Now you are going to apply what you have learned in class. As per the class discussion, please provide me with three different headlines for the story (article in Question #3) and outline your reasoning(s) and explanation for each. Please ensure you base your answer on the different elements of headlines we spoke about in class. Please go into detail for each. (12 Marks)

The original article and headline for question #3:

“22 Things That Are Seen As Normal In Movies Or TV But Would Be Suuuuuper Weird IRL”- https://www.buzzfeed.com/emilykling1/weird-details-in-movies-and-tv

THREE HEADLINES I CREATED FOR THE ARTICLE:

• The top 22 things Hollywood has “normalized” that will make you look at movies totally different…
• 22 shocking things that un-cover how Hollywood may have normalized weirdness in your life 😬
• Weird details that will change EVERYTHING you thought you KNEW about your favourite TV shows!

WHY I WROTE EACH HEADLINE

The top 22 things Hollywood has “normalized” that will make you look at movies totally different…

• The number 22: there is 22 facts/ things listed and discussed in the article which is why I chose to emphasise this aspect. Additionally, it is a ODD number which – as talked about in class and as stated by many sources makes it more approachable, unique, real etc.  Additionally, odd numbers can “evoke a sense of curiosity and engagement. They can create an element of surprise or tension, drawing viewers in to explore the arrangement more closely” [i] Additionally as stated in class dissections its important to state a specific number or a fact in a headline.

• I put quotations around the word “normalized”-to kind of subliminally show that that Hollywood has made these things. normal even though in actuality they are not normal. So by putting the ‘’ around the word normal- overall I’m kind of suggesting/ am being sarcastic that they are not normal. In the contact of this headline helped me convey/ create curiosity and surprise

• Overall clarity- though the headline evokes suspense and some mystery- it is still clear in stating what they will get from reading the article which is important as people hate clickbait- and it is relevant to what I’m trying to get them to read- meaning there will be no disappointment or Suprises. This is important as “It has to be clear what the headline is saying and what the rest of the article is about. It must be relevant. The headline must be relevant to the introduction and the rest of the article otherwise you will lose the reader as soon as they see any discrepancy.”[ii]

Additionally, the … after totally different helped me create suspect and also deepen the curiosity right at the end of the headline- so people would actually click on it/ to make the content worth revealing and reading.

• In this headline I kind of indirectly included a Call to Action/ CTA- when I said “look at movies totally different”- which sparked the curiosity to actually click on the article to read/ doubt  the previously things that will shift the readers perspective/ make them look at their life different

• With the strategic word placement, I helped evoke curiosity and Suprise, since I implied that what they think is normal may not be- which then then led to suspense because I did not answer how in the headline, 

• Overall I was able to effectively promise the value that they will gain from the article- by stating that they will get new insights in how the way they perceive things could change after reading this- which is kind of of value to them because A they don’t Wana be weird and B they are only going to click it if they will get something out of it- which is important as it helps “ effective communication which forms trust, and continued trust leads to dependability.” [iii]

Followed the 4 Us of writing attention-grabbing headlines? [iv]

• Touch on the obvious- this headline overall is kind of relying on suspense and mystery- however it does state the obvious in the sense that it will make the readers look at movies totally different after reading the article and finding out those 22 reasons

• Interesting adjective- I used a interesting adjective “totally” in this headline to help add emphasis and complete change.

• “you” flagging technique: As covered in class materials and in class discussions- by incorporating flagging techniques to make each headline sound more personalized / like I am talking to the actual reader indicial. This overall is “a powerful way to write headlines for both copy and blog posts. I discovered that for every headline that contains ‘you,’ the engagement is very high. The word “you” connects and captivates your readers, on a personal level.” [v]

• As discussed in class you article should be 50- 60 characters long at the very max- because a we only have 3 seconds to catch the reader’s attention and since it’s just a headline not a sentence and c because we only have a certain amount of space / available characters to use when we put our headlines online. For example- “Google’s search results display only the first 63 characters of your headline. Longer, and your headline will be truncated on search engine results pages. To avoid getting your head cut off on Google, keep headlines to 65 characters or fewer.” [vi]

