Post titles are drastically under rated. Most bloggers fail to realize that their post title is the number one advertisements for each of their articles.
An articles title has to put on the gloves and go head-to-head with dozens of other post titles in peoples RSS readers, email accounts, search engines, Facebook timelines and Twitter streams. Its your job to get your post title ready to perform like the champ it has the potential to be.
I want my headline to be so compelling that it seemingly smacks my readers in the face with a sudden compulsion to read it. I want my post title to be so dramatic that casual internet browsers can’t help themselves but to dig deeper and find out what I have to say.
15 Best Tips to Awesome, Eye-Jerking Post Titles
If you’re ready to start grabbing some attention and start driving traffic to your blog or website then this is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Here are the 15 tips that have assisted my blog in rapid growth:
1. Be bold:
Strong, powerful headlines grab peoples 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 you could use to review your favorite action movie. Here are 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 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.
5. 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?
6. Be commanding.
Tell your readers to do something amazing. Throw out an order that is extreme and your readers will follow. Here are some examples: Get More Traffic to your Website or maybe something like Create Awesome Content and Keep Your Readers!
7. 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.
8. 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 other bloggers to link to and tweet about.
9. Be Honest.
There are few things that destroy credibility faster than clicking through a dynamite headline only to be let down hard with the worthless content.
10. Be Unique.
With millions of blogs in the world today, this task can become a real challenge, but the rewwards for the folks who are able to stand out are absolutely out of this world. Find a way to create a headline that nobody else has used before.
11. Use Urgency.
If you can develop a sense of urgency without making a potential reader feel pressured then you’ve just won the jackpot for pushing folks into your site. Use your headline to communicate why they need your article right now.
12. Be Specific.
Topics and headlines that are designed to every person in the world usually end up appealing to nobody. Choose a specific topic and go after it like a lion hunting its prey.
13. Be Useful.
Sometimes when its all done, you need to step back and ask yourself this simple question, Why would I waste my time clicking this headline and reading this article? If you don’t have a good answer, you might consider adjusting it.
14. 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.
15. 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.