “Girls Varsity Basketball Wins Championship” or “Student Council Travels to Washington, D.C.” Yes, they were easy. They were also dull. We didn’t really need to read the story because the headline told us the most important details. As headlines have improved over the years, they’ve also gotten harder to create. With a little thought and inspiration, your headlines can be clever, creative and attention-grabbing. First, let’s talk about why it’s important to have good headlines. Good headlines attract attention, not only with their design but with their content. They have the power to draw the reader into a story they might otherwise ignore. Good headlines also marry the photos and the words on the spread. They provide a visual/verbal link between the most important photo on the spread (the dominant) and the most important words on the spread (the main story).
Those attention-getting primary headlines usually contain only a few words — sometimes even just one. Unlike those dull sentence headlines of the past, they often do not give us information about the spread content. That’s where secondary headlines come in. Our catchy, attentiongrabbing headlines need secondary headlines which give us information about the subject of the spread. In addition, just like the primary headline links the dominant photo to the story, the secondary headline links the headline to the story — filling in the information we cannot give in so few words. It’s important to remember that the primary headline and the secondary headline are two separate pieces of the headline package. A secondary headline is not part of the main headline that is in a smaller font size or a lighter font weight. The secondary headline might read into or out of the primary headline, but the secondary headline is made up of a sentence or sentences that provide more information than the primary headline. Those sentence headlines of the past came with a lot of style rules. Some don’t apply anymore, but we still need to remember these few guidelines: • Write with action verbs • Write in present tense • Use single, not double, quotes when applicable • Forget the periods in primary headlines • Avoid abbreviations • Avoid labels Now here’s the secret to creating dynamic, clever, arresting primary headlines: the visual/verbal connection. That’s right. It’s that easy — or that hard.
CONFEDERATE, Lee-DAVIS HS, Mechanicsville, VA The angle of the story is homecoming and its first-time attendees. The dominant photo shows a student taking the first taste of cotton candy. There’s the visual/ verbal connection. The secondary head links everything together by providing more information: Homecoming night a first for old, new students.
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Y e a r b o o k DISCOVERIES
Here’s how to make that visual/verbal connection. First, read the story. You need to have a clear idea of the focus of the spread and the angle of the story. Next, look at the dominant photo. Brainstorm key words that come to mind when you look at the photo. Sometimes the words are so easy the headline writes itself. Other times it takes a while, a thesaurus, an idioms dictionary and several tries. But isn’t it worth it to make that connection that people think is so intriguing that they have to read the story?
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