Your post title can make your blog viral, spreading the word like wildfire or scaring away potential readers, denying them the chance to find your beautifully written gem. While there are only a few words in your blog post title- they are the most powerful words you'll write. The power here is due to the fact that to most of your readers, the decision as to whether to read the rest of your post relies on them.
Why Blog Post Titles Matter
Blog post titles appear in:
Results from a search engine
Links from other bloggers
Social Media Sites
On your archives page
RSS Feeds
The post title, in all these cases, is what the reader sees. This is where they decide to continue reading. Write a title that's confusing or boring, and you'll bet your ass that not very many people are going to read it. 7 Tips for Writing a Blog Title
How can you create a blog title that encourages people to read the opening lines of your blog posts? There are many ways to write a blog title that draws your readers in. Below are seven tips on crafting a blog post title for you to keep on your mind the next time you're looking for those right words (and every time).
Personalize Titles
Blog posts are likely to be written for hundreds or even thousands of people. This is true. However, it is possible to make your readers feel that the post is tailored to their situation by personalizing the nebojsacvetkovic.com language you use. This can be done several ways, but the easiest way to do so is to simply use the word 'You' in your title.
Humor Titles
If you can pull it off, the art of comedy can be a great way to draw people to your blog. Although this technique can be very effective in attracting people to your blog via social media, it is not always a great option for search engine results. It is possible however, to skillfully craft a humorous title spliced with search engine friendly key words.
Use key words
Key words, as mentioned in the previous tip are crucial to getting search results traffic. Keywords tell search engines about your content, which will make your post appear higher in search results for related searches.
Key words are also useful because they grab the attention of people who are visually scanning content. This is something I discovered when I was researching to buy a kindle (which I love), over the holidays. I found myself looking through an RSS feeds, taking in information in a hurry, scanning for the word 'kindle', before making the big buy. The keyword grabbed my attention because I was in a rush.
Ask a Question
People are wired to answer questions when they see them. Questions are great because is also leads the reader to actually leave comments on your post as well. This gives you the opportunity to add a personal touch and make your post title more interesting. As we discussed in this list earlier, questions often include the word 'You' rather than a random question. In a subsequent post, I will write more about the importance of questions.
Create Controversy or Debate
When a reader sees a title that signifies a controversial topic that's open for debate, they'll often want to join in the discussion by commenting on your post. They will comment on your post and often respond to comments made by other commenters, which they will be more inclined to return to. This is a great opportunity to get readers involved in the discussion to subscribe to your RSS feed and see what others are saying. Keep your content relevant to its title.
Use Power Words
It's important to take advantage of prime words that evoke a powerful response in readers, and it will be worth it to find out what they are. There are several of these power words lurking throughout our vocabularies, but I've managed to pin-point a few into a small (yet powerful) list.
Simple - Mankind strives for a simpler and more efficient life. Any information on accomplishing this is to humans like moths to a flame.
Free- It's the act of getting something for free that most people find appealing.
Stunning - Using words like 'stunning' draw people in for them to judge whether the post lives up to it's name. This is called a "big claim" technique.
Discover - Curiosity is one of man's greatest weaknesses.
Secrets - Again with curiosity, this triggers a response because it promises to show us something that we don't yet know. You could also use "little-known ways" to get the same response from the reader.
These words can be dangerous so be careful. Sometimes they can leave a negative response in readers who may assume the title wont live up to it's claim. This is a result of years of misleading advertising schemes that we have all encountered at one time or another on the internet. Just try to show that you're legitimate, without coming off as cheesy, and you should be fine.
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