Five words writers need to stop using in headlines
It’s the number one rule of marketing.
If something you release is popular, then you try and replicate that success, whether it is a movie, an advertising campaign, a product, or indeed an article.
Sometimes success is achieved again, and other times you end up with eight Police Academy movies.
A while back, I wrote this article, and I was inundated with suggestions from both writers and readers with more misused and abused words that need to be removed from the headline. As they kept coming in, I knew it was time to release my very own sequel, with the assistance of many of you…
1. Epic
My teenage sons describe many things as epic.
When they win an online game, when they score a goal in football, after watching ten hours of YouTube videos — the list goes on. They use the word epic so much that the word has lost all meaning.
Unfortunately, this same habit is common amongst writers. It seems many stories and articles are epic tales — at least based on the title. Of course, when you read the story, you see the word epic has been misused.
Epic means “heroic or grand in scale or character.” So before you say ‘5 Epic Side Hustles’ or ‘The Epic Story of My Marriage’, stop and consider whether it genuinely is heroic or grand in scale or character.
2. Problematic
We’ve all had a tough couple of years.
Although judging by the headlines of many articles, it is much worse than any of us imagined. That’s because of the overuse of the word problematic in many of the headlines.
One reader commented:
“Another word I can’t stand is ‘problematic’. It is overused, and a weak word, in my opinion. And there is no sense of scale; “problematic” these days is used for anything regardless of the scale of tragedy or harm.”
I do have to agree with this statement. In fact, I would go as far as to say that using the word ‘problematic’ in a headline is…problematic.
3. Unprecedented
Another reader suggestion! I do love it when readers do some of my work for me.
“This pandemic has made that word [unprecedented] utterly powerless as 50 times a day I hear that something is unprecedented. No folks, it’s not; please move on.”
Again we turn to the Oxford Dictionary for a definition. Unprecedented means ‘never done before.’
Never.
Not even once.
In the entire history of civilization.
Something may be scarce. Or uncommon. It might occur as often as Halley's Comet. But none of these would qualify it as unprecedented.
I want to say there has been an unprecedented level of the use of this term in 2021, but that would contradict the point I’m trying to make.
And now… a quick word from Google
A quick note on the power of SEO.
As I was conducting research for this article, I turned to my research intern. Then I realised I didn't have a research intern and so I turned to Google.
I typed in the search terms, hit enter, and was delivered the results below:
Screenshot by author
Yes, my original article was the number one result — even appearing above the ‘People also ask’ section.
Why include this? Well partly to brag but mainly to highlight the importance of SEO when writing articles. A headline will drive initial traffic, but SEO will drive even more and over a more extended period of time.
4. Things
The word ‘things’ is most often used in listicles.
‘8 Things You Need…’, ‘5 Things That Make…’, and so on.
The speakspeak website — an excellent tool for writers, is critical of using things in a headline:
“The word ‘things’ is ubiquitous, i.e., it’s everywhere.
“A good thing, a bad thing, many things, ‘something’, ‘anything’, ‘everything’; we use the word a lot.
“And the reason thing is such a common word? Well, it’s a short and quick substitute that we can easily insert into a sentence when we’re unable to think of — or don’t know — the word we need.”
There are many far better alternatives that will add depth to your headlines, such as points, traits, attributes, topics, and details. Consider using one of these instead of things.
Fewer things are a good thing.
It could be worse (the world’s most boring headline)
In 1986, The New York Times ran an article about Canada’s campaign to broker a free-trade deal with the United States. The headline they used was:
‘Worthwhile Canadian Initiative’
At the time, the editor of The New Republic, Michael Kinsley, declared it to be the most boring imaginable headline.
If you think you aren't great at headlines, at least know that even the New York Times produces some shockers.
5. Insane
One reader lamented the overuse of the word ‘insane’ — in particular, on YouTube. I wasn’t as sure as the reader, so I went to YouTube to check things out.
I typed in ‘Insane’ in the search box.
It was insane the number of videos that were suggested. Insane hacks, insane reactions, the most insane X, the list went on. I flag any content with the word insane in the title as clickbait.
My main takeaway from it was that YouTube is obviously an asylum for video creators.
The naughty list so far
Our list of words/phrases not to use in headlines is now at 12, and will undoubtedly continue to grow. To recap here, they are;
Hacks
Toxic
Unexpected
Secret Sauce
Truth Bombs
Literally
Ultimate
Epic
Problematic
Unprecedented
Things
Insane
🔍 Related: These B2B buzzwords get on your tits
Sell a story, tell a story
The best advice I ever got about headlines was from a journalist who has won awards for his headlines.
He told me that every headline needs to tell a story and sell a story. It needs to be appealing enough to get someone to click on the article and read it. But once there, it needs to deliver on what the headline promises.
And unfortunately, the use of the words on the naughty list — means the article won’t deliver to your readers. In effect, you are making false promises by using epic or unprecedented. Instead, use words that will sell your story but also keep the reader satisfied they haven't been deceived.
It can be challenging, but the writers who are in it for the long haul will achieve this.
And who knows, one of those writers may be able to write a trilogy about overused headlines if their second article gets enough comments.
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