October Tweets in Review: Beware the Headless Headline!
Early scoring results from my ninth annual B2B e-news study suggest that many sites have a “Headless Headline” problem—unthinking headlines that don’t highlight the key point of the article and don’t draw the reader into the story. These lifeless strings of words are what result when editors don’t use their heads to write them. In particular, these guilty parties continue to ignore the best ways to liven up personnel announcements and assorted vendor PR releases.
Of at least equal concern in the early results are consistently unacceptable Enterprise Reporting Prominence (ERP) scores. The target score is 60% of e-news content offered by standard 10-article evaluations. Most sites reviewed so far can’t get past 10%.
In addition to urging headline reform, my Tweets over the past month covered the ongoing editorial challenges of working from home. For more on that topic, be sure to read my recent review of the subject. And to keep up with regular Editorial Solutions Inc. news alerts, follow me on Twitter.
Lets stop writing headless headlines — those that deserve a better focus than the lifeless batch found while scoring annual e-news survey selections. So . . . starting now, all critiques will include a “headless focus.” section.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 30, 2020
First 5 sites scored for Phase IX B2B e-news study suggest it’s time to wake up headlines. Consider this approach: When PR source reports new plant opening, or personnel change, rewrite intro that allows for higher value head.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 28, 2020
Newsletter business is booming according to some sources. If true, it’s another valid reason why typical B2B e-news managers can no longer rely on stale rewrites to fill demand for original, high-impact contact based on end-user input.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 28, 2020
Work-From-Home Needs Pose New Challenges to 45- to 60-Hour Work Weeks https://t.co/pItxY6ZomG
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 26, 2020
9th annual B2B e-news delivery study has begun analyzing sites. Eight-factor scoring system leans favorably towards solid evidence of enterprise reporting. First 50 sites that measure up may receive free report evaluating their site.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 20, 2020
B2B managements considering cuts in editorial staffs or freelance should first consider impact on competitive positions. The last thing you need to do is provide opponents with ammunition for a vulnerability attack.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 16, 2020
As tough as it may seem now, editorial managers should maintain in-house training programs Many B2B folks have never even got started. I’ll describe one editorial director’s ongoing effort worth imitating in an upcoming article.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 14, 2020
Vendors Can Be Useful Editorial Content Contributors https://t.co/qWFmkwt2IJ
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 14, 2020
Rising Workloads + Shrinking Staffs Hardly Formula For Successful Editing https://t.co/sSNZkeEfif
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 8, 2020
Too many B2B e-news sites rely primarily on rewritten vendor and association announcements. It’s not that these are bad. The key flaw is that end-user sourced news is excluded. Reason? It’s often tougher to get.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 7, 2020
How have B2B editorial managers juggled busy schedules to accommodate supervising full-time staffs working from home? I will be discussing this challenge with a panel. If you’d like to contribute, e-mail editsol1@optimum.net.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 6, 2020
How have B2B editorial managers juggled busy schedules to accommodate supervising full-time staffs working from home? I will be discussing this challenge with a panel. If you’d like to contribute, e-mail editsol1@optimum.net.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 6, 2020
As in past years, 8-factor scoring for my 9th annual online e-news delivery study weighs heavily in favor of enterprise. That means, among other things, that sites lacking direct quotes from end-users might earn plenty of demerits.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 2, 2020
9th annual e-news delivery study immediately hit dud sites. Key hurdles that still prevail: source first/news later intro paragraphs. Writers seem unable to reach key story point within first 10 words. Some headlines also miss the boat.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 2, 2020
Headline-writing alert: If news story announces personnel change, head must go beyond identifying individual’s name Instead, what did person say or do recently that would be of more value to readers? Lots of room for improvement.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) October 2, 2020