Build the Asset: Write 5 Original Headlines and Score Your Own Work
Objective: Write five original headlines for a real content brief, each using a genuinely different formula, then self-score every one against the same numeric rubric and pick the strongest option with a written justification.
A beauty content team modeled on Nykaa's creator-and-content-led growth strategy needs five headline options for a new blog post: 'How to Build a Skincare Routine for Humid Indian Summers.' They want five genuinely different angles, not five reworded versions of the same idea, each scored honestly before anything goes to the editorial calendar.
RUBRIC — score every headline 0, 1, or 2 on each of the four rows below, then sum for a total out of 8. CRITERION | 0 points | 1 point | 2 points Character count | under 25 or over 75 chars | 25-39 or 61-75 chars | 40-60 chars Specificity | no concrete number or fact | one vague qualifier only | at least one real number or named fact Benefit clarity | states a topic/feature only | benefit implied, not stated | reader can finish 'so that I ___' straight from the headline Formula match | no identifiable formula | formula unclear or mixed | clearly matches one of the six formulas CLARITY PENALTY: if a reader has to decode wordplay or a pun before understanding the headline, subtract 2 points from the total (Common Mistakes: Mistake 1, clever over clear). PUBLISH THRESHOLD: 6-8 = publish as-is. 4-5 = revise the weak row before testing. 0-3 = rewrite from scratch. THE BRIEF: write 5 original headlines for a blog post titled internally 'How to Build a Skincare Routine for Humid Indian Summers,' aimed at first-time skincare buyers in India. CONSTRAINT: your five headlines must use at least 4 of the 6 formulas (Number List, How-To, Question, Specific Promise, Secret/Shortcut, Social Proof) between them. Five near-duplicate headlines using the same formula fails this project even if each one is individually decent. For every headline, state: the formula used, the character count, and its full rubric score (all four rows plus the clarity-penalty check). Then pick the one you'd actually publish and justify it in 2-3 sentences.
Before you start
What you'll need
Free path (everything below is enough to finish)
Free web tool, useful to confirm your own counts once your five headlines are drafted.
Free tier can sanity-check whether your five headlines actually span 4+ distinct formulas, it should not write your headlines for you.
Paid upgrades (optional, faster/deeper)
Writing and self-scoring five headlines needs nothing beyond the rubric itself. Every tool above is an optional cross-check, never a requirement.
Overkill for writing and scoring five headlines by hand.
Final deliverable
Five original headlines for the given brief, each labeled with its formula, character count, and full rubric score, plus a 2-3 sentence justification for the one selected to publish.
See a reference example
Sample format from a different brief, not the skincare one, to show what 'done' looks like. For a Zomato blog post on 'ordering food late at night without regret,' one headline in a five-set might be: 'The 9pm Order That 40,000 Bangalore Users Made Last Month' (58 chars; specificity 2pt for the real-sounding named number and city; benefit clarity 1pt, implied through social proof rather than stated outright; Social Proof formula, 2pt; char count 2pt; total 7/8, publish range). Each of the other four in that same set would need to use a different formula, a How-To or Question headline sitting next to this Social Proof one, not another Social Proof variant.
Success criteria
You're done when you can:
- Exactly 5 headlines submitted, spanning at least 4 of the 6 distinct formulas
- Character count stated and correct (within a character or two) for every headline
- Every headline scored against all 4 rubric rows plus the clarity-penalty check, shown as work not just a final number
- Selected winner has the highest total score, or the write-up gives a specific, rubric-referenced reason for picking a lower scorer
- At least one headline in the set contains a specific, provable number or named fact, not just adjectives