10 Tips to Awesome, Eye-Jerking Post Titles
Awesome Content: Set Up For Online Success
Headlines are drastically under rated. Most bloggers fail to realize that their post titles are the number one advertisements for their articles. Post titles have to put on the gloves and go head-to-head with dozens of other post titles in people’s RSS readers, email accounts and search engines.
It’s your job to get your post titles ready to perform like the champs they have the potential to be.
I want my headlines to be so compelling that they seemingly smack my readers in the face with a sudden compulsion to read it. I want my post titles to be so dramatic that casual internet browsers can’t help themselves but to dig deeper and find out what I have to say. Here’s how Darren Rowse from problogger.net puts it:
Many bloggers pour a lot of effort into writing engaging and interesting posts, but then just slap any old title onto it without realizing that in doing so they might be ensuring that their post is never read. ~ Darren Rowse
Here’s 10 tips that have assisted my blog in rapid growth:
1. Be bold.
Strong, powerful headlines grab people’s attention much more effectively and dramatically than passive ones. Make a bold statement about your topic that is sure to get their attention like ‘14 Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic’ or ‘5 Vital Reasons to Use List Posts.’
2. Use dynamic words.
There are certain words that quite simply sound more exciting than others. Try to make use of words like awesome, killer, amazing, heart-pounding, thrilling, sure-fire, etc. Select exciting words that that you could use to review your favorite action movie. Here’s a few examples: Notice the word ‘Sure-fire’ in 5 Sure-Fire Strategies For Better Blogging or the word ‘Crucial’ in 5 Crucial Tips For Wordpress Users.
3. Get personal.
Personal stories are much more meaningful than articles that appear as if they were written by a computer. Try some article titles like these: ‘Why I Don’t Use NoFollow on my Links’ or ‘How I Made $10,000 From Google Last Month.’
4. Be short.
Enough said. Really though. I preview all of my articles using the Wordpress preview button in the editor. If the title pushes onto a second line on the post page then I shorten it until it only uses one line. Find a rule like that that works for you on your blog and stick with it.
5. Be direct.
If your headline isn’t a clear representation of what the article is about then the reader will likely not take the time to actually read your post. They will more likely feel like you tricked them and they will just leave your site and not return.
6. Ask a question.
I see a lot of intriguing post titles that come in the form of provocative questions. Let me share a few examples with you: ‘Would you like to quit your job and make money online?’ or ‘How would you like more traffic to your website?’
7. Be commanding.
Tell your readers to do something amazing. Throw out an order that is extreme and your readers will follow. Here’s some examples: ‘Get More Traffic to your Website’ or maybe something like ‘Create Awesome Content and Keep Your Readers!”
8. Be creative.
This one is really the key to the whole list. Your only limitation in creating effective headlines for your blog articles is your own imagination. If you can create ways to break the mold on your post titles then you will be able to draw in users like never before.
9. Use lists.
Every day that I visit delicious.com nearly half of their bookmarks that made it to the front page are some form or another of a list. List posts are extremely attractive to a lot of readers. Check out these examples: ‘5 Things You Need to Know About Trackbacks’ or ‘11 Beautiful Free Wordpress Themes.’ These also make excellent link bait for others bloggers to link to and tweet about.
10. Use Keywords.
I listed this one last because I view it as the least important. Using strong keywords in your title can help your listings on Google but using them in the wrong way can take away from their effectiveness to human readers. Strike up a good balance here and you’ll be setup for success.
Share What You Know
I have a feeling that many of you probably have some tips that you practice on your site when developing headlines for your articles. Share them with us in the comments section and help the rest of us to grow and develop this skill.
Nicholas Cardot
Nick uses his blog Site Sketch 101 to express his passion for helping bloggers and webmasters connect with real people through brilliant designs, unique content, and genuine creativity. Nicholas Cardot has 199 post(s) at Site Sketch 101
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Jeff B. said:
Excellent points. And it’s not ironic that this article has some dynamic words in its own title.
And about lists – it’s definitely one of the things that catches my attention when researching a topic that I am clueless about.
Great points!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Jeff B. » Thanks!
Evan » Thanks for bookmarking it! I hope that this helps you get some more people to stop in and read your articles.
Arisu » You are right about be specific. There are so many vague post titles out there or misleading ones. You click through to read the article and it has nothing to do with what the title was or it has little to do with it. People feel cheated when they click through titles like that so being specific is very important. Great feedback!
Jerry Russo » Thanks!
Evan said:
This is one area in which I can definitely improve. Thanks for the post – I think I’ll be bookmarking it.
Arisu said:
Great post as always.
Mmm, I would consider be specific, cause this rules would make good titles in any magazine article or book chapter but this is a blog for bloggers and webmasters and they care about “posts” not magazine nor book titles. And surely some other blogs would have tips made just for the ones that make them.
The more specific you are, the most easily people will find you -
Jerry Russo said:
Excellent tips.
Arisu said:
Nicholas >>
Ha ha ha— my feedback is always great XD
No, really, is just common sense… just don´t do anything you wouldn´t like been done to you, as a writer or as a reader.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Arisu » Your feedback is always great! When I get comments I feel like a little kid with a new toy so I always to express that excitement when I reply.
Arisu said:
Nicholas>>
Yeah, it shows… I felt that way when I wrote stories and someone wrote me a review ^^ So I try to make comments that give authors a good reason to feel happy.
Satkrit said:
Nice Title to go with the article. Got me hooked the moment i saw it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Satkrit » LOL. Thanks!
