What headlines are most likely to attract attention or HabraHabr analysis
Hello, and again there was a desire to share something useful! An article about the benefits of a housewife did not go to Habr, so I fished out an article 4 years ago written specifically for habrhabr.ru to advertise a digital agency, which I have already closed. I hope this time there will be much more advantages.
Have you thought or not, but, no doubt, when you search for information on the Internet, you skip part of the headers right away. Generally not reading them to the end.
This is because they are simply not interesting. And therefore, the authors of articles, bloggers and copywriters are struggling to come up with something to catch you from the very first words (if not words!). It turns out that this is obviously not always the case, and there is no golden rule for writing headings. But some common forms or types of heading structures are most common.
We selected 100 headlines for the top news (for 2008-2016) of the sites geektimes.ru and habrahabr.ru, and tried to highlight similar chains and logical connections. It turned out eight categories, which are listed below.
I) X of something, while X can be replaced by words with a quantitative characteristic, for example, Several, or with a comparative characteristic, in particular the Most.
II) How to do it , including in the past tense like I / he / someone did something. ” In addition, Personal / alien experience and a headline such as “How / Why / Do you know what / Is it necessary / Why do I / he / they ... a verb”. In most cases, they are without a question mark; the article itself answers the question. Context to this format is optional. It can also be in the form of Lessons / Experience / Tips (for ...) or History [about how ...]
!!! Related to this type in meaning:
III) Type of construction from the opposite , negation
But it’s important to pay attention to phrases that begin with the word “lessons”, because they can not mean recommendations as such, but tell about the consequences of an event or experience gained as a result of something. An example of this is the heading "Lessons from Space Disasters."
IV) The question is replaced by a statement - instead of “how to do”, a type is used with a verb in the form of Do / Create or with a noun Creation / Development, etc. This also includes the DIY type - "With your own / with your own hands / From scratch / From improvised means. However, these words may be omitted, but the title clearly shows where they are missing.
V) Facts about ... / Features / Introduction to ... / Memo about ...
But introductory phrases can be omitted without loss of meaning, as is the case with the headings “Semiconductor Electronics” and “Microelectronics for Space and the Military” or, for example, “Soviet Operation to Save a Dead Space Station”.
VI) Purely news / Sub site. Typically, these are congratulations, messages about changes in the site, display of content, warnings, etc.
VII) Review, evaluation, test drive, review, biography.
Header formats: often the object itself. Important: the completeness / depth of the review, the presence of a full conclusion or assessment, contextual binding to events.
VIII) Suggestions / active calls to action. This also includes articles written “on emotions”, “angry”
IX) Not falling into any of the above categories
Number of Headings by Category:
Obviously, if you do not take into account the unique headings that do not fit into any category, most often there are those who take the structure of the 2nd category (“How to do / personal experience”), 4th (Create / do it yourself) and 6 th (Sub site).
But in general, the second place in popularity is occupied by headlines with a unique structure, for example, “What Nobody Has Written About Nokia, Elop and the Burning Platform” or “Mediamagiya: Come home, take the remote control and choose to watch from the tracker”.
Write interestingly and with attractive headlines!
Have you thought or not, but, no doubt, when you search for information on the Internet, you skip part of the headers right away. Generally not reading them to the end.
This is because they are simply not interesting. And therefore, the authors of articles, bloggers and copywriters are struggling to come up with something to catch you from the very first words (if not words!). It turns out that this is obviously not always the case, and there is no golden rule for writing headings. But some common forms or types of heading structures are most common.
We selected 100 headlines for the top news (for 2008-2016) of the sites geektimes.ru and habrahabr.ru, and tried to highlight similar chains and logical connections. It turned out eight categories, which are listed below.
I) X of something, while X can be replaced by words with a quantitative characteristic, for example, Several, or with a comparative characteristic, in particular the Most.
- 8 types of sites that you need to stop doing;
- Several useful services;
- The smallest game in the world (58 bytes).
II) How to do it , including in the past tense like I / he / someone did something. ” In addition, Personal / alien experience and a headline such as “How / Why / Do you know what / Is it necessary / Why do I / he / they ... a verb”. In most cases, they are without a question mark; the article itself answers the question. Context to this format is optional. It can also be in the form of Lessons / Experience / Tips (for ...) or History [about how ...]
- How I bought a 3D printer;
- Why I left Google;
- Why is Mail.Ru developing spyware?
- Why is Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 the worst thing that could happen to us;
- About what happened to ICQ today (part 1);
- What did the apple trees and apple trees did not understand?
!!! Related to this type in meaning:
- Did you buy the program? Come on ... [How I bought the program ...];
- Security of Internet resources - hacking the site rospil.info [as I hacked ...];
- Refusal of outdated browsers [as I refused ...].
III) Type of construction from the opposite , negation
- You do not write animals correctly = How to write animals correctly;
- How to charge a smartphone = How to charge a smartphone.
But it’s important to pay attention to phrases that begin with the word “lessons”, because they can not mean recommendations as such, but tell about the consequences of an event or experience gained as a result of something. An example of this is the heading "Lessons from Space Disasters."
IV) The question is replaced by a statement - instead of “how to do”, a type is used with a verb in the form of Do / Create or with a noun Creation / Development, etc. This also includes the DIY type - "With your own / with your own hands / From scratch / From improvised means. However, these words may be omitted, but the title clearly shows where they are missing.
- We make a private monitor from the old LCD monitor;
- 18-speed gaussgan;
- Powerful do-it-yourself laser in one evening;
- Restore defocused and blurry images. We increase the quality;
- A nuclear reactor is home from scratch.
V) Facts about ... / Features / Introduction to ... / Memo about ...
- About influenza A (H1N1) in terms of programming;
- A brief introduction to SIM cards;
- Memo to site designer;
- Features of the Russian development.
But introductory phrases can be omitted without loss of meaning, as is the case with the headings “Semiconductor Electronics” and “Microelectronics for Space and the Military” or, for example, “Soviet Operation to Save a Dead Space Station”.
VI) Purely news / Sub site. Typically, these are congratulations, messages about changes in the site, display of content, warnings, etc.
- Service XXXXXX.ru is temporarily closed;
- The official Habrahabra mobile app;
- ATTENTION! XXX.RU HACKED!
VII) Review, evaluation, test drive, review, biography.
Header formats: often the object itself. Important: the completeness / depth of the review, the presence of a full conclusion or assessment, contextual binding to events.
- Overview of Apple iPad;
- CPU;
- Inside view: CD and HDD;
- Steve Jobs I knew.
VIII) Suggestions / active calls to action. This also includes articles written “on emotions”, “angry”
- Stop twisting !;
- Get my money back, ATM !;
- Do not tease the programmer;
- QIP - Minute of hatred (history on the server).
IX) Not falling into any of the above categories
- Voronezhets signed a contract with the bank, making his own changes, and is going to sue 24 million rubles;
- What no one has written about Nokia, Elop and the burning platform;
- Sex and violence on Google Play;
- TOP from here.
Number of Headings by Category:
Obviously, if you do not take into account the unique headings that do not fit into any category, most often there are those who take the structure of the 2nd category (“How to do / personal experience”), 4th (Create / do it yourself) and 6 th (Sub site).
But in general, the second place in popularity is occupied by headlines with a unique structure, for example, “What Nobody Has Written About Nokia, Elop and the Burning Platform” or “Mediamagiya: Come home, take the remote control and choose to watch from the tracker”.
Write interestingly and with attractive headlines!
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