Articles should have compelling headlines that attract attention, while at the same time conveying the general message of the story. Face it — a dull headline isn’t going to get noticed, and in turn, your article won’t get read, regardless of the quality of the content. To entice a reader to click your article, make sure you don’t give away all the information in the title. You want to reveal just enough information to interest the reader, however, don’t be so vague as to make them skip your article entirely.

As a rule of thumb, headlines should not be longer than 10 words. All of the words in a headline should be capitalized except for articles (a, an, the…etc.).

Examples of good headlines include:

• “Struggling with Stress? Those Unhealthy Coping Skills Won’t Help You Deal”
• “Five Things You Need to Know About Choosing Your Teen’s First Car”
• “Pop Into the Soda Gallery in Oak Cliff to Find Your Favorite Vintage Sodas”
• “I-635 Commuters Invited To LBJ/Skillman Urban Planning Initiative Meeting”
• “LOST DOG: Have You Seen Angel in Allen?”