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stuck on titles

Stuck on Titles? Transform Your Headlines Into Irresistible Hooks

by SEO Savvy October 15th, 2014

 

As advertisers and marketers know, it’s hard to capture the fleeting attention of consumers in the digital age. But it is possible to craft unique and interesting headlines for your personal or business use without paying an “expert” to do it for you. It just takes a little time, creativity and practice.

An Internet headline is a bit like a poster for a magic show. You want enough sparkle and glam that the audience buys a ticket, enough intrigue that you don’t give away the tricks, and enough performance material (content) to back up the fireworks – hopefully the content itself delivers well-written and useful content, the equivalent of the bunny in a hat. Whatever the content is about, we encourage you to dress up the topic in your headline without being misleading in order to draw readers in. It’s a fine line, and you may not always get it right, but there are a few fundamental ways of thinking that will help you succeed more often than not.

Whoever you are, wherever you are writing and publishing, take a deep breath and read on as we share some of our successes with crafting headline titles.

1. Consider your audience & take your time

If you are publishing an article, whitepaper or blog post, it should be because you have something to share with your readers that you think they would enjoy or be able to use. Good content takes time, thought and some research to create. Why shouldn’t it be the same for a good title? It would be a waste to publish a great piece of content with a mediocre title, and have potential readers pass it up!

First, take your reader into account. Imagine your ideal reader sitting at his or her desk, surfing the Internet, looking past some headlines and diving into others. Who is this person? What interests them? What doesn’t? Step outside of your perspective and try on their shoes. Remember, you’re not targeting yourself. Therefore, start thinking like those you want to hear your message. Who is your target audience? Is it very general or very narrow? This will affect how you think about your titles.

If you have a very general audience, you may want to play up the fun or cutesy angle. For example, “Why Even Monkeys Have Success With This Dating App.” If you have a very narrow audience, you may want to address them directly. For example, “Single Mothers, Don’t Fret! Our App Can Help You Find The Mature Man You’re Looking For.” You may end up with a mixture of very specifically targeted content and more general content. And tailoring a headline to your audience can help communicate value to your readers.

2. Communicate value clearly & specifically

Once you have a clear idea of whom you are targeting with your content and headline, think about how your content will benefit them. Start thinking about what sort of words, phrases and ideas will appeal to your audience. The more specific and creative you can be, the better. Always have your reader in mind.

For example, let’s say your audience is prospective college students. If I am a young 20-something thinking about pursuing a degree, and I am surfing the Internet, I am probably going to be more drawn to a headline that addresses my concerns than one that doesn’t take me into consideration. I would probably be interested in a specific headline like “Thinking About Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree? How To Pay For College Without Falling Into Endless Debt.” This pertains to me, it’s specific, it clearly communicates value, and it will be more successful than something like “Bachelor’s Degrees for Prospective College Students.” What is that article even about? It’s not clear. How can you expect a potential reader to know if it’s worth clicking on? If a reader can’t determine that the content is useful from the headline, they’re going to skip right past it, even if it’s got really great information.

As they say, the devil is in the details. Vague headlines won’t capture anyone’s attention. Be specific. Let your reader know what they can expect to receive when they click on the headline. Is it the answer to a question? Is it advice? Is it expert information? Is it a laugh? Is it something they’ve never thought of before? Is it a comparison of different items? Try and anticipate these details. Then, know what tone you are going for, and try to match it with the headline.

3. Doting on details & a consistent tone

Though there are many more, let’s pretend for a minute that all content can be divided into one of two categories: Entertaining or Informational.

Entertaining content usually has a headline that will inform readers that what they are getting is a fun, brief moment of no special significance. An article called “5 Terribly Cute Cats Wearing Tiny Hats” clearly indicates to the reader what they should expect. The tone of the headline is cutesy and cheesy, and it rhymes. The appeal is its cute factor. We can expect that the content will be the same – light and fun. The tone is appropriate.