Custom term paper said:
Very useful tips on creating “eyejerking” post titles. have read about this on other blogs too but havent read those many points with easy words and well explained.
those points have covered up all the important things to attract visitors from just the killing title of our post
Sheila Mae said:
I really like your blog. Found you through Yaro Starak’s blog. Interesting, of all of the comments that were made on one of his blogs, yours was the only one that compelled me to check you out. Glad I did!
King Sidharth said:
Awesome post! I was looking for some insight on Post Headline… thanks man!
WooHoo!
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
King Sidharth –>You’re welcome. I hope that it helps you grab some attention at your site.
Aminul Islam Sajib said:
Thanks for the really-helpful post. To me, writing a perfect title is even more difficult than writing the original post.
That’s probably why my blog doesn’t get that much readers/comments.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Aminul Islam Sajib –> It is very difficult. I usually start by creating a topic as the title and then when I am finished writing the post I come back to the title and rename it to reflect something more catchy and to identify with the content of the post. It takes time to come up with stuff that’s really effective.
akira07 said:
I recommend you to read Joe Vitale book about copywriting. Good luck…!!!
Judith said:
Great Tips, Nicholas! What I also do is make note of the headlines that catch my attention and add them to a note pad list I have on my desktop.
Then, when I am “headline challenged” I can look at that list and it inspires me to create similar headlines for my posts.
Love your site — keep up the great work!
At your service,
Judith
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Judith –> That’s a really good idea. I’ve done that too. In fact I’ve gone to the Digg.com homepage and read through some of the most popular articles just to get ideas for titles.
Blake @ Props Blog said:
I don’t know if i’ve already said it, but I love your theme. These are all really good tips for developing a great headline. I always struggle with how to make the headline work without being too long boring. Good stuff
Blake
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Blake @ Props Blog –> Thanks so much for the theme props. Hopefully this article helps you with your headlines.
Ron Boracay said:
I think using proper keywords should be on the top 5 list. Why?
Because, this is what the readers/audience are looking for. We just have to make those titles compelling with the eyes of our readers.
A little “sprinkle” of good or action oriented words will do the job.
Also sometimes, putting harsh or objectionable words on your title works well as it creates controversy at your community or niche.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Ron Boracay –> I agree that controversy does attract readers, but I’m highly motivated about being a positive blogger and I don’t really care for negativity and that’s why I avoid that. I want people to recognize me as a positive motivator and not as a controversial antagonist.
Arisu said:
Ron Boracay>>
I don´t think you need to be harsh to get some buzz, when you ask people about their passions, feelings, and believes most people will feel compeled to answer and even discuss about it.
And for the what?! factor you can always “kill” yourself, your blog or blogging in general in your post title. Or make a weird analogy. There are many options out there to shock people.
Ron Boracay said:
Well, sometimes, being harsh, being negative or being a positive blogger depends with some situations.
Hmmm, you made me think guys. I think, I must acquire new domains:
1 For positive thoughts/feelings
1 For rants/negatives
I will be safe with this.
Arisu said:
Ron Boracay>>
Not at all! One domain is good enough, people have all this facets, and sometimes is good to rant, your readers can relate to that.
But if you rant or write harsh just to get attention, I don´t think people will go for it.
akira07 said:
About point no.7 Get commanding. I think it’s better to write title such : “Get New 1000UV/day to your website”
instead of your example :
‘Get More Traffic to your Website’
What is your opinion?
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
akira07 –> There are positive benefits of both titles. One may seem like a spam title so you have to be careful and strike up a good balance.
akira07 said:
Hmm do you mean my example is sound like advertising/promotion post?
Well, but anyway i’m understand
Jordash said:
Very helpful, i’m a huge culprit of writing boring post titles (hopefully not boring posts though
Thanks for the information it’ll come in very handy.
Nicholas Z. Cardot said:
Jordash –> Well I hope then that this helps you break out of your shell and start writing some exciting ones.
Nasir Uddin Shamim said:
It is my big problem to write a good post but giving a awesome title of it. I will be benefiting from this post until i stop my blogging. Thanks bro for this great post.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Nasir Uddin Shamim –> You’re welcome. I hope that it really helps you out. Good luck on your blogging journey, my friend.
Nasir Uddin Shamim said:
Hey! Thanks for the reply. Hope within very shorter i will be the regular reader of your blog when i will get the broadband internet from the next month. Thanks friend.
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Nicholas Cardot said:
I hope so too. That would be terrific. I’d love to have you around here.
Alok Mistry said:
I do the basics actually. Basically I do some keyword research; as my target is search engine traffic, I use popular keywords for my post titles. It gives great result. Thanks for your Post and Its nice to see all tips at one place.
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Aminul Islam Sajib said:
I think joining discussions in other blogs is a great way to bring some commentators back to my blog. So far, this tip helped me pretty well.
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Self Improvement said:
Wow, I really liked the use of dynamic words. It makes such a difference. It actually makes me want to click and start reading. That’s good!
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Davor Gasparevic @ Internet marketing ebooks said:
Article/blog post titles are definitely an area where I could improve my skills very much.
Somehow I always forget to include something eye-catchy, or daring…
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Nicholas Cardot said:
Davor Gasparevic @ Internet marketing ebooks » Focusing on your titles is a great way to grab people’s a attention and draw them into your content.
Sonali Agrawal said:
Gr8 Post as usual..This is the most important area that I need to concentrate on!
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Valentina Vayntraub said:
Wonderful tips for a new blogger. I am trying to utilize everything you mention in this and other posts. I really appreciate the concise and easy information brought in a great manner. I am still learning, but with this and my CyberDomo I am sure to pick up quickly. He is the one that pointed me this way, and he always has the answer.