The headline will change how a story is seen, summarized, framed and distributed.
Here’s what we think matters in writing better headlines:
1. Language Specificity
How does this story fit into the internet as a whole? H1 says that to machines. To humans, we want to be direct about they are clicking into. Specificity serves readers.
2. Technological Significance
Technology is what we publish. Cover the rate of change. The TL;DR of how/what/when/why/who will naturally make a good headline.
3. And Don’t Fish
Essays taught us to write hooks. Fishing. Social media taught to avoid bait. Phishing. When we change the way people click, we want it to be for the sake of tech education (progress matters), tech information (facts matter) and tech entertainment (fun matters).
Easier said than done. When you submit a tech story to Hacker Noon, a professional editor will review and look for potential improvements for your story's headline.