Those few words of your post title could be what brings in traffic, making your blog go viral and spreading through the web like wildfire, or scaring all potential readers away, not even giving themselves the chance to discover your well-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:
Search engine results
Other bloggers' links
Social Media Sites
On your archives page
RSS Feeds
In all of these situations, the post title is all the reader will see, and here is where the reader makes the decision to read on. Write a title that's confusing or boring, and you'll bet your ass that not very many people are going to read it. Crafting a Blog Post Title - 7 tips
How do you craft a blog post title that get people to read your blog post's opening lines? There are many ways to write a blog title that draws your readers in. Here are seven tips to help you create a blog title that will draw your readers in.
Personalize Titles
Blog posts are likely to be written for hundreds or even thousands of people. While this is true, you can make the reader feel like the nebojsa cvetkovic post is targeted to their specific situation, especially if you personalize the language that you're using. 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. However, it is possible to create a funny title that includes search engine friendly key phrases.
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.
Another interesting reason key words come in handy is because it grabs the attention of people who are visually scanning for content - I noticed this when I was looking into finding out more before buying a kindle(which I love) over the holidays. I found myself scrolling through RSS feeds in a rush, scanning for the word "kindle" before making my purchase. Because I was in a hurry, the keyword was a great attention grabber.
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. Always remember to keep your content relevant to the 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.
Easy - Mankind strives to make life easier and more efficient. Humans are able to access any information that will help them achieve this goal like moths to an open 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 a 'big claim' technique.
Explore - Curiosity can be one of the greatest weaknesses of man.
Secrets- This triggers curiosity again as it promises to reveal something we don't know. Similarly you could use 'little known ways' to secure the same response in the reader.
These words can be dangerous so be careful. These words can sometimes cause readers to feel negative and believe that the title is not true to its 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.
Share a benefit