Knowing how to create a good blog post title is a fine art.
It’s one that, I must admit, I saw as my weakness for a very long time.
Being able to piece together a stunning, attention-grabbing, read-me-or-you’ll-regret-it title is just as difficult as writing the post itself, if not harder. Any writer worth their salt will tell you that writing five ludicrously good words is tougher than penning one thousand plus.
But it is something you can learn to do.
The Facts
A whopping 80% of people never read past your headline. This shows precisely why yours needs to be absolutely mind-blowingly good. Think about it; only 20% of readers actually click on your blog and read it through, which is a hugely depressing thought. Especially when you think about how much blood, sweat and tears the average copywriter pours into their writing.
That’s why this statistic needs to motivate you. Don’t let it suck you into a black pit of despair and ‘Oh, what’s the point’ thoughts. Allow it to make you strive to ensure every single one of your blogs is in that 20 per cent.
Titles and social media
Every blogger out there should be pushing their posts out on social media the minute they’re published. Why? Because Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and more can help you to raise your brand’s profile, whilst also generating interest around your company. By creating hot-topic blog posts that deal with the genuine questions people in your industry have, you’ll become a thought-leader who people simply have to pay attention to.
Because of this, you have to make sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that your blog post titles are suitable for social media.
They need to be short, snappy and clickable, while also summing up precisely what your post talks about in as few words as possible. Think about it; readers flicking through potential reading material won’t stop unless they are instantly grabbed by the title.
According to Dan Zarrella, there are a number of words that, when used in your tweets, will give you a better chance of amassing retweets.
Here they are:
- you
- please
- retweet
- post
- blog
- social
- free
- media
- help
- please retweet
- great
- social media
- 10
- follow
- how to
- top
- blog post
- check out
- new blog post
You aren’t guaranteed a retweet if you use these words, but they will increase your chances. This list also shines a lights on the type of blogs you write, but I’ll get into this a little later on.
Twitter can be a tough nut to crack if your blog titles are flimsy. Twitter only displays your headline (unlike Facebook, which at least offers up the first sentence of your content), so you’ll need to wow right from the go.
The first hurdle you need to get across is, of course, whether people are actually even interested in the topic you’ve chosen. Writing about something people genuinely couldn’t give two hoots about is bad copywriting. It makes you look lazy, and it makes you hate your writing. If you don’t care, why should anyone else?
You can use social media to find out if people want to read what’s on your mind.
If you have a topic you’re thinking about writing around, tweet it out to your followers. Give them a taste of what could be to come and see how they react. You don’t have to give the game away, just mention what you’re thinking about and base your decision of to write or not to write on how many favourites, retweets or comments you get.
Let your passion shine through
As mentioned, writing about things you have zero passion for makes your writing suck. Every copywriter out there’s had the experience of working on a worthless project for ‘x’ number of months, knowing full well that no one really cares about what you’re writing. Don’t let this kind of writing rule you.
You should only be writing about things you have true zeal for. Of course, if you work in an agency you’ll obviously have to write for certain clients that bore your socks off, but there’s always a way to make the topics interesting.
The foundation of blogging is social sharing and online interaction. What makes people do this? Fun content. Choose topics that are quirky, a little out there and unlike anything else.
For example, I once had to write for a client that designed, made and sold generators – this is, let’s face it, the most boring topic in the world. The usual ‘How a generator can help you’, ’10 things a generator can be used for’ and ‘Industries that rely on generators’ blog posts were yawningly awful to write. But, the fun ’10 must-have items for a zombie apocalyse’ (with a generator being one of them) type blogs were always entertaining.
The fun you put into your blogs should be most apparent in your choice of title. Think about your titles from someone else’s point of view. Imagine that you’re hunting for an answer to a certain question. You’ve Googled it and are browsing through the listings to find the site that best matches what you’re looking for. Titles that are wishy-washy and boring won’t be clicked. Ones that jump off the page will be.
What’s the key to passionate titles? Give a damn about what you’re writing.
Take tips from the greats
There are quite a few content-sharing sites out there that are famous for their phenomenal blog title-writing abilities. For many, these sites are the source of boundless inspiration.
