(And no, we're not here to praise clickbait.)

The old thinking:

A good headline is short and SEO-driven.

The new reality:

A good headline is a shareable headline.

Today, effective social media begins and ends with effective headlines.

When readers share your content, they're most often sharing your headline.

(Art is super important too, but not always shared.)

So what makes a great headline?

A great headline…

Is personal and insightful

A great headline…

Should stop you in your tracks

A great headline…

Should be provocative without being salacious

A great headline…

Isn't clickbait

Clickbait is a false promise. It's a tease with no substance. It's an entire post that could exist in a single tweet.

And Facebook is cracking down.

"When we asked people in an initial survey what type of content they preferred to see in their News Feeds, 80% of the time people preferred headlines that helped them decide if they wanted to read the full article before they had to click through." - Facebook Newsroom, Aug. 25, 2014

Yes, a headline should be intriguing, but it must also be honest and informative.

A great headline…

Presents a mystery that can only be solved by reading further

A great headline…

Makes you emotionally curious

A great headline…

Is conversational

A great headline…

Is rarely written alone

Don't go it alone

Even if you think you have a great headline, it never hurts to ask a writer or editor you trust for feedback and see if it can be improved.

Keep a network of your fellow headline aficionados and turn to them often.

A great headline…

Is as long as it needs to be

Our Top Stories of 2014 (So Far)

24 People Who Applied for the World's Toughest Job Were In for Quite a SurpriseGirl Fakes Getting Her Period, and Pays the Price, in Hilarious New Ad From Hello FloTrained Dancers Are Completely Appalled by This Ballet Ad for Free People ClothingCoca-Cola Invents 16 Crazy Caps to Turn Empty Bottles Into Useful ObjectsDiGiorno Is Really, Really Sorry About Its Tweet Accidentally Making Light of Domestic ViolenceAd of the Day: Peyton Manning and Cam Newton Prank Store Customers for GatoradeAd of the Day: Guinness Has Made the Only Ad You Need to See This Fourth of JulyPerfect Match: Brazilian Kids Learn English by Video Chatting With Lonely Elderly AmericansDid Beats by Dre Just Out-Nike Nike With This Incredible World Cup Ad?Budweiser Set to Charm the World With Its 'Puppy Love' Super Bowl Ad

Avg. # of words: 14 | Avg. # of characters: 80 | Avg. impressions: 2.6 million

A great headline…

Is one that works

If you come up with a headline that goes against every piece of advice in this presentation, GREAT.

Always question. Always experiment. Always measure.

Questions to Ask About Your Headlines

● Is it accurate?● Does it oversell?● Does it undersell?● Is it short enough to tweet?● Is it long enough to make sense?● Is this how I would explain this article to a friend?● Is it clear what's in it for the reader?● Would I click it if I didn't write it?

Thanks for your time.

David GrinerTwitter: @Griner | @Adweek | @AdFreakInstagram: @DavidGriner | @AdweekAdweek.com