Man Discovered Who Can Breathe Underwater
Well, not really, but did it grab your attention? Pique your curiosity? Compel you to read on? That is the importance of a great title.
Title writing can be a skill all on its own, and more often than not, an editor may completely change your original title, but here are some important reasons why as a freelance article writer you want to make sure that you put as much effort into this one line as you do into the body of your work.
- This is how magazines sell, so it makes sense that this is how you should sell your article to a magazine. Readers are more likely to pick up a magazine with an article titled 'Five Miracle Fruits to Make You Look Younger.' than 'Why Vitamin C Can Prevent Aging.' The first title shows the reader that there is something easy they can do to achieve a goal and immediately makes you wonder what the fruits are, prompting them to read on while the second title sounds dry.
- A good, focused title will keep you on point in your work and stop you from rambling into different areas.
- Show the editor that you know your target market by creating a title that is appealing to them. Say you have written an article about the need for grooming if you own dogs. 'A Brush A Day Keeps the Vet Away' would be a great title for a pet magazine, while the same article could be sold to a women's interest magazine with the title 'A Brush A Day Keeps the Hair Away: Brush Your Pet, Not Your Floor'
- Your title should always be informative, attention grabbing but appropriate. Read other titles from the magazine you are pitching to get a feel for how they format them. Some magazines like to use deliberately vague and sensational titles, while others prefer a main title followed by a tag line.
- You title will be the first thing an editor reads, so it should be to the point. Make sure your subject matter is included and avoid being too obscure or vague. Making life easier for an editor will always put you at the top of a query list, so offer them a quick way to get the just of your article and guage whether it will be a good fit for their publication.
- Leave them wanting more. This is a good rule with a query in general. Your title should make the editor want to read the rest of the query.
- While creating a great, snappy, interesting title is a huge bonus to a query, any title is better than none. If you really hit a blank then at least make sure the title conveys the article subject matter clearly.
Keep in mind that every word in your query letter counts, and will be judged as an example of your ability as a writer. If title writing doesn't come naturally to you then practice by creating various titles for articles that you read in a magazine. Imagine two identical query letters landed on your desk, but had different titles:
'How I Got Over the Loss of My Husband'
and
'I Loved, I Lost and I Don't Regret A Day'
Which writer would you hire?