22 shocking things that un-cover how Hollywood may have normalized weirdness in your life

Follows the 4 Us of writing attention-grabbing headlines. [vii]

• This headline touch on the obvious/ with clarity as it makes it clear that Hollywood has normalized certain things that most people might not realize or question- but are actually weird. This word choosing coupled by “make you look at movies totally different”- promises that something will be revealed

• Interesting adjective- I used a interesting adjective in this- “shocking”- which not only grabs the viewers’ attention but also implies that the information will be something they did not think about- which overall helps create intrigue and also anticipation

• “you” flagging technique: As covered in class materials and in class discussions- by incorporating flagging techniques to make each headline sound more personalized / like I am talking to the actual reader indicial. This overall is “a powerful way to write headlines for both copy and blog posts. I discovered that for every headline that contains ‘you,’ the engagement is very high. The word “you” connects and captivates your readers, on a personal level.” [viii] I did this in this headline by using the word “your”- so its like I’m speaking directly to them.

• In this headline I not only captured the viewers’ attention with the word choices- but I also gave them a call to action-as my headline  “22 shocking things that un-cover how Hollywood may have normalized weirdness in your life “ kind of implies that that they need to read this to did out the 22 reasons since I sparked there curiosity but did not fully answer the question. Additionally, by me stating that Hollywood has kind of had a say in preceding their perception of normal- a call to them to actually read uncover how.  Having a CTA and a call for action as I do is important in a headline is important because “The purpose of the headline is to get your viewer to read the first sentence. Every headline should call for attention. “Attention” simply means mental focus and serious concentration on a given task.” [ix] Additionally, CTAs are important because people don’t like to think- they like to be told what to do meaning “Tas are the foundation of generating leads, encouraging engagement, and boosting conversions for any business. They can be used in a huge variety of different campaigns and by using the right wording and styling, you can create a captivating CTA that is guaranteed to get your audience clicking.” [x]

• As discussed in class you article should be 50- 60 characters long at the very max- and this one has 50. This is important because we only have 3 seconds to catch the reader’s attention, it’s just a headline not a sentence and c because we only have a certain amount of space / available characters to use when we put our headlines online. For example- “Google’s search results display only the first 63 characters of your headline. Longer, and your headline will be truncated on search engine results pages. To avoid getting your head cut off on Google, keep headlines to 65 characters or fewer.” [xi]

• Since I stated “22 reasons” people know that it is going to be in a listicles format- that will be easy to read and straight to the point- which we all subliminally like. Infect, “listicles are easy to read. The list structure, with its focus on clear headings and explanatory text, is easy to scan and understand quickly. For readers in a hurry — or with short attention spans — this is ideal.” [xii]

• By using the words “normalized” and “totally different” I was able to create curiosity which overall likely helped grab the readers perception and the quotation marks kind of made It seem like I was going to challenge there though- which sparks interest because the readers would then want to know what those 22 things are

Additionally, I give a promise of value to the reader in this headline as I effectively promised them that they would get insights into movies- which could potentially change how they watch them which is valuable.

Weird details that will change EVERYTHING you thought you KNEW about your favourite TV shows!

Follows the 4 Us of writing attention-grabbing headlines. [xiii]

• This headline touch on the obvious/ with clarity as it makes it clear as it addresses something familiar to the audience (there favourite tv shows), and how the details in this article will change “EVERYTHING” that these movies/ Hollywood have kind of normalized- that are not normal.

• Overall, this headline gives the reader value and is useful to them because its promising to change the perspective that they have on there favourite shows- by uncovering things we have been convinced are normal. Additionally, the adjective “change everything” – further helped convey this

• This headline is straight to the point, accurately represents the content they will be able to read about in the article and is straightforward rather then clever or funny etc.- which is important as it will clearly get the message across

• This headline is unique in its topic because its not commonly talked about- and also because I used phrases such as “weird” and “you thought you KNEW”- which certain words emphasised to help evoke urgency. Additionally targets its specific as it is targeting people who watch movies and TV show fans specifically.

