What's in a heading?

I've seen it a few times now! Identical posts but with different headings! One gets lots of stars and flags and one gets hardly any!

Is there an art to headings because I've posted some awesome stuff but my headings were weak so no stars and flags!

I wish I could produce a heading to my posts that would just hook every reader and get lots of stars and flags!

Who knows the secret? I don't!

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

While headings count a significant amount on the number of openings that the post gets, right up there also is the first sentence or two that must take that initial attention of the headline and start producing what it implies. Make that first sentence or sentences, short, punchy and informative. Don't dance around the topic by setting the stage for revealing the meat of your thread further down the page.

Given that ATS reaches a lot of different countries, a headline should make common sense without cryptic words or abbreviations that may be unknown elsewhere from your area or country.

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

I wish I could produce a heading to my posts that would just hook every reader and get lots of stars and flags!

Why?

Identical posts but with different headings!

Identical or similar?

I know its your rant so the sarcasm might be influencing your words but I guess its a sign of brainwashed so many are.

Repeating what been posted numerous times just to be part of a group of like minded people I guess.

Here is a star and flag from me to you if they mean something to you, me I tend to look to see if my posts get starred but feel better when the don't which to me indicates either it wasn't read or no one agrees, I like being one of kind.

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

I think the trick is posting quality content that people care about and engaging them in thought provoking conversation about the topic.

Pro tip: If you put Jews in your title, you'll totally get loads of stars

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

Two words: BREAKING NEWS.

Take those two words, add caps lock, add a dash of sensationalism, and viola-you have your headline.

I try to be direct with my titles, but sometimes you've got to shout louder than everyone else to get noticed or to get your point across. The eye catching headline is as old as the printed press, and in days gone by those headlines where followed with a quality article.

But in these days when RSS feeds and the like come and go by the minute you need to stand out from the crowd.

a reply to: InhaleExhale

Hi thanks to me s&f are some sort of affermation of life!

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Thanks for the advice.

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

I rather think that depends entirely upon what sort of attention you want to grab. If you are looking to grab the attention of the majority of members, then the same tactics apply to posting a heading, as apply to formulating a headline in a tabloid newspaper to a large extent, although if you fill your heading with sensationalist nonsense, then you will be called on it by most members in good standing. We come here to avoid that sort of thing by and large I believe.

However, if you are looking to alert persons who might have an interest in the topic you are posting, that the thread may have some value to them, then all you need do is create a header which makes plain the sort of content or area of interest, is discussed within the thread.

Another thing you must bear in mind, is that the USA is heavily represented amongst the membership here. If you post at nine in the morning, those on the other side of the world will be perhaps at work, or just going to bed, or what have you, so timing your posting of a thread to get it into the "New" section is key, if you are determined to give your thread the best chance of hitting a maximum number of eyeballs.

JMO.....but.....not everyone has high speed internet. if all you do is post a topic heading and then the content of your first post is a youtube video or a "listen to this podcast" then you lose.

Excerpt some of the material.....add your ideas on it, use youtube as more supporting information. If it's a video there are also more sources for it, with pictures and text. Lots of peeps still have slow loading systems and NO ONE is going to tie up their computer for 20 minutes while something you "think" is SPECIAL is loading.

It gets blurbed right over....

Next thread!!!

I know lots of members get S7F by posting in certain sections but it's still better to post your topic in the correct forum. You get feedback from folks who are actually interested in the subject matter that way.

Sure it's EASIER to get seen in Breaking News or Rants or whatever....but it's better to place it in the right place if you want older members to notice & work on building yourself some "cred". Just yesterday for example someone posted what "looked like" a ok rant then when I clicked on it, turns out it had to do with Taylor Swift....

WTF????

put her damn name in the title so I can avoid!!!
NO stars & NO flags for that poster. Plain & simple.......Just. NO.

Plus stars & flags are arbitrary here anyways.....this isn't like other places on the interwebs.....people use them according to their own tastes in material. It's a big world and it really shouldn't matter what anyone thinks if YOU are passionate about your material/topic. One thing that gets noticed are hit & run threads.....OP posts it & never comes back. If you don't care why should we? Once you have that rep, it doesn't go away. This site is interactive......the best threads are when the OP is involved/invested.

Keep trying.....it gets easier.....LOL

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND


Depends a lot on who makes a thread as well.

But if stars and flags are your thing, just make posts about U.S. police or armed forces being awesome or Jews and black people being bad.

Example.

"Hero cop saves babies"

Then go find an article to match.

It might just be what you think is awesome, to everyone else is just a little bit "meh..."

The title should just explain to the reader what the topic is about, the shorter the better, nobody wants to read half the thread in the title. It should be grammatically correct and spelt correctly (I am no spelling Nazi, mine is awful but it does help with a title) and it should catch attention.

That last bit is tricky, There might be say 50 threads on the "new threads" and "recent posts page" and you need to get yours to stick out so firstly make sure its in the correct forum. I write a lot in the terrorism and 9/11 forum because that is what interests me, no point in putting those kind of threads into the ET forum because others that are interested in those topic just aren't going to be looking in the ET forum for them. How some people word threads can be automatically off putting, I will probably ignore most threads that mention numerology, prophecies, crop circles and a whole range of other nonsense topics if they are mentioned in the title.

Finally timing helps, most of the world in said to be on-line around about 19:00 GMT is better than first thing in the morning.

It also really helps if you as the OP hang around and actually engage with those who are posting in your thread.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Lol, thanks and I never thought of the time thing

a reply to: HD3DSURROUNDSOUND

No problem.

The time difference is just the price we pay for the extensively international membership we have here. I mean sure, the American contingent is somewhat larger than that of other nations, but we really have got people from a great many nations and regions here on ATS, and it is one of the things that makes it such a great place to come. With everyone being informed as to how reportage differs from one region to the next, it is somewhat easier to come to sensible conclusions about the matters affecting the human race.