HAVE YOU LOOKED AT A NEWSPAPER LATELY?
No, I didn't ask if you had read a newspaper lately. I asked
if you have looked at one. Closely. Have you examined one with
care? If you take a good look at the front page, here is what
you will find.
It's A Work Of Art
The main headline can be read at a glance, even when located
on a newsstand quite some distance away. It grabs attention
hard. It often draws you toward the rack, at least close enough
to read the subheadline. And, as often as not, just as millions
do every day, you buy a copy to read the related article.
Does the creation of the headline for your site matter less
than that of creating one for a newspaper?
Other Headlines Matter
In putting together the first page of a newspaper, the major
task is to pull from the day's stories those most likely to
interest readers. Only those with maximum appeal are selected.
And the headline for each is crafted with extreme care. The
object is to have at least one that grabs the attention of any
reader. The best are used in the first fold, the part that shows
in the newsstand.
Do you have at least one subheadline that grabs the attention
of most visitors? Have you a couple others in the first screen
that loads?
Formatting
The amount of space given to the text of each article on the
front page varies. Such decisions need to be handled with care,
for space is limited. If one chooses to run too much text in a
given article, another may need to be removed to an inner page,
which subtracts that headline from the front page.
While a web page has no fixed limit, visitors will not scroll
down indefinitely. Thus formatting matters here as well.
Include those elements most likely to be of interest to your
target as close to the top of the page as possible. And each
needs an attention grabbing headline.
Teasers
Newspapers generate profits from advertising. Yet you will
not see an ad on the front page of any major daily. Instead, all
is headlines, followed by the beginnings of the story. Photos
are used sparingly on the front page, for headlines and content
are generally the better draw.
Further the article begins with the most important story
elements. What is presented ends with a teaser. This is the
first part of a sentence, laden with emotion, that seeks to
compel you to turn to an inner page. For it is on the inner
pages you will find the ads that generate the profits.
An example often used is to end with, "The officer drew his
pistol, cocked it, crouched down, then ... (Cont on page 23)
The Site Parallel
I don't want to get carried away with this. There are
differences between the front page of a newspaper and your home
page. Still, your best benefit needs to be featured in the page
headline. And subheadings should define others. The text is
always benefit loaded and has but one purpose: To draw your
visitor deeper into the site.
Another Parallel
Newspapers are written for people in a hurry. So is a
website. Thus the pattern of turning to an inner page to finish
an article begun on the first page, compares in some ways to
clicking off your home page to another for further information.
Then clicking back.
And Another
If your home page is cluttered with graphics and/or ads,
ponder some before deciding to leave them. The front page of a
newspaper is all about easy reading and drawing people into inner
pages. There are no ads and photos are minimal. This is a great
formula for your home page as well.
Inner Pages
As with a newspaper, you fire your biggest guns on your home
page. Thus your inner pages will have to make do with lesser
benefits, unless a neat way can be found to restate the
originals. Newspapers to a very good job with their inner pages.
We would all do well to follow suit.
Print And Competition
Competition in the print media is awesome. Of all forms,
newspapers seem to face the greatest challenge. All find it
difficult to make profits. And indirect competition through
books and magazines adds to woes. Television steals newspaper
readers by the millions.
Publishers struggle with this burden every day. They must
continue to beat the competition or go broke. There is no option
but to seek to put out a better paper today than was produced
yesterday.
Is The Web Less Competitive?
There are some who would argue it is less competitive, but
I'm not one of them. With the flood of existing business
expanding to the Web, I feel competition is increasing at an
awesome and increasing rate. And I see no end in sight.
As webmasters, though, we do have one distinct advantage over
newspapers - We don't have to do it every day. A newspaper is
history tomorrow. We hope our websites have a somewhat longer
span. On the other hand, we best get it right, and make some
changes now and then to keep it that way.
Every time I see a newspaper headline that grabs at me, it
reminds of my website. Mentally I begin yet another review of my
headlines, content and format. I continue to learn a lot from
newspapers about grabbing and holding attention. It might work
for you as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob McElwain
Want to build a winning site? Improve one you already
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Web marketing and consulting since 1993
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