Informational posts focus more on providing factual or relevant information to a reader base. These can be things like how-to articles, news posts or in-depth explanations within an industry. You don’t want a too-cutesy title like the one above. Yet, you don’t want to run the risk of being boring and having a reader fly by your headline because it didn’t grab their attention. Try to give a solid indication of the information included in the content, while thinking about what would make the subject more interesting. Can you pinpoint a detail about the content that is especially visual or unique? Just like detailed specifics make for good writing, good headlines are crafted with unique or unexpected words, phrases, or ideas. There are so many articles floating around the Internet that you want yours to stand out from your competitors. Remember, we have very short attention spans when it comes to what we read online.

For example, let’s turn “How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup With Minimal Preparation” (factual but not that interesting) into something like “Do Away With Pots & Pans: How to Make No-Mess Chicken Soup.” Do you see the difference? They present the same information, but the second title is much more interesting. (Maybe the article mentions using one pot, but we think a little exaggeration for the sake of a great title is okay as long as you are not misleading your reader completely.)

Finally, don’t be afraid of getting a little creative, even with informational posts—but don’t go overboard. The caveat here is, sometimes it’s better to play it safe. If you have a really dry yet educational blog post about a niche subject, remember to consider your reader. For example, if you’re writing about specifics in the financial industry, your readers probably care more that you are presenting factual and useful information than a catchy title. It might take a few good brainstorming sessions to pinpoint exactly what you’re going for—but the time is worth it.

4. Brainstorm & then walk away

Unfortunately, most of us can’t always be brilliant. Sometimes we are, and we come up with a fantastic title, and boom, we’re done. That’s great, but you can’t count on it. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and great headlines cannot be expected to just roll off the tip of the tongue all the time. If it doesn’t happen this way, rest assured that you are not alone.

Usually, capturing the gist of your content in a snapshot headline is tricky. There are a lot of factors to consider: audience, tone, originality, and accuracy. Try writing a few different headlines for the same content, playing with different angles for each one. See how they feel; don’t hold back. Know that it is just brainstorming, and you’re not married to anything until you hit “publish.” This should give you the freedom to play up various angles or metaphors, that way you can see which one is the best. If you have a team of people working together, even better—two or more heads are better than one.

Let’s go through an example. Say you have content that you want to write, or have already written, about juice cleanses. It includes information about benefits, drawbacks, health considerations and different types of cleanses. It’s meant for someone interested in learning more about benefits and drawbacks of juice cleanses. See how many different ways you can think to spin it. Write them all down, keeping in mind how each title addresses a different angle:

Straightforward:
What to Know About Starting a Juice Cleanse
Why Juice Cleanses Are So Popular

Challenging:
Are Juice Cleanses All They’re Cracked Up to Be?

Specific Audience:
Kale, Lemon and Cayenne: A Skeptic’s Guide to Juice Cleanses
Feeling Lethargic? How a Juice Cleanse Can Jumpstart Metabolism

Fun/Playful:
Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: The Power of the Cleanse
It’s Spring Cleaning! Time to Reboot Your Body with a Juice Cleanse

Factual:
Nutritional Guide to Juice Cleanses from an Expert
Practical Guide to Juice Cleanses for Beginners
5 Benefits and Side-effects of Juice Cleanses

Setting up different categories during your brainstorm can help you decide which angles best fit your purpose. Get as many out as you can, choose the best ones, and discard the rest. Or, even better, you can put the rejected titles aside as possible ideas for later, and thereby maximize your efficiency. When you hit a dry spot, take a look at titles you’ve already created. It can help spur imagination and creativity.

Then, after you have a few titles brainstormed, walk away and come back to them later. Looking at them with fresh eyes can help you improve them or be clear enough to choose the best ones.