In my opinion, they include:
Choice titles:
- The Best Of The Internet’s Reaction To The Tube Strike
- 17 Things That Would Only Get Reported In British Local Newspapers
- 19 Things That Are Totally Fine To Keep Forever
- Conversations With Dad That Only Happen In A Car
Choice titles:
- 29 Movie Adaptations That Left Out the Best Parts
- The Most Absurd Moments in Corporate Facebook History
- Why ‘Star Wars’ Should Ditch Han Solo and the Skywalkers
- The Dark Truth Behind the Most Famous Cartoon Company Ever
Choice titles:
- Growing Food Isn’t Just For Farmers, Hipsters, And Retirees
- This Actress Is Having The Most Entertaining Identity Crisis I’ve Seen In A While
- A 16-Year-Old Explains Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Beauty May Be Wrong. With Math
- If Barbie Dolls Could Talk, They’d Tell You That They Wouldn’t Be Able To Walk Upright
Choice titles:
- A dad strapped a camera to his son and made this short film that captures what it’s like to be a kid on a playground
- A collection of Facebook status updates posted at wildly inappropriate moments
- More of the greatest inappropriate test answers from young children
- 45 Easter Bunnies more terrifying than a crucified man coming back from the dead
Be consistent
Choosing a style and sticking to it will do you wonders when writing titles, especially if you’re working within a team that manages the writing for your company. If you’re all writing your titles in different ways, you’re guaranteed to knock heads further down the line. Many copywriters are certified grammar Nazis, while others are set in their ways and refuse to budge on their opinions.
Even if you’re working on your own, you need to be consistent with your writing. Readers that are grammar-savvy will get annoyed with your inconsistent title capitalisation, punctuation or length. Decide how you want your titles to be written and ensure every single one fits this format. Or else.
Become the teacher
Another thing that makes your writing great is being a genuine authority on the subject you’ve chosen. If you aren’t a know-it-all, people will see straight through your writing. You won’t be able to pin the subject down, you’ll just dance around it for a while until your 500 or so words are up. Not only this, but it’ll make you feel like a horrible fraud.
You have got to do your research. Before you even put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as it is nowadays), you must absorb all the information on the subject you possibly can, so you can honestly say you’re an expert on the topic.
This is why, if you work in an agency, each copywriter should be assigned clients that they can continue to write for month on month. Sure, it’s fine to switch things up every now and then – and this can help to ensure everyone in the team knows how to write for every client – but it’s essential that you’re given time to learn about the industry you’ll be becoming an expert in.
If you write freelance, go into industries you already understand when you first start. You’ll then be able to branch out and, as you accumulate clients, can continue to add to your existing clients from similar sectors, so you can amaze them with your knowledge.
Create lists
Lists are a bloggers best friend. Offering your readers content in an easy-to-scan list will give them what they want. You know the saying TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)? Well, you’ll be commiting a humongous online faux pas if you don’t break your text up into bitesize chunks and adding a concise number to your title will make people more likely to click on it.
People like definition, and they also like knowing how long they’re going to be reading your blog post for. By clearly stating that there are, for example, ten things in this blog post, you’re effectively saying that there are ten things you’ll need to get through before it’s finished.
Don’t just stick to the ‘normal’ amounts, such as ten or five. Be creative. Go for seven, twenty-five, nineteen – the choice is yours.
Give the keywords a rest
Ah, keywords in titles. How I hate them.
For a long time, copywriting was about creating content for search engines. This is the case no longer. So why shoehorn an ugly-looking keyword into your title, when you’re supposed to be writing for actual living, breathing people, not some ethereal algorithm?
However, keywords can be helpful. Keywords can still show you what people are looking for online and they can give you ideas for topics and titles. But you should never, ever stick a keyword that clearly doesn’t look right in your title just because you think it’s what Google wants.
Give your readers something for nothing
And finally, the real aim of the game here is to make your readers think you’re giving them something for nothing. Really, blogging is a way to make your site more noticeable, to increase your online profile and to get people talking about you on social media. So, the people who read your blog, share it and link back to it, giving you something in return, but they don’t see it that way.
They see it as a fantastic blog that’s given them absolutely everything they require, while also being entertaining and easy to read. They see it as something their Twitter followers and Facebook friends would also love to read.
If you create great content, people will love you for it. As they say: if you build it, they will come.