Writing titles for you blogs is a very tricky affair. They need to be catchy, short and crisp, and invite attention instantly. If you can do that, at least a half of your task is accomplished. The rest half, of course, is living up to the titles and giving your readers what you promised in your titles. The other name for title is headline.
Writing titles is a professionals’ job. In fact newspapers, journals and magazines employ people who are adept in the art of writing headlines and titles. As a small blog owner, your resources may not permit you to hire a professional, but you can learn to do it yourself, and even better it. It is an art that you can learn, cultivate and nourish.
Here are some tips and tricks to cultivate the art of writing great titles.
Keep a Numeral in the Title
If you doubt what I am saying, go to a bookstore and rummage through the titles and headings, and make a note of all the titles that you find captivating. After you have done that, sit down and do an analysis. I bet you will find the captivating ones are the ones that have numbers in them. Numbers remember capture human attention instantly, and what is more, they register well in readers’ minds.
Some instances of numbers in titles – Top 10 Ways to…4 Ways to….6 Great Caves I Visited…
It is also a well known fact that some numbers have magical effects on human mind, and some relate to religion and faith. Be careful not to use them, unless you are confident about their ability their ability to make them sing for your articles.
Adjectives & Adverbs have Magical Effects on Readers
People who read blog posts often search for information, especially when they want accomplish tasks with minimum effort or with no effort. Though in real life that is not a distinct possibility which readers do understand, you should not fail to understand that they like to read about them. So use adjective and adverbs liberally. Some adjectives and adverbs you can use are: effort-effortlessly, painstaking, fun-funny, incredible-incredibly, and so on.
Research words before you use them; they will have to fit into your posts’ theme. Remember that it will not be right to talk about doing things effortlessly when you want to publish a post on the importance of hard work. Your title will impact your readers in depth when you combine numerals with an adjective or adverb.
Here are some instances in which you can use adjectives and adverbs – Winning a Bet effortlessly…6 Tricks that Business Schools Don’t teach…3 Great Ways to Appease Your Boss…
Show Readers Ways to Solve Problems
No one is without problems, and if your titles can hint at solving problems they will capture readers’ mind immediately. Titles that solve problems are basically how-to in nature. Typical examples are: 6 Easy Steps to Attain Wealth…How I Got a Great Looking Abs…How to seduce…and so on. But, there is a catch here. When you say 6 Steps, give no more and no less. As a general rule, do justices to your titles, never stray.
If you are familiar with HTML coding, remember that you can have more than one heading to your blog post. If you choose to have another level of heading in addition to the main, give a brief description explaining the principal heading. Sub-headings ensure a second layer that can help grab readers’ attention.
Make Promise…Create Controversy…Proclaim…
It is good to make promises in your titles. Examples: Next Year this Time I will make you a Millionaire…Great Looks Assured in 60 Days…
Mild Controversies can help, but take care you don’t stir up a hornet’s nest. Examples: Is “Mc” Pregnant … Can DSI Deliver Asteroids on Earth…Will MacFarlane Deliver at Oscar Awards…
You can proclaim anything, so long as they are impossible to believe. Example: I am the Boss…
These are all tactics that work well, but see that you don’t trample on the law. The rule is moderate yourself.
Don’t Hurry When Writing Titles
You can write titles any time, after you have completed writing the post or before, though I prefer keeping it to the end. When you write the title in the beginning and want to stick to it, you will feel restricted. Writing at the end gives you leeway to adapt to the posts, or even hop into something radically different. Do remember to relax a bit after you have completed the post and step in to write the title.
This is a guest post by Sharon Thomas of www.thecornersuite.com, a site that offers savings and current information on satellite internet, as well as dish.com services.
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