Even now, as we walk a fine line between business as usual and the need to respect the current situation with regard to COVID-19, headlines matter.

In my first news writing class at Boston University, the professor, a veteran news man from the Boston Herald, explained the inverted pyramid, a diagram that reminded us to write the most newsworthy information first – starting with a clear headline, subhead, and lead paragraph – with supporting details to follow.  It was practical then because editors literally cut copy from the bottom up to make a story fit the physical space available in a newspaper or magazine.

I took that class as a sophomore in 1981, way before short attention spans and digital media, but I’d argue the practice is even more relevant today. With a goal to draw people in with a compelling headline, it’s on us to write that critical first line that not only sucks less but tells a story in under 100 characters while including SEO keywords.

Rainier client Codefresh accomplished this with “Codefresh Launches World’s First CI/CD Live Debugger to Make DevOps Suck Less” and enjoyed more than 6,600 press release views, most of which occurred in the first few days following the announcement.

The headline was provocative, said exactly what the news was about, and spoke to the client’s target audience – the notoriously informal DevOps. That was exactly what we set out to do and Codefresh reaped the rewards.

It’s not all on the PR team to ensure the best possible headline makes the cut, however. Clients play an important role by being open minded about compelling headlines that state more than the obvious. All too often clients hem and haw, insist on a more formal headline, and lose the readers. I’m not suggesting it’s always appropriate to use words like “suck” – the headline above was proposed by the client who enjoys pushing the envelope a little – but clients should feel comfortable with headlines that address a pain point, current industry trend, or have a fun play on words.  Simply stating the introduction of your company’s new widget (yawn yawn) may not be enough for someone to read on.

If I were to take that first news writing course again, I might take a highlighter pen to that inverted pyramid to emphasize the importance of a headline that doesn’t suck. Without it, your news is as effective as a headless body.