Using Your Blog Title to Attract More Readers

Using Your Blog Title to Attract More Readers (1)

Benjamin Christie | 11/12/2008

In today’s fast paced society you often have but one opportunity to catch a reader’s attention.  On the Internet this truth is further complicated by the overwhelming amount of information continually presented.  How does your blog get the attention of impatient visitors in a highly competitive market? It’s simple… create engaging titles for your blog posts.

You may be an eloquent writer who creates both engaging and useful posts. If you still find you cannot gain readership you may want to take a closer look at how you title your blog. As users discover links to your content from search engines, RSS feeds and social media sites they are generally presented with your title and nothing else. Here are few tips to entice users to take a further look:

List a Benefit
Readers want to know why they should take the time read your post. Let them know what’s in it for them by giving benefits of the post in the title. Instead of “Using YouTube Effectively” try “Using YouTube to Generate Leads and Increase Sales”.

Choose the Right Words
Your blog title should include keywords relevant to the topic of the post. This not only helps define your post it also aids with search engine optimisation. You should also consider adding some loaded words. Words like secrets, free and guaranteed carry strong connotations are sure to entice readers to explore further.

Be Cautious of Special Characters
In most situations punctuation is wonderful for conveying meaning. Although this principle does apply to blog titles it is important to consider how your title will appear in RSS feeds. Many commonly used elements such as question marks, ampersands, and dashes are unknown to RSS feeds. When these unknown characters are used the RSS reader may try to convert them and leave your title looking unprofessional and difficult to understand.

Clearly Define Your Purpose
Although this point seems fairly obvious it can be easy to overlook your purpose when composing your title. Your readers will want to know the point of your post before they decide to read further. Defining your purpose up front has an added benefit. It will help you stay on track as you compose the post and ensure your original intentions are not lost.

tags: Corporate Blogging ,  SEO ,  Online Marketing ,  Web Strategy