Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Read this blog about headline news!

By: Bob Ulrich

A headline has to make your audience want to read what follows. Right now, anything that addresses Chinese tire imports gets a lot of hits on our Web site.

Length, particularly on the Web, can be an issue. I try to write a Web headline that is no more than one line long. That allows us to get more "Industry News" items on our home page. And, in my opinion, it looks a little cleaner.

It can be a challenge to get people to want to read a story in one short line. Our most popular news story from Aug. 17 through Aug. 21 was “Tariffs will negatively affect jobs, says economist.” There was no mention of China or tires or imports in the headline, but our readers know that the big issue surrounding Chinese consumer tire imports is the significant tariffs proposed by the United States International Trade Commission.

We know you will read industry-related topics such as “Chinese tire imports: an exporter’s viewpoint,” or “Dealers offer 25 bright ideas for survival” or “Cooper ships consumer tires to Sears” (our most popular item in August).

“Actor Joey Lawrence is a metrosexual”? Not so much.

Here are some actual Web headlines that caught my attention in the last few months.

“Health-care co-ops: fig leaf or fix?” (Yahoo! News). Clever and alliterative, which I like. Tells you exactly what it’s about in few words.

“Five reasons ‘Cash for Clunkers’ is a joke” (Caranddriver.com). Highly topical, sure to get people on either side of the issue to read it.

“Woman finds ‘God’ in salami” (ABC News), and “Diners report seeing Virgin Mary in food griddle” (Yahoo! News). Inadvertently funny, not enough to get me to read them. I remember thinking that people sure see crazy things when they are hungry.

“Preventive maintenance from 40,000 to 400,000 miles” (Business Fleet). I would think this straightforward headline would peak the interest of business fleet owners, especially because of the implication that their fleet vehicles could last that long. Cha ching!

“Lobbyists Paid Off by China vs. 30,000 U.S. Workers: Which Side Will Obama Choose?” (usw.org). Leave it to the leaders of the United Steelworkers to let you know what they think in a very leading headline. Note the capital letters: The USW is known for melodrama.

“K-Fed’s weight shocks fans” (Yahoo! News). I happen to know Kevin Federline, ex-husband of Britney Spears, is nicknamed K-Fed, so I knew to whom the headline was referring. What shocked me was that “fans” was plural.

My last three blogs had the following headlines:

“Tariffs or not? Ask the man with impeccable credentials.”

“News you can use from the Bridgestone Invitational.”

“Cash for Clunkers law appears to be working.”

Hopefully they were interesting enough to entice you to read them. Let me know if my blog headlines and my blogs don’t stack up -- this blog included.

Related Topics: Chinese tire imports, K-Fed, Sears, USW