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Insert Extremely Compelling Title Here

By Brandi Cummings  -  February 5, 2008

Coming up with titles for my articles and blog posts is something that I struggle with.  And because I struggle with it, I sometimes don’t spend the time and attention on them that they truly deserve.  And they do deserve a lot of attention.  After all, a brilliantly written article or blog post will never get read if the title does not inspire anyone to do so.  So I decided that I am going to make an effort to come up with more compelling titles and give my titles the respect they deserve. 

I already knew some of the tried and true techniques for writing effective titles such as:

  • Have your keywords in the first 3 words of the title.  This will help your article rank well for those keywords. 
  • Use a number such as ”7 Steps” or “3 Tips”.  The idea behind this is that it gets the reader feeling that they have time to quickly scan the 7 items.
  • Use power words such as “Amazing”, ”Incredible”, “Outrageous”.  These are strong words that evoke emotion and get people clicking to read more.
  • Ask a question.  This piques your readers curiosity and sends them looking for the answer.

 Those techniques can be helpful but I wanted more.  Why do these techniques work?  What about techniques to create truly inspired and meaningful titles?  What is the psychology behind a successful title?  Why so some article titles produce massive clicks while others only a few?  How does one consistently come up with titles that draw readers into their articles or blog posts?

I had no idea.  So I went in search of people that did…

I have found a number of sources that say that you should write your article/blog post title first.  However, I have a hard time doing this because I don’t always know exactly where my content will go and the overall tone it will take until I am done.  Therefore, I usually end up finishing my work and then going back for the title and trying to encompass what I have written.

When do you write your title?  Why do you feel that it works for you? 

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Reader Comments

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Chief K.Masimba says...February 12th, 2008

Thanks very much for the article. The headline is indeed like a window into the spirit of an article that piques a reader to develop interest in the article.

Its a hook, so to speak.

Many thanks

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Andy MacDonald - Blogging & Marketing Tips says...February 15th, 2008

I am actually like you when it comes to writing my title. I have trouble in writing it first because i never truly know where i am going to go when it comes to the post itself, therefore i often end up writing the title at the end.

Also the resources you have provided there, or links i should say, are brilliant. I especially liked the post Improvetheweb.com you linked too.

Thanks :)

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Yura says...February 20th, 2008

Hi, Brandi

As a matter of fact, I prefer to write content first, too. I generally just type out whatever I have on the topic. In most cases, the result is not what I have anticipated, but a lot better instead.

Maybe copywriters with years of experience can give other clues as to why writing the title is better, but for now, it doesn’t work for me.

I find that including benefits to the readers works well and that you need to spend plenty of time on your title (this is something others covered, too).

Cheers.

Yura

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Brandi Cummings says...February 20th, 2008

So it appears I am not alone in this. I was beginning to wonder if I was going about it all wrong. This is a good lesson in what works for one, does not always work for all. A good thing to remember in business and in life.

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james hayes says...February 21st, 2008

Blog, what does it mean, i dont know.
i write for a living and publish my own books,then i went and payed for website that looks like in was done in a haybarn.
so i would love to have a blog… but how do i do it,
i know most of your readers understand all you are saying, but not me, i find it hard just to turn on my computer,
so if antone out their would like to help me, please do.

james hayes

http://www.jameshayesie

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Brandi Cummings says...February 21st, 2008

Hi James-
I am sure there are many others just like you that are taking their first steps into the Internet and everything that it has become. Welcome. :-) It can be intimidating and confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, you may very well wonder how you ever lived without it.

The word blog is short for “Web Log”. They are basically websites with content that is posted in reverse chronological order. People can subscribe to the content through something called RSS or by having the content come directly to their email. (You can subscribe to this blog by using the links found at the top right hand side of every page.) When done well, blogs will develop communities around them, allow their authors to speak directly to their customers or target market, establish themsleves as an expert in their field, get their message out to thousands of people simply by posting their content, and so much more. There is so much that can be said and learned about blogs that I could not possible put it all down here in a comment. One of the best bloggers around, Darren Rowse, has a great Blogging For Beginners section on his blog. Here is his post What Is A Blog?.

There are so many resources available to help you learn more about the Internet and anything else you want to know for that matter. Simply go to Google.com and search for “Internet for beginners”, “blogging for beginners”, “website design”, or any other keywords that you want to learn more about and you will be given more reading material than you could possiby consume in a lifetime.

I hope this helps. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Brandi




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