Laura’s Blog

Even the Big Guys struggle to write enticing headlines.

The cover story of July’s issue of The Costco Connection focuses on “unconventional” Costco members. In his letter from the editor, David W. Fuller writes:

“…We tried to boil down to a few words the concept of our cover story. In a full sentence, here is the concept: According to conventional wisdom, Costco members all have big families (say, two or more kids), large vehicles and plenty of storage space at home; but in reality plenty of them are empty nesters, young marrieds without kids, singles and so on who are benefitting from their Costco memberships.”

Forty-five words. Far too many for a headline, let alone the “teaser” for the magazine’s cover.

Fuller’s challenge: Boil down a 45-word concept to two-to-five words plus a kicker (the short phrase that leads in to the headline).

They tried and rejected several heads, including:

“The company you keep: Costco members defy stereotype.”

Rejected because readers could interpret the phrase, “the company you keep” to be about members who keep their memberships long-term.

“Member motivations.”

Rejected for the cover because it seemed flat, but displayed prominently in the Table of Contents.

The winner:

“Simply unique: Costco members defy stereotype.”

This headline speaks to the kernel of the article’s concept, writes Fuller. That is, “there are nearly as many motivations for membership as there are people.”

How can you apply Fuller’s headline-writing techniques to the titles you write for blog posts?

A powerful headline sets the tone for the article it accompanies. Brainstorm several headlines, and mix-and-match them until you come up with one strong head that conveys the essence of your article.

Before or after writing your article, state your story’s main point and reader take-away value in one sentence.

Review your sentence. What words or phrases jump out at you? Can you convert any of those phrases into one powerful word?

Fuller’s concept sentence includes the phrase, “according to conventional wisdom.” He shortened that 4-word phrase to one word: “stereotype.”

He also countered the word, “stereotype” with its polar opposite: “unique.”

Read your headline out loud. Does it include a strong action verb? (Note the verb, “defy” in Fuller’s headline.)

Cover Story Headline Analysis

Now let’s take a look at the four-page cover story. Here, the headline is expanded to

The company you keep:
Costco members who don’t fit the mold

Aaah… one of the headlines that got rejected for the cover makes an appearance here! But since the cover teaser (combined with compelling artwork) has already whetted our appetite for the article, there’s no confusion when we see “The company you keep” atop the article.

In fact, the phrase’s double meaning carries a subtle psychological impact: “I may not be a stereotypical Costco customer, but I’m going to keep doing business with Costco because they recognize and honor me.”

Very clever, Costco headline writers!

The article includes several large, bold sub-heads to feature each unique group of members:

• Feeding the menagerie (pet owners)
• Never too old for Costco (seniors)
• Flying solo (singles)
• On the road again (frequent travelers)

If your blog article is more than 250 words, use sub-heads. Readers typically skim or scan a blog post, looking for meaningful topics. Sub-heads help your readers easily locate key topics, and it creates much-needed breathing space on the screen.

1. Write a headline for your next blog post, imitating the headline style from The Costco Connection.
2. Open with a two-to-three word kicker (lead-in to the head).
3. Include a two-to-five word sentence that features a strong action verb.
4. Share your headline (and if you’d like, a link to your blog post) in the Comments area so we can learn from each other.