How To Write Great Headlines and Captions
Produce a Newspaper or Newsletter Like a Professional
Jun 2, 2009
Following basic principles when writing captions and headlines can make all the difference between a professional-looking publication and one that seems amateurish.
A well-designed page is accessible and appealing to readers. If there is plenty of movement in the layout, no wodges of grey text, and good images played to best advantage, then readers will be drawn in. However, once there, it is the use of words which will keep a reader’s interest.
Choosing a Font
Fonts are split into two categories, serif and sans serif. Back in history, letters were created with chisel-like tools, which created little ‘ticks’ at the end of each character – called serifs. Times Roman is a serif font, and as such has a rather traditional appearance. Sans serif fonts, such as Helvetica, are without ticks, so have a more modern feel.
Newspapers use a mixture of both, but for headlines they tend to favour one over the other depending on the personality of the publication. So, ‘upmarket’ British papers such as The Daily Express are likely to use serifs for headlines, whereas ‘Red Tops’ such as The Daily Star favour sans fonts for headlines.
Easy On The Eyes
An important point to note is that no matter the newspaper, body text is usually in a serif font, because the human eye can skim over the ticks more easily than the hard edges of a sans font. For contrast, breakout boxes or other small areas of text may be in sans because in small doses it is not so hard on the eyes.
Creating Captions
Captions, because they are so short, work best in a sans font. In fact, they slow the reader down so every word can be absorbed.
Readers love captions, so it’s important to get them just right. They are often the ‘entry point’ – the first thing a reader looks at on the page. Captions should simply say exactly what is in the picture and when it was taken.
They should also have a ‘slug’ or ‘kicker’ no more than one or two words long. Don’t underestimate the power of these words – a funny or clever kicker adds professional polish to the finished product. For example: 'Hair we go: Fundraisers shave their heads for charity'.
Making Headlines
Thinking up a smart headline is relatively easy; getting it to fit is where skill comes in. Headlines should fill the entire space provided, with no ‘shy’ lines. The sense of the phrases should not be broken on to different lines. So, if a headline was: 'Dad is dead ringer for sports star', the phrase 'dead ringer' should be all on one line.
It is tricky and there is no substitute for talent when it comes to writing headlines, but study newspapers to see how it’s done and take time to get it perfect.
Avoid Repetition
The headline, caption and ‘intro’ of the story should not contain any of the same words, otherwise the reader will be instantly bored. In addition, the same word must not appear in a headline more than once on the same page. This is easy when all the stories relate to different topics, but on a page where all the stories are related, it gets a little bit more difficult.
This is where a large vocabulary comes in handy – or a thesaurus. So for example, ‘rail chiefs’; ‘train bosses’; ‘network leaders’ and ‘transport managers’ are all different ways of saying the same thing without repeating a word.
To Sum Up
Use serif fonts for larger areas of text or for a traditional feel and sans for small areas or a modern look. Put effort into captions and work headlines until they fit the space and scan well. Don't use the same words over and over.
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