I was writing headlines for 3 years before someone pointed out my pattern

I ran a small community blog out of Portland for about 3 years, and I thought I was doing okay until a friend sat me down last month. She pulled up 20 of my posts and showed me how every single headline started with either 'Why' or 'How' or 'The Truth About.' I had no idea I was doing it, but once she pointed it out, I couldn't unsee it. It hit me that I was basically using the same 3 templates over and over without even thinking. I guess I got comfortable and stopped paying attention to my own writing habits. Now I'm trying to mix things up, but it feels weird to break the rhythm. Has anyone else had a moment where a small style quirk made you realize you were stuck in a rut with your content? I'm curious how you shook it off.

2 comments

2 Comments

jake1911mo ago

I'd actually argue there's nothing wrong with sticking to what works if those headlines are getting clicks. You don't see BuzzFeed changing their format every week because the formula is what keeps readers coming back.

andrewt411mo ago

And honestly, that's exactly how it works in practice. Once you find a format that consistently performs, you'd be a fool to walk away from it just because some people complain it's repetitive. The trick is testing small tweaks to the formula so you're not totally stagnant, but you don't throw out the whole playbook either.