headline-engineeringlisted

# Headline Engineering This skill fires whenever someone is writing or reviewing copy that has to earn a click. It does NOT replace [[assaf-voice]] — voice DNA still applies. This skill handles the part voice doesn't: WHERE the copy will live and HOW that platform's audience decides what to click. ## Load order 1. **Always load** `references/platform-hooks.md` — the 6 viral patterns, char-count sweet spots, first-7-words rule. 2. **For specific platforms** load `references/headline-templates.md` — proven shapes per platform with char counts. 3. **For challenges or updates** load `references/research-receipts.md` — the source data behind every claim in this skill. ## The decision tree Apply in order: **Step 1 — Identify the platform.** Different platforms have different optimal lengths and reward different shapes. Don't write a "headline" abstractly. Write for X, OR for Reddit, OR for LinkedIn, OR for Medium. The same idea gets phrased four different ways. **Step 2 — Identify the length range.** - X: under 110 chars, sweet spot 71-100 - Reddit text titles: 30-66 chars - LinkedIn long-form titles: 60-100 chars - Medium titles: 50-90 chars **Step 3 — Pick the pattern.** Six patterns earn clicks (full detail in `references/platform-hooks.md`): - A. Absurd-concrete-object ("Real LLM on a Game Boy Color") - B. Confession + reversal ("I'm done with X") - C. PSA / "admits" exposé ("Anthropic admits X") - D. Specific number + impossible feat ("64-year-old problem solved") - E