They say not to judge a book by its cover. But sometimes that’s all we have time for! The equivalent of judging a book by its cover when it comes to online content is judging a blog by its title. With so much content being thrown at internet users daily, making snap judgments as to whether or not to click on something based on its title is understandable. When it comes to your own blog content, you can craft your headlines in such a way that will make people more inclined to click to learn more. Follow these tips for writing blog titles that will appeal to your audience.
Tell them why they need to click.
An effective blog title should convey both relevancy and usefulness. Why should this person click on this blog? How does it apply to them? Why is it useful to them? What problem does this content solve? Answering these questions off the bat in your title gives people more incentive to click over to your website.
Example: “7 Hairstyles to Try If You’re Stuck in a Hair Rut”
The problem? You’re stuck in a rut with your hair. The solution? Click this blog to find out!
Express a sense of urgency.
Urgency equals clicks. Timeliness is key when writing blog titles. Try using words like “Now,” “Today,” or even a year reference like “In 2022.” These words present a convincing quality to readers that they don’t need to wait to click on this blog—they should do it now.
Example: “Implement These 5 Wellness Hacks for 2022 to Start Living a Better Life Now”
The “2022” indicates the content is fresh. The “start living a better life now” is something that’s hard to walk away from!
Be relatable.
Writing in a conversational tone appeals to internet users, especially when it comes to social media. Craft a blog title that is both personable and appropriate for your intended audience. BuzzFeed does a great job of this.
Example (from BuzzFeed): “38 Products with Before and After Photos That are Pretty *Gasp* Shocking”
You can picture these words (gasp included) coming out of someone’s mouth. Conversational means relatable!
Be clear.
Your blog title offers limited real estate. In fact, search engines like Google count off SEO points for headlines that are too lengthy. You want to provide enough information in your title so that it’s clear as to what the blog is about, but not so much that the message is muddled.
Example: “7 Tips for Writing Blog Titles That Will Appeal to Your Audience”
You don’t want to go much longer than this.
Be personal.
Again, word choice can set the tone when writing blog titles that will appeal to your audience. Use second-person pronouns like “you,” and “your,” to address the reader directly.
Example: “6 Ways You Can Stage Your Home Better to Attract Buyers”
The appearances of “you” and “your” give the title a better chance of connecting with readers.
Keep SEO best practices in mind.
We’ve already mentioned one of the SEO best practices when it comes to content titles: limiting the length of your headlines. Another is to include your focus key phrase for the content in the title of the blog itself.
Example: “5 Ways for Your Business to Start a Conversation on Social Media”
The length falls in the not too short, not too long range. The key phrase “ways for your business to start a conversation on social media” is included.
Remember: This is your first impression.
For some people scrolling through social media or browsing search engine results, coming across one of your blog titles will be their first interaction with your brand. Keep this in mind as you put time and effort into fashioning engaging headlines.
Now it’s time for you to try. Use all of the tips in this blog to make a great first impression!
Summary
You may have never realized there is a science to writing blog titles, but there is! The goal of this type of content creation is to drive traffic to your website and digital assets. Taking the time to write effective headlines is one way to help do just that!
McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.
