Hunting for the Best Headlines
- Friday, March 29 2013 @ 09:10 am
- Contributed by: Jet
- Views: 1,938
In a general sense, the goal for your online dating profile is for it to be eye-catching, memorable. You try to come up with clever content for the self-summary, and post interesting pictures. That’s all valuable, but the real work is making the reader visit your profile at all. To do that, you literally need to grab their attention - and the easiest way to do that is through headlines.
Headlines are one of the more underrated tools in your profile-writing arsenal. An interesting headline effectively yells “Hey, look over here, I’m awesome!” - not typically literally, but there is a certain amount of success with the blunt approach! Headlines are short, easily changed and experimented with, and best of all, you can use a headline in both your online dating profile and as the subject line in first-contact emails, so it’s a skill that’s continually valuable.
Perhaps the most generic - and boring - approach is something that wouldn’t be out of place in a classified ad from fifty years ago. This is generally useless for today’s online dating sites. See, back in the day those headlines were trying to cram in all their info by the letter, and they had to begin with the basics, like their gender. Today, however, you’ve already filtered your preferences for gender, age, interests, and so on. It’s simply not necessary to state it all in a headline or title, and it certainly doesn’t set you apart from anyone else.
Some people try to have a “theme” to their profile, and they use the headline as a “title” to their “story.” For example, someone might write about being an “explorer” in biology labs as their profession, and then have a corresponding title like, “The Magellan of Flagella.” There’s nothing wrong with that, and indeed, taking that approach can help you break out of the “Single female with cat seeking Tom” box. However, the downside is that you can get too attached to your one headline, because you feel you’re breaking your “theme.” Getting too stuck in one mindset might make it more difficult to come up with different headlines when you’re writing first-contact emails, too.
Then there’s the completely random approach. These have an advantage in that they tend to be less “cheesy,” since there’s less attempted humor, and more out-and-out strange, like “The Amazing Waterski Caper” titling a profile that has absolutely nothing to do with waterskiing. These sorts of headlines tend to be snappy and grab attention at the time. However, they might not aid your reader in remembering or finding you later if they truly are random.
Finally, there’s the “Direct Question” tactic. These work equally well in profiles and emails, and they promote conversation. It’s best if the question is a “softball,” something that’s easy to answer and easy to have an opinion about, like “Pirates or Ninjas?” If you’re having trouble writing an email, thinking of the subject line first might get the creative juices flowing. Just make sure you only have one or two additional questions in the email, or your reader might begin to feel they’re being interrogated!
None of these “Classified Alternatives” is obviously better than the others; it’s a matter of matching it up with your own personal writing style. The good news is, headlines are easily switched out, updated and edited. Why not experiment and see what works for you? After all, the more eyes read your profile, the more chances you’ll have of finding someone truly compatible.
Headlines are one of the more underrated tools in your profile-writing arsenal. An interesting headline effectively yells “Hey, look over here, I’m awesome!” - not typically literally, but there is a certain amount of success with the blunt approach! Headlines are short, easily changed and experimented with, and best of all, you can use a headline in both your online dating profile and as the subject line in first-contact emails, so it’s a skill that’s continually valuable.
Perhaps the most generic - and boring - approach is something that wouldn’t be out of place in a classified ad from fifty years ago. This is generally useless for today’s online dating sites. See, back in the day those headlines were trying to cram in all their info by the letter, and they had to begin with the basics, like their gender. Today, however, you’ve already filtered your preferences for gender, age, interests, and so on. It’s simply not necessary to state it all in a headline or title, and it certainly doesn’t set you apart from anyone else.
Some people try to have a “theme” to their profile, and they use the headline as a “title” to their “story.” For example, someone might write about being an “explorer” in biology labs as their profession, and then have a corresponding title like, “The Magellan of Flagella.” There’s nothing wrong with that, and indeed, taking that approach can help you break out of the “Single female with cat seeking Tom” box. However, the downside is that you can get too attached to your one headline, because you feel you’re breaking your “theme.” Getting too stuck in one mindset might make it more difficult to come up with different headlines when you’re writing first-contact emails, too.
Then there’s the completely random approach. These have an advantage in that they tend to be less “cheesy,” since there’s less attempted humor, and more out-and-out strange, like “The Amazing Waterski Caper” titling a profile that has absolutely nothing to do with waterskiing. These sorts of headlines tend to be snappy and grab attention at the time. However, they might not aid your reader in remembering or finding you later if they truly are random.
Finally, there’s the “Direct Question” tactic. These work equally well in profiles and emails, and they promote conversation. It’s best if the question is a “softball,” something that’s easy to answer and easy to have an opinion about, like “Pirates or Ninjas?” If you’re having trouble writing an email, thinking of the subject line first might get the creative juices flowing. Just make sure you only have one or two additional questions in the email, or your reader might begin to feel they’re being interrogated!
None of these “Classified Alternatives” is obviously better than the others; it’s a matter of matching it up with your own personal writing style. The good news is, headlines are easily switched out, updated and edited. Why not experiment and see what works for you? After all, the more eyes read your profile, the more chances you’ll have of finding someone truly compatible.
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