• “you” flagging technique: As covered in class materials and in class discussions- by incorporating flagging techniques to make each headline sound more personalized / like I am talking to the actual reader indicial. This overall is “a powerful way to write headlines for both copy and blog posts. I discovered that for every headline that contains ‘you,’ the engagement is very high. The word “you” connects and captivates your readers, on a personal level.” [xiv] I did this in this headline by using the word “your”- so its like I’m speaking directly to them.  In this case I used the word your- so I’m talking directly to them.

• As discussed in class you article should be 50- 60 characters long at the very max- because a we only have 3 seconds to catch the reader’s attention,  its just a headline not a sentence and c because we only have a certain amount of space / available characters to use when we put our headlines online. For example- “Google’s search results display only the first 63 characters of your headline. Longer, and your headline will be truncated on search engine results pages. To avoid getting your head cut off on Google, keep headlines to 65 characters or fewer.” [xv]

• Similar to the other two headlines I crated this headline utilizes the emotion surprise and curiosity- by the word choices I used. In this case for example the word “weird” helps you think hat the information will be unusual, unexpected / something my readers don’t know. Additionally, this helps create the sense of mystery,

Use of Capitalization: The capitalization of “EVERYTHING” and “KNEW” adds emphasis, importance, and urgency

• As listed in class material power words are powerful and important has they can help trigger emotions. In this headline I used power words “Change EVERYTHING” “KNEW” and “Weird” – all of which are emphasised and catch the attention of my audience- while also helping evoke the emotions of desire and surprise.  Using power words is great because “Headlines Should Include Power Words. If you want to stand out, use words that will help you do just that: power words. Pow[xvi]er words are words that will trigger a psychological or emotional response in your readers.”

Call for attention- in this headline I made I effectively did that by using “changes EVERYTHING” and “weird details” as it overall grabs the attention by promising them something surprising/ unusual- which evokes their curiosity and intrigue effectively luring them in. 

Call for action

• Though my call to action is not very blunt it does exist as I implode that the treader needs to click the headline to find out all the surprising things that they think are normal- so they can see if their perspective can be changed etc.- overall adding value to them because they are able to uncover the “weird details”

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[i] What is the science behind odd numbers being visually appealing when decorating? (n.d.). Quora. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-science-behind-odd-numbers-being-visually-appealing-when-decorating

[ii] Importance of quality headlines | U. S. Army CORE Support. (n.d.). army.mil/core/support/. https://www.army.mil/core/support/best-practices/ap/quality_headlines.html

[iii] Aithor. (2024, June 5). Why is it important to keep a promise. aithor.com. https://aithor.com/essay-examples/why-is-it-important-to-keep-a-promise

[iv] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slides 51-62)

[v] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slide 60)

[vi] What’s the best press release headline length? (n.d.). Www. https://www.prsa.org/article/what-s-the-best-press-release-headline-length

[vii] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slides 51-62)

[viii] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slide 60)

[ix] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slide 17)

[x] Fifteen, & Lindsay, K. (2024, October 4). null. Fifteen. https://www.fifteendesign.co.uk/blog/what-is-a-cta-and-why-are-they-important/

[xi] What’s the best press release headline length? (n.d.). Www. https://www.prsa.org/article/what-s-the-best-press-release-headline-length

[xii] Keefe, C. (n.d.). 10 listicle examples that will make you love the form. https://shorthand.com/the-craft/listicle-examples/index.html

[xiii] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slides 51-62)

[xiv] W6 – D – How to Write Headlines – Step-by-Step Guide (W25) (slide 60)

[xv] What’s the best press release headline length? (n.d.). Www. https://www.prsa.org/article/what-s-the-best-press-release-headline-length

[xvi] W6 – B – How to Build the Perfect Headline (W25).pdf (slide 20)