Dan Nelken once said, “Great headlines aren’t great sentences – they’re great ideas expressed in words.”
So today, I’ll show you how a classic ideation method, Osborn’s Checklist, can be used to write headlines.
tl;dr
1. Adapt
🤔 Ask:
- What could I adapt or copy?
- Emulate another ad or brand?
- Borrow from other industries?
- Can I take from the past?
- Borrow from pop culture?
- Try something else like this?
2. Modify
🤔 Ask:
- Is there a new twist I can add?
- A different color or sound?
- A changed format or layout?
- Can I change the meaning?
- Change the tone or style?
- Explore other possibilities?
3. Magnify
🤔 Ask:
- What can I add to improve it?
- To duplicate or exaggerate it?
- To add urgency or excitement?
- Can I add extra value?
- Make it bolder or longer?
- Exaggerate or dramatize?
4. Minify
🤔 Ask:
- What can I subtract?
- Tone down or delete?
- Split up or understate?
- Can it be miniature, lower, or shorter?
- Lightened, omitted, or streamlined?
- Smaller or more condensed?
5. Substitute
🤔 Ask:
- Can I use something else instead?
- Other ingredients or shapes?
- Different tones of voice?
- Can I change the rules?
- The processes or tools?
- Take a different approach?
6. Rearrange
🤔 Ask:
- Can I interchange components?
- Try other patterns? Other layouts?
- Reorganize sequences?
- Change the order of the letters?
- Flip the cause and effect?
- Adjust the pacing?
7. Reverse
🤔 Ask:
- Can I reverse roles?
- Switch positive and negative?
- Use opposites?
- Can I change negative into positive?
- Turn it backward or upside down?
- Approach it from a different angle?
8. Combine
🤔 Ask:
- Can I mix ideas together?
- Combine different stories?
- Merge words or languages?
- Can I combine two elements?
- Use two devices at the same time?
- Blend serious and silly?
