Are you putting enough thought into your headlines?

Headlines are a crucial element of a piece of writing. After all, if a headline does not catch the reader's attention, the piece is likely to be ignored by readers. Significantly, as reported in a blog post called "18 Resources to Help you Write Better Blog Titles" on the blog "Blogussion," "on average eight out of ten people will read headline copy, but only two out of ten will read the rest."

Despite this important role, headlines are neglected by many writers, and authors jeopardize readership potential as a result. In the post on Blogussion, as its title implies, author Alex shares 18 resources for writing effective headlines.

Check out the post and the list of resources by clicking here! I found the tips offered in resources 6, 9, and 10. What tips do you find most helpful? Do you have any resources or techniques you'd like to see added to the list? What works best for you when writing headlines?

Are Virtual Crops Coming to Life?

Good news FarmVille and Mafia Wars lovers- soon you can really take a bite out of your games- no really! According to “Digits,” the Wall Street Journal's technology blog, Zynga, the creator of our favorite addicting facebook games, is teaming up with 7-Eleven to bring the games from your screen to the store. This means that certain items you purchase at 7-Eleven will be accompanied by access codes that you can redeem online for goods in the popular Zynga games.

For all of you who scoff at friends watering crops or feeding their baby eagle, consider these figures: in 2009 the sale of virtual goods in social games brought in $336 million of revenue for Zynga. This figure is projected to quadruple to $2.1 billion by 2012.

7-Eleven is notorious for promoting movie and charity campaigns, but this partnership signifies the growing popularity and buying power of not only social media, but also social media games. The idea for the partnership developed after 7-Eleven retailers began selling FarmVille, Mafia Wars and YoVille gift cards in their stores. When sales of these gift cards skyrocketed, Zynga and 7-Eleven decided to capitalize on the concept of virtual goods and real goods coming together.

What this really proves to all of us is that whether we are talking about the virtual world or the real world, money is money and it is good for anything anywhere. The promotion is set to begin June 1 and run through July 15. For more information, you can read the Wall Street Journal blog post here.


This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Michele Reilley.

The Tweetin' NBA - How Teams Use Social Media Effectively

Check out this video via Ragan's PR Daily about how NBA team the Phoenix Suns (@PhoenixSuns) uses Twitter to expand the team's brand and fan base. Video includes great strategy and creative promotional ideas!

Wal-Mart Begins to Blog

I came across an interesting article from the New York Times from earlier in the month about a PR campaign created by Wal-Mart. The store is fighting for more spending on employee health insurance and going after state legislation. In efforts to get more media coverage, Wal-Mart made a clever move. The store’s public relations firm wrote an email to dozens of interested bloggers with a message that would sway them to write a blog about it. Wal-Mart was “feeding them exclusive nuggets of news, suggesting topics for postings and even inviting them to visit its corporate headquarters.” This is a step towards a better public outlook of such a commercial company and its workers. Although many blogs used the same wording as the firm-email that was sent, the blogosphere is full of “copying and pasting.” I think it was a swift PR move for Wal-Mart and a move into the right direction. More people are aware of Wal-Mart employees’ fight for justice and shines a positive light on the company’s appreciation for its employees. For more information, you can read the article on NYTimes.com!

Tips for the Overwhelmed Intern

I started my first internship last week at The Franklin Institute as their summer development events intern. Although it has only been a week I am already having an amazing time learning an invaluable amount of knowledge and skills. As a first time intern, all of the new assignments and tasks can get a little overwhelming and learning how to organize and prioritize all of them can get a little stressful. In order to help myself become more efficient with my organization, I consulted a great article on Intern Coach that lists some great suggestions for interns to manage your time effectively.

• At the end of every day, make a list of the next day’s assignments, arranging them in order from most important to least important. If you’re not sure, ask your intern manager to help you prioritize your responsibilities.

• Check to see if your assignments are the same ones that were in the description for the internship. If you see lots of new additions, it’s perfectly fine to question them. Don’t feel shy about asking for advice. Remember, people like to be asked for help because it makes them feel important.

• After you organize your list, allot a specific amount of time to each item. Note deadlines when necessary. Make sure that you do the top items to the best of your ability. You can probably do the least important items quickly. If you run out of time to complete the list, you could shift the bottom items to the next day.

• Make sure to get to your internship early every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes before the rest of the office. You’ll make a great first impression, which is the lasting impression. People will automatically expect that you’ll do an excellent job since you’re so enthusiastic that you even arrive early. Then, if you don’t get everything done, it won’t be a disaster because you’ve already established yourself as a thoroughly competent person.

• Maintain a positive attitude even if you feel frantic about the pile of work on your desk. However, it’s acceptable to sit down and talk with the intern manager, explain the overload, and ask if some items could be deleted from the assignment list. Emphasize that your priority is to do to a really good job. But with so many assignments, your work could be compromised.

• Take advantage of your many assignments as a way to prove that you have multiple skills. You’ll be more valuable to the company

What do you think about these tips? Do you have any suggestions of your own? Let us know!

A Journalist's Advice About Pitching

I recently came across an insightful video of New York Times technology columnist David Pogue talking about which pitches catch his attention and get turned into stories and which get deleted. Pogue recommends tailoring your pitches to each specific journalist rather than sending generic press releases and email blasts, which many journalists will not even read. Although it takes more effort to tailor your pitches to each journalist's beat and style of writing, you will be more successful at getting your story covered if you take the extra time to do so. Watch the video on MyRaganTV.com.

Just how big is the social media world?

It is not secret that social media has exploded in recent years, revolutionizing the way people keep in touch and interact with one another and with companies. But just what is the magnitude of this social media explosion?

The "Hubspot Blog" recently posted a collection of more than 300 facts contained in various social media statistics reports. The statistics are fascinating! What's more, the reports are published in a variety of formats, from videos to visual maps to colorful and elaborate diagrams, which helps bring the statistics to life.

Be sure to check them out by clicking here!