5. Seek outside inspiration & don’t give up

If you’re really stuck, try doing a search on the Internet for similar content and see if that sparks anything in your imagination. Surf some of your favorite related blogs and let yourself be inspired. As long as you’re not ripping off an exact title, this isn’t plagiarism, but rather recognizing the value of how others have already thought about a topic. It can help you see where you can fill in the gaps in information, or continue the conversation with your own content. It’s important to create a title that will differentiate your content as well, so some competitive research is well worth it. This is the great thing about the Internet: it’s one big conversation. So don’t be afraid to dip your toes into the waters of related blogs and see what you come up with. If you are writing content, it will be unique to your perspective, and you can tailor the headline and content to fit your specific needs.

Also, see what the big players are doing right. Upworthy and Buzzfeed are two Internet giants famous for their irresistible titles. And who doesn’t want to be irresistible? In today’s short-attention-span generation, it’s downright necessary to be cool and catchy. Read some of their titles and articles—what do you like and what don’t you like? What works and what doesn’t? One reason they are irresistible is because they phrase their titles in a way that targets our natural human curiosity. Check out this phrasing from Upworthy: “A Really Awesome Guy Got Tired Of Being Bullied By Trolls. So He Made This. Well Played.” The only way you’ll know what that thing is will be when you click on the headline. However, you will want to be careful to avoid sensationalism; deliver what you’ve promised to your audience.

Finally, keep the process going. The more you read, share, write and brainstorm, the more interesting your titles will become, and the more fun you will likely have in coming up with your own angles on topics that you are interested in. The practice of crafting irresistible headlines is a smart blend between science and art; give it a pinch of research and a dash of imagination, and you’re on your way!

The Importance of Blogging: 5 Reasons You Should Have a Business Blog

by Rebecca Bleznak July 10th, 2014

You’ve likely heard it shouted across the web that “content is king,” and that blogging for your business is a must. But what does that mean, exactly? And what makes it so important?

Content is King

It can’t really be overstated; content really is that important. This isn’t just timely content that is quick to produce and shares easily, but quality content that supplies a real value to the customer.

For example: Let’s say you sell pools, and your potential customers visit your website to try and find out how much they should expect to spend on an inground pool. Of course, the exact price is going to depend various factors, such as how level their backyard is, what size of pool they want, and so on.

There is no easy way to answer the question in a single page detailing every element of the cost, but what if you published a series of blog posts explaining the cost and determining factors they should be considering? Now, you have given the customer exactly what they were looking for, sidestepped a wide-ranging question without ignoring it, and placed yourself right into the prime spotlight for interested customers. It is highly likely that the visitor will be back when they are ready to do business, and you’ve amassed a collection of quality information that is likely to lead many more potential customers to your site.

Exponential Increase in Leads

But, don’t take our word for it. HubSpot recently worked with over 7,000 businesses in their Marketing Benchmarks report to find:

  • B2B and B2C companies alike benefit from blogging, generating an average of 2.5x more leads for 101-200 published pages than companies with 50 or fewer website pages.
  • Say you blogged 3-4 times a week: companies found they had 5x more traffic just by blogging 15 times or more per month.
  • Even if you increased your mere 3-5 blog posts a month to 6-8 posts a month, you could expect your leads to nearly double.
  • And, if you really just need to focus on starting a blog for your business in the first place: companies that blog just 1-2x per month will generate 70% more leads than those that aren’t blogging at all.

5 Reasons You Should Start Your Business Blog Today

1. Increased Traffic:  The SEO of it all is fairly simple: There’s no question that more indexed pages, more keywords and more questions answered will lead your website to more exposure. You can do this in a variety of ways, including answering common questions like in the pool business example. The more you put out there that addresses your customers need for information, the more you’re likely to get back from them.

2. Leads: Planning out topics and writing blog posts might sound like time-consuming work, but the lead generation and ROI is unbeatable. Get to know more about your industry, and look for where there is a lack of information. Write posts that are unique and useful, and you’ll have content that others are eager to link out to.

3. Public Awareness: How do potential customers even know you exist if you aren’t easy to find when they are searching for your product, services or related topics? Again, it’s all about getting your name out there. Social media is a great place to share your content, targeting your customers via chats under a specific hashtag, or by answering questions on a competitor’s site. Having quality blog content shows that you’re a legitimate business with real knowledge in your industry.

