Writing Surprising Headlines

< Blog
Updated on: August 23rd, 2022Sharon Sexton4 min read
Writing surprising headlines

Our article for writing surprising headlines is guaranteed to help improve your click rates. How can we make this guarantee you ask? Simple; the answer is science.

Writing is and always will be a skill. However you can get better and improve by learning techniques, applying ideas and practicing your craft. Yes, being creative is hard which is why certain people are paid very well for their creative ability, but that doesn’t mean you have to produce boring, unimaginative headlines that regularly fail to capture attention! By adding this valuable tip to your arsenal your ability to write more interesting headlines will improve.

Taking Advantage of the Hippocampus

The hippocampi are the elongated ridges on the floor of each lateral ventricle of the brain. Scientists consider the hippocampus to be the center of emotion and memory.

One thing they also do, according to researchers at the Welcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London is to act as a prediction and comparison machine. When there is a discrepancy between what the brain expects and reality then it creates a surprise reaction.

In the case of writing killer headlines, that surprise is exactly what you want!

So how do you take advantage of the natural actions of everyone’s hippocampus? The simple answer is to take an expectation and twist it to register surprise which then fosters engagement. One of the easiest ways to do this is by writing headlines (or slogans) that are deviations of common proverbs.

Submitting a word in a familiar expression is a common newspaper headline technique which uses the reaction of the hippocampus to engage people. For example, “Beggars can be choosers,” is a nice play off “Beggars can’t be choosers.” When you read the unexpected version of the proverb your brain naturally says, “Hey! Wait a minute….”

Crafting Headlines from Proverbs

Ideally you want to substitute a word at the end of a proverb or common saying. The reason why is because the pattern sequence will be more fully formed so the change at or near the end creates a more obvious mismatch.

Look at these examples:

  • A picture is worth a thousand clicks
  • Actions speak louder than birds
  • Absence makes the heart grow colder
  • Don’t judge a book by its movie

The slight variation causes a pause and sparks interest. On the flipside these examples:

  • Hawaii is where the heart is
  • Bad things come to those who wait
  • Google helps those who help themselves

…are less powerful because the pattern has not been established in our brain therefore it is harder to recognize that is wrong.

Another important tip is to carefully choose the word you substitute with. Ideally you want that word to directly relate to your topic or the ad, slogan, company, etc that is being focused on because our brains will get stuck on that word more easily as it is the odd duck compared to what our brain predicted.

The Bottom Line

Writing headlines is hard. There are lots of tips and ideas out there, but you need to mix up your game regularly to ensure that you don’t become repetitive and boring. Writing surprising headlines is another tool in your bag to help ensure that no matter what the topic is you are covering, the headline is either interesting enough or surprising enough to generate a click.

 

 

 

 

 

Published on: October 28th, 2015

Related articles

Hashtag 101 – using hashtags properly with your brand
6 min read

Hashtag 101 – Using Hashtags Properly With Your Brand

August 23rd, 2022

The proper use of hashtags is a bit of a pet peeve around the Lounge Lizard offices which is why we decided to provide a quick [...]

Reuse reduce and recycle works for your content too
6 min read

Reuse, Reduce and Recycle Works For Your Content, Too

August 23rd, 2022

As our culture has shifted its mindset to more green pursuits of late, it should come as no surprise that the ideas of reuse, reduce and [...]

Top 6 aspects for digital marketing with todays internet
5 min read

Top 6 Aspects For Digital Marketing With Today’s Internet

August 23rd, 2022

Do you know the top 6 aspects for digital marketing with today’s internet? If not, keep reading and you soon will! Now more than ever digital [...]

Why is speed so important in todays digital world
7 min read

Why Is Speed So Important In Today’s Digital World?

August 23rd, 2022

The character Mickey Goldmill from Rocky knew it when he told Rocky, “You got to get speed, demon speed. Speed’s what we need; we need greasy, [...]

Top tips for engaging facebook posts
6 min read

Top Tips For Engaging Facebook Posts

August 23rd, 2022

When a business takes the time to post something on Facebook the end result is never to get a single like or share, but as that [...]

6 sites for web design inspiration
5 min read

6 Sites For Web Design Inspiration

August 23rd, 2022

Where does web design inspiration come from? Interestingly enough web designers frequently inspire each other with creative ideas and applications of technology in new and unique [...]

Writing Surprising Headlines
Share On:
Newsletter Sign Up

"*" indicates required fields

0 of 60 max characters
0 of 60 max characters

Request a Proposal

Fill Out Our Form & We’ll be in Touch Shortly

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Type of Project**

New York City
112 West 34th Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10120
Long Island
991 Main St.
Suite 200
Holbrook, NY 11741
Washington D.C.
1101 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 450
Washington, DC 20036
Nashville
424 Church St
Suite 2000
Nashville, TN 37219
Los Angeles
1100 Glendon Avenue
17th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Miami
1221 Brickell Ave
Suite 900
Miami, FL 33131
Charleston
170 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29401
Richmond
919 E. Main Street
Suite 1000
Richmond, VA 23219