How to Create Irresistible Blog Post Titles
Sarah
Every blogger wants a wider audience, and most will look at successful business blogs and ask, “What do they have that I don’t have?” Nine times out of ten, the answer is this: better, catchier blog post titles.
You may have the most insightful blog in the world, but no one will take the time to read it if you don’t reel them in with a great title.
But how do you write a title that intrigues readers enough to click on your link? In other words, how do you craft irresistible titles for blogs that sell?
Give Your Blog Post Titles Some Pizzazz
You might have a general idea of what “pizzazz” means, but have you ever looked up the definition in a dictionary? Merriam Webster Dictionary describes pizzazz as “the quality of being exciting or attractive.”
There’s no better word to describe what your ultimate blog post titles should be!
English has over 700,000 words, so don’t settle for mundane, average words in your titles. If you do, you’ll get mundane, average results (at best).
A great blog writing service will use these tried-and-true literary devices to spice up titles, and you should, too:
Alliteration: This technique involves using the same sound or letter at the beginning of words that follow each other or are closely connected. Use phrases like “Blissful Blog” or “Awesome Offer” to make your title more fun, but never change your message just for the sake of a pun.
Antonyms: Antonyms allow you to use reverse psychology at its finest because they catch the reader’s attention and make people think. If your working title is “5 Ways to Win the B2B Marketing Game,” find a suitable antonym for “win” and work it the other way around: “Stop Getting Creamed in the B2B Marketing Game.”
Superlatives: Superlatives are the greatest! Use them sparingly, but definitely use them. Suppose that you see two different titles online, but you can only click on one of them:
This New, Improved Moisturizer Helps With Acne Too
Or
The Most Amazing Acne-Fighting Moisturizer in the World
Isn’t the second title more tantalizing than the first? Once you find a phrase you like, you can fine-tune it until you end up with a more elegant title like this:
The Most Amazing Acne-Fighting Moisturizer You’ve Never Heard Of
First, present a relatable problem to the reader. This makes them want to read the blog to find the solution. You also want to pique their interest by challenging them. Here, they might think, “What moisturizer have I never heard of? I’ll bet I have.”
And of course, you should invoke curiosity with your descriptors so that the reader wants to know what kind of a product is awesome enough to earn the title of “Most Amazing.”
Keep It Short and Sweet
Time is short, your readers are busy, and you live in a Twitter world of 140 characters or less. The shorter your blog post titles are, the more people will take the bait to read on.
However, you don’t want to sacrifice key content for the sake of brevity. That’s why you should start with a working title and edit it as you go.
Look at three different titles for the same blog, and pick your favorite:
Popular Demand Causes Green’s to Drop Its Prices Again
Green’s Prices Are Now Equal To or Below Wholesale
Prices at Green’s Are Lower Than They’ve Ever Been
Truth be told, they are all snoozers: They are all a little too long. Cut out some words, but keep the meaning the same. The result will be shorter, sweeter, and stronger:
Brand Names at Liquidation Prices — Go Green!
Spelling Counts — Punctuation Counts More!
You’re not just working with 26 characters and 10 numerals; your QWERTY keyboard also has commas, semicolons, exclamation points, and more!
Here’s a true story about the power of punctuation:
Years ago, when newspapers were in their heyday, the National Enquirer and the Globe battled it out at the supermarket checkout counter every week. It was always close — but every January, the Enquirer trotted out its resident psychic Jeane Dixon with her New Year’s predictions, which always swept the ratings.
After years of getting pummeled in January, the Globe countered with its own New Year’s cover, which proclaimed:
The New Jeane Dixon: PREDICTIONS
A lengthy and costly legal battle ensued over the Globe using the name of the famous psychic, who was contracted to the Enquirer. In court, lawyers for the Globe argued that the colon positioned between “Dixon” and “PREDICTIONS” clearly showed that it was not Jeane Dixon; instead, it was a woman they had dubbed “the new Jeane Dixon.”
That colon saved the Globe $24 million in punitive damages! Psychic or not, no one saw that coming.
You can make punctuation do the talking without using too many characters. This is something professional content writing services excel at.
Throwing in a simple question mark can put the ball in the reader’s court and challenge them to respond. A few strategically placed dot-dot-dots can force your audience to continue reading. Don’t believe it? Read this …
The only punctuation key to avoid is the CAPS LOCK button.
Optimize Your Blog Post Titles for SEO
It’s difficult to create a great title when you’ve got keywords on the brain. Composing blog post titles that attract both people and search engines is no small task, and it takes plenty of trial and error.
SEO is effective in titles and headlines. But any good SEO agency will tell you the trick is not to take SEO too far. If your title ends up sounding like a keyword-stuffed sausage, try it again.
Blog post titles should not be written in stone. Consider your title a work in progress, subject to change. Even if you fall in love with your latest blog title, it can always be improved upon.
Not sure you want to take on creating catchy titles for blogs yourself? Check out our content marketing packages