Make Headlines like Tim Denning (who has 300k Subscribers)
Action #1 — Write Headlines Every Day
If you have been a writer (or reader) on the Medium platform for a while, you’ve already seen several writers who have big audiences, write unique articles, and get great feedback.
One of them is Tim Denning. I’ve been reading him for several years. If you want to become a great writer, taking lessons from people like him is good.
Also, you may find a free book on his page to read in just 20 minutes, a story about becoming a great writer so you can do it as well. It’s very inspiring! Thanks for Tim Denning!
Before writing these tips, I want to give you the first resource with the information I found some time ago.
No, it’s not an article. It was a YouTube video with Tim Denning and Todd Brison making 10,000 views on a single article. If you have more free time, watch this.
Be ready; it’s one hour long, but at the same time, it has a lot of helpful information.
While you are here, let’s look at all the tips and studies I’ve collected from this one video. And we should try at least several of them!
Write Headlines Every Day
The first advice any writer should get is to create headlines every day. It would help if you took time, especially for your headline.
Like many other writers, I got used to writing a headline at the same time I wrote an article. And usually, it took less than one minute!
But we should understand one important lesson. If your headline interests your readers, people will only open the article and read the text you have written for several hours.
Make it interesting. Put enough time into making a good headline.
By writing headlines every day, you will get more options. You will get more ideas on writing.
Also, view your headlines and try to rewrite them. Work on keywords. Make the goal of your article clear to your readers.
If you want to learn more about SEO and using keywords, I recommend another writer from Medium, Victoria Kurichenko. Victoria has good experience and knowledge and writes regularly on the topic of SEO and usage of keywords.
Don’t Make it Clickbait (Too Much)
This one piece of advice has two sides. From the beginning, we should make our headlines clickbait and do anything to make a reader interested in our article.
We have to create a desire to read our articles.
At the same time, if our article gives no value to the reader and the headline tells more than an article will do, then it’s a good idea.
Your headline should be as part of your article. It’s like a preview that gives the reader an understanding of this article.
Don’t confuse anyone with your headline, and don’t make anybody think that you will give (teach, show, share, etc) something to them, and then you won’t do it in your article.
Stay honest!
Create a Stock of Headlines
So often need to figure out what we want to write about. Many writers do research and look for ideas before starting writing.
It takes our time and energy. And then we feel so exhausted that we can’t produce an excellent article.
Procrastination bites us, and then we spend hours creating a lousy article.
That’s why it’s so important to have already created headlines. Use some apps like Notion, Evernote, or Apple Notes. Even a piece of paper can work.
And write these headlines any time you get an idea. Or, during the day, make a 15-minute session to sit and write any titles that come to your head.
Could you not make them perfect? Just write whatever you want.
Then, you can have another session to rewrite them. Or when you sit writing an article, take several minutes to improve your headline.
Create a Schedule
Tim uses emails as a reminder to write an article. On that particular day, he gets an email at 6:00 AM with a header that contains a headline for his next article.
It sounds like a perfect tool!
But you can do whatever works for you. Use Google Calendar, Apple Reminder, any to-do list, etc.
You need to make a habit of your writing if you want to become a professional writer.
Also, read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear to improve your habits and writing.
I have written the best tips from this book that you can find in the article below.
Limit Headlines (with Subtitles) to 100 Characters
Not only on Medium but in many other places where your article may be previewed (for example, Google Search), they will truncate the length of your article.
If you want to make your headline and subtitle fully visible to the reader, you should work on the length of it.
All these systems have limits on the maximum length of this. Some of them might be 100, and others can be less.
It’s not only about the visibility. Also, think about your readers.
Just imagine that before reading your article, the reader must read 20–30 words of the headline.
If it is uninteresting, people will only open your article.
Make it as short as possible and very close to the point.
Feel free to use long headlines. It’s good to use them when you need them.
Also, you can put your subtitle into the headline. Then, a headline could take the whole width, allowing you to make long headlines.
Headlines Should be Part of Your Story
Think about what your article will be about. For example, you make a story on how to do something or give a list of lessons, life hacks, steps, etc.
You can place anything you write in the body of your article’s headline or subtitle.
If you write about the list of tools, then write one of them in your subtitle.
In the how-to advice, add to your header some short tips that will engage your reader to learn your article better.
Your headline should become the best part of your article.
That’s why you should already give a value in the headline and limit this length.
Then, you will make a fantastic headline and preview for your article!
Think About The Reader
Nobody besides your readers will care about what you are writing.
Who do you write for?
Ask this question as often as possible. Do you understand your reader’s problems? Do you know what pain he gets?
Your article should be like a pill, like medicine for his life. Try to help and be more accessible to show what you will give.
As I’ve read in one fantastic book the next quote.
Don’t teach a man how to fish; better give him a fish.
People don’t want to learn how to fish; they want to eat it!
Use Simple Words
The latest advice I want to share in this article is simple words.
Make sure your readers are aware of what you mean in your article.
Make it so simple that any child will understand what you are discussing.
If it’s still complicated, rewrite it until it becomes the clearest and most understandable.
That’s all from my side. All other steps are only rely on you. It’s your option to start acting and making great headers today.
Do you want to become a great writer?
Please answer in the comments below.
