Writing catchy headlines

Headline writing is akin to writing poetry. The idea is to grab the reader’s attention using very few words. Admit it, this one made you look.

What you need to realize is that your headline should describe you and not the person whom you are seeking. After all, if the reverse were true, I would write a headline “Seeking Miss Nude Universe for a Hot Orgy with Angels and Fallen Angels in My Bed Tonight!”. Considering that I’ve gotten a lap dance from that woman in the past, I’d say that at least part of my next level of expectations is reasonable.

Your headline should describe you succinctly and be as witty as possible.

This is your opportunity to catch the reader’s attention and to have her click on your profile. What works great is a headline of comprised of contrasting words. For instance, one of my headlines reads “World-class computer expert…Dancer :)”. That headline is the longest that particular site would allow me to write. Yet, I managed to express something unique and interesting about me in just 5 words. If I weren’t a dancer, I’d probably use the word “Danger”.

To summarize, your headline should be all about your own self-expression and not about whom you seek. It is there to give the reader a chance to have a glimpse into your personality without reading a lot of text.

Let’s analyze a few sample female headlines from my search results (18-36, female, less than 25 miles from my zip code):

Looking For Someone Real - meaningless
kiss me like youll never see me again - has potential
Just looking… - Actually less likely to be contacted, signals zero commitment
I’m just a plain and simple girl… - tell us something unique
Chemistry - cliche
cute cali girl for some fun!! - everyone likes to have fun
Smoke me;I’m dope. - now, this one caught my attention!
Looking for a Good Hearted Man - and so is everyone else
Really? - meaningless, signals no commitment
Hello world - this one also caught my attention, as it tends to be a programmer’s first ever program
lets go get some fu*kin french toast - caught my attention because I want to know why
Lookin 4 A Real Peoples 2 Kick it With - obviously an illiterate person who has nothing in common with me.
Searching for a great man! - and so is everyone else.

I clicked through most of those profiles, but my time is limited, so usually I don’t do that.

As is usually the case, the profile with the most interesting headline, which in my case was the girl’s expression that she should be smoked, was the most interesting person out of the list.

Here is her full profile - http://www.plentyoffish.com/member4275694.htm

If you have an interesting headline, your profile views and meeting opportunities will go through the roof.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 12:38 pm and is filed under Headlines, Profile Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.