I was in my local bookshop a couple of days ago and overheard the staff having a conversation. They were unpacking a box of new books and they stopped mid-task to look at one of them. “Ugh,” said one. “This is going to be impossible to sell. It looks like a non-fiction thing about modern politics.”

I sidled over to have a look (it’s that kind of shop). She was right. It looked exactly like that. The book was, in fact, a well-reviewed work of literary fiction and had very little to do with modern politics, but it screamed “put me with the books about the problems of government”.

The point is, whether the first impression you’re dealing with is a book cover, a photograph or a headline, if it doesn’t distill the essence of the ‘thing’ accurately, you’re going to be in trouble.

Headlines are about expectation management - here’s what the data taught DPG

There’s no doubt that headlines are important. Heck, a large part of whether or not you opened this newsletter today would have had something to do with its subject line.

And, as with anything that’s important, there’s never going to be a simplistic solution or quick fix.

That said, it is possible to learn from experience - and that’s what the folk over at DPG did when they collaborated with us on a data study into headline clickworthiness.

  • When conducting A/B tests on headlines a previous smartocto study revealed that winning headlines receive, on average, nearly 20% more clicks than the original
  • Ascribing values to headlines can be a useful sorting tool
  • Personalisation doesn’t work with all brands - and this is another reason to make sure you understand what works for your newsroom, not someone else’s
  • Negative headlines seemed to perform better….
  • …BUT more important was the finding that headline tone should match the content of the article
read blog

And, there’s lots going on here at the moment - buckle up!

We’ve just announced our next webinar

You have the metrics to tell you how your content’s performing. But are you absolutely sure why they matter? How can? data and purpose reinforce each other?

Beyond clicks: measuring what really matters in journalism

Monday 26 May 2025 - 15.00 CET

We’re inviting you to join smartocto’s strategy manager, Todor Papic, and Karlijn Goossen from Journalism 360 coordinator at NPO for a thought-provoking session on redefining success in journalism. Expect practical tools and tips - as well as editorial philosophy.

register here

Micro-webinar format alert!

The eagle-eyed readers among you may have noticed that there was a short video webinar embedded in the article above. If you spotted it, ten points for you.

This is something new for us and it’s called QuickBits. These are micro-webinars (usually only a few minutes long) each addressing a specific question, problem or insight facing newsrooms. We’ll be publishing them over on LinkedIn, so make sure you keep an eye out!

Sign up now for the new FT Strategies x smartocto masterclass programme

We’re pleased to announce a new training programme with our partners over at FT Strategies.

How to make data-informed decisions in the newsroom will offer a blend of strategic guidance and practical experimentation to forward-thinking newsrooms. So, if your newsroom wants to work smarter with data, sharpen your content strategy, improve workflows or boost impact, this could be just the ticket:

  • A four-part masterclass series
  • Starting September 2025
  • Expert guidance from FT Strategies consultants
  • Practical sessions to apply new insights
  • Full access to smartocto ‘s premium analytics platform for 16 weeks
learn more

READING TIPS

Is news media facing its own ‘Spotify vs CD’ moment? That’s British presenter Piers Morgan’s contention - and why he says he’s doubling down on his YouTube channel in this article from The Guardian.

While we’re talking existential threats, this is an interesting piece from Neel Dhanesha at Nieman Lab about how American environmental journalists are keeping morale up even when the political situation around them is making those conversations tricky.

And, if you prefer your updates in audio form, The Digiday Podcast offers up an analysis of Google’s U-Turn on third party cookies on their podcast.

That’s all from us this week - see you next time!

Em

Content editor, smartocto

What we did before...

FT Strategies and smartocto join forces for User Needs Labs

Consultancy firm FT Strategies and editorial data analytics company smartocto present User Needs Labs, a comprehensive training programme designed to accelerate audience growth.