A recent Harvard Business blogpost [“When Clarity is Not the Same as Brevity“] inspired this tip. David Silverman said if you scatter a dictionary’s words on the floor, it’s useless. But arrange them alphabetically and you’ll find what you want whether there are 10 or 10,000 words. The difference is navigation.

Ditto for anything long that you’re writing. [Newsflash: They won’t read every word you write.] So use headers and subheads to help them skip to what they’re most interested in.

Subhead tips

Here are several options for writing subheads that engage and orient your readers:

1. Summarise — Instead of the blind headline, “Recommendation”, try “Recommendation: Hire another salesperson”. Perfect for skim-readers and informational writing.
2. Offer a benefit — Got a busy reader? Try putting a major benefit into a headline/subhead. At least if that’s all they read, they’ll know what you’re offering. E.g. “Half-price brokerage”
3. Arouse curiosity — “Curiosity” subheads get attention, so can be good in persuasive writing. E.g. “Like to work less but achieve more?” They work best when you offer a benefit to readers. The downsides: They can annoy REALLY busy, impatient readers, and they’re a bit informal, so check they’re appropriate.
4. “How to” — These headlines are everywhere, because they work; people want to learn how to do stuff. Instead of “System jobs”, try “How to add a new job to the system” — much clearer.
5. News — People love to learn about new things. Put on your journo hat — what’s newsworthy about your topic? (See “news values“) E.g. “New CFO was educated at Harvard” is better than “Welcome new CFO”.

Of course, there are more. Got one you’d like to share? What’s your favourite? Please tell us in a comment below…