4. Long-Term Results: One static blog post could generate hundreds (or thousands) of views over a period of months or years. This is often referred to as “evergreen” content, and if done correctly, it will bring in customers searching for your services. Because it doesn’t “go stale” like more timely posts, you can promote this content over and over again on your social media sites. And customers who see that you are consistently posting worthwhile information will continue to come back to your site.

5. Proving you are the Industry Authority: Proving your business to be an authority in your industry takes time, but if you follow the basic guidelines, it isn’t an impossible task. Blog posts provide clarity, answer questions and offer inspiration. Being an engaging member of the community, and showing that you’re listening to your customers by writing the content that they want to read may lead you to a coveted spot as a known and respected member of your industry.

Producing quality blog posts on a regular basis for your business will lead to a long-term content marketing strategy that incrementally adds value with each blog post that you produce.

4 Easy Ways to Make Content More Shareable

by SEO Savvy July 3rd, 2014

Every day millions of blog posts, articles, infographics, and whitepapers get dumped into cyberspace. And while a lucky few are shared, retweeted and downloaded millions of times, most of this great content goes unnoticed. With similar content going out from a variety of sources over and over again, yours may often be getting overlooked, especially if you have yet to truly establish your brand.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’ve already dedicated some serious time to creating quality, original content that people should want to read. The trouble is, no one knows that your content is out there, so no one is reading it – much less sharing it for others to read, too. That’s the bad news. Now, the good news: if your great content is not getting found, all is not lost. Better content marketing starts with learning how to create shareable content.

#1: Format for mobile consumption.

We already know that mobile traffic accounts for a large percentage of all internet activity around the world. From the length of your blog post to the design of your blog (you are using a responsive mobile-friendly web design, right?), it’s critical that your content is optimized for mobile consumption.

Think of it this way: When consumers are on their phones or tablets, and they click on your link, they want to be able to interact, share, and engage the same way that they do from their computers. If the process requires more steps, or is simply harder to do, they’ll likely give up, and find other content to share. If you want your content to stand out, make it easily sharable from a mobile device.

#2: Write real, unique, clickable headlines.

There are marketers out there who are going to tell you to use the most shocking, surprising, or engaging statistics to write short, attention-grabbing headlines. While this isn’t bad advice, there’s more to it then that. As StreamFeed writes, writing a “sticky headline” requires finding a way to draw in your readers, while still telling them the truth.

The fact of the matter is, we’re duped all of the time on the internet. And if you pull someone in with a “click-bait” false headline, they’re not likely going to want to share your content. Use real numbers to tell a story, make sure that your point is specific and clear, and be as unique as possible with your angle. Above all else, ask yourself this time-honored question: “Would I click on this headline?”

#3: Break longer content into more sharable chunks.

The folks over at Buzz Sumo found that when it comes to lists, 10 is the magic number for the most social shares, generating on average of 10,621 social shares. However, lists of any size are great because they make content easier to consume, which increases the likelihood it will be shared. There are interesting studies about the ways in which our eyes travel across a page when reading, which explain why it’s easier for us read something that is broken up into smaller pieces.

When you have an idea for a post, try and think of it in sections. Think about the various points that you want to make, and construct an outline. If there’s any way that you can turn that outline into bullet points or a numbered lists. Make sure that it feels natural, or readers won’t feel compelled to keep reading. Build upon each point, and if you find that you have a lot of them, and there is a natural divide, you could even turn one post into two, even more sharable pieces of content.

#4: Re-promote your post.

Unless your blog post is covering a breaking news story, it’s likely not going to “go stale.” So if your content didn’t catch the viral wave the first time you posted it, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Re-promote your post approximately a week after you first write it. Spice up the headline and break longer content into an easier-to-consume list format. Or, find old content that ties into a new industry trend, an upcoming event, or a holiday, and re-promote your post in conjunction with this event.

 

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