Headline word balance
What is your headline made of?
Each word is sorted into one of four groups and marked on the line: everyday words, specific words, words with feeling and words that sell. You get a description of the mix, not a grade.
7 (number) proven (power) secrets (power) to (common) a (common) stunning (emotional) sourdough (uncommon) loaf (uncommon) you'll (common) love (emotional)
- Common334%
- Uncommon222%
- Emotional222%
- Power222%
- 9 words with letters, plus 1 number (7).
- 3 of 9 (34%) are common everyday words, the glue that makes a headline read like speech.
- 2 uncommon words (22%): “sourdough” and “loaf”. These are usually the specific words that say what the piece is about.
- 2 emotional words (22%): “stunning” and “love”. They name or stir a feeling.
- 2 power words (22%): “proven” and “secrets”. Words like these promise, urge or tease.
The four groups
The word lists were written for this site, and the page looks each word up in them, trying simple endings too, so “loved” counts as “love”.
- Common words are the everyday ones that make up most of ordinary English: the, you, make, home. The list holds 785 of them.
- Uncommon is everything the lists don't hold, usually the specific nouns, names and topic words that say what the piece is about.
- Emotional words name or stir a feeling: heartbreaking, cozy, furious; 289 in the list.
- Power words are the ones copywriters use to promise, urge or tease: proven, secret, ultimate; 160 in the list.
How to use it
Read the description as a second pair of eyes. A headline with no uncommon words may not say what it is about; one made mostly of power words can read like an advert; a few common words make a line sound like speech. Whether that suits your piece is your call: a news report and a sales page want different mixes.
Questions
Is there an ideal balance?
Not one that research agrees on, which is why this page describes the mix instead of scoring it. What works depends on your readers, your topic and where the headline appears.
Why is my word marked uncommon?
Because it is not in the common, emotional or power lists. Specific words such as sourdough, Lisbon or mortgage land there, and that is usually a good sign: they tell readers what the piece covers.
A word is in the wrong group. Why?
Words change meaning with context, and the lists can't see it: “free” is a power word on a sales page and an everyday word in “free time”. Treat a surprising tag as a prompt to reread the line.