Writing headlines isn’t easy. With the advent of search engine optimization, some say it’s a dying art.

That doesn’t mean you should string together a bunch of search-friendly keywords and call it a day. A good headline can still be the difference between a reporter’s reading your press release or her hitting the delete button.

Poynter’s Matt Thompson provides 10 questions that will help you write a better headline:

1. Is the headline accurate?
2. Does it work out of context?
3. How compelling a promise does it make?
4. How easy is it to parse?
5. Could it benefit from a number?
6. Are all the words necessary?
7. Does it obey the Proper Noun Rule?
8. Would it work better as an explanatory headline?
9. Does it focus on events or implications?
10. Could it benefit from one of these 10 words?

For Thompson’s 10 words and further descriptions on these headline tips, visit Poynter.org.

What questions help you write better headlines?