21 great headlines from trashy tabloids

headline secrets Want to read some great headlines? Check these out:

Man’s head explodes in barber’s chair.

Woman with 4 legs opens dance studio.

Skiing squirrel dies trying to break 196 m.p.h. speed record!

Cow crashes domino game.

Inflate-a-Boob. New breast implants take gals from flat to fabulous … in seconds!

And these are just the beginning. Alex Eckelberry from Sunbelt Blog turned me on to a collection of Weekly World News back issues preserved in all their eye-popping glory by Google Books.

This stuff is like a Barnum and Baily nightmare. But they hold a treasure of incredible headlines that, while weird and over-the-top, work like money machines. I mean, they certainly sell these publications.

If you want a quick education in using headlines to get attention and get people reading (which is the #1 purpose of any headline), spend some time with these marvels of unabashedly hardcore copywriting. Notice the startling choice of words and extreme specificity.

Pig-nosed man roasted alive in fire-walk tragedy!

Headless ghost haunts railroad tracks … looking for his booze and smokes!

18 things you never knew about Hank the angry drunken dwarf!

Loving her was easy – until she took off her clothes!

Ghost airliner brings back dead rock starts

Rub the famous magic fish … and get anything you want!

Teen’s hair changes color … with her mood!

Half of U.S. hookers are space aliens – and they don’t have sex organs!

Man makes $60,000 a year as human lawn jockey

Is your cat from mars?

London man is electrolysist by day and … werewolf by night. “I know all about unwanted hair growth says spa employee.”

Secretary lifts car off boss – and he fires her!

Iraqi elephant man keeps 10 wives happy! His trunk is his secret charm, says neighbors.

Supreme Court judges are naked under robes!

Nazi UFOs to attack U.S.

Chain-smoker kicks 30-year habit … then chokes to death on wad of nicotine gum!

Want more? Browse this collection of trashy tabloids.

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June 30, 2009 | Filed in Copywriting

14 Comments

Comments

14 Responses to “21 great headlines from trashy tabloids”

Phong Khang on October 20th, 2009 1:56 pm

Totally awesome. Thanks for the great ideas. I’m going to have to buy me these issues now.
.-= Phong Khang’s last blog … 20 Revealing Ways To Make Buckets Of Money Online =-.
Joshua Boxer on October 20th, 2009 3:08 pm

I love the old headlines you have referenced here. I am always on the lookout for mix-it up ideas to get the headlines flowing through my head. As a fairly new copywriter, I am always looking for ways to improve my craft. Thank you for sharing.
.-= Joshua Boxer’s last blog … Advocare Reviews – A Critical Look At Advocare’s Business Model and Recruiting System =-.
Dean Rieck on October 20th, 2009 3:18 pm

Phong,
Well I wasn’t suggesting that you go out and buy these trashy tabloids. Just learn from them. Who knows what all those stories of 5 legged dogs and alien abductions will do to your brain.
Dean Rieck on October 20th, 2009 3:19 pm

Yeah, looking at stuff like this is the only reason I enjoy going to the grocery.
BLOGitse on October 21st, 2009 5:34 am

It’s interesting how words like sex, porn or similar are the most looked words in Finnish blog catalog (http://www.blogilista.fi/).

Hm…is it the same all over the globe?

If yes, it means that those are much more interesting ‘topics’ than for example climate change!?
Or maybe most of the blogs are for fun, not to educate/get information/discuss.

How to write a sexy headline of a serious topic like climate change? any ideas?

Thanks for sharing! Have a great day/evening!
.-= BLOGitse’s last blog … it’s getting warmer and warmer…climate change – are we ready to act? =-.
David Siteman Garland on October 23rd, 2009 2:09 pm

This is GREAT.

As blogger and TV producer we are always working on more captivating headlines.

From my experience the key has not been to mislead but of course be interesting, cooky and funny.

Misleading may lead to some clicks/opens but you will destroy your viewer/reader loyalty.

-David
Dean Rieck on October 23rd, 2009 2:27 pm

Thanks, David. In a former life, I also was a TV producer. It was a great education.
Fruitfulvine2 on October 26th, 2009 2:07 pm

Those were really funny! But it did the trick – got me thinking about how to spice up the titles of my blog posts. Thanks to Brian of copyblogger for sharing this.
.-= Fruitfulvine2′s last blog … Food Storage – Storing Non-Food Items =-.
Credito Pessoal on October 26th, 2009 4:46 pm

Now those are some sick Headlines! Cats from Mars? Say what?
.-= Credito Pessoal’s last blog … Partners Finances Credito Pessoal =-.
lawton chiles on January 4th, 2010 11:08 pm

Dean, what are the forms these guys have to fill out- the libel forms, so they aren’t sued all the time? Thoughts? Great headlines though!
Dean Rieck on January 5th, 2010 1:38 am

Lawton, I think the stories are so outlandish, people can’t stop laughing long enough to call a lawyer.
Allen on March 30th, 2010 7:48 am

Like it … really like the “Loving her was easy – until she took off her clothes!” – a good one for the weight loss niche or similar.

Thanks for sharing.
Rodney Daut on April 15th, 2010 6:09 pm

These were very entertaining. I’d love to see links to the actual articles to see how they relate to the content.

Also, I’d also like to see how anyone was able to use these to come up with headlines for their own products or services.
Daniela on July 25th, 2010 10:30 pm

Aaah, a copywriter’s delight – or nightmare.

They are certainly attention grabbing, thanks for sharing these headlines.

http://www.cavalletticommunications.com.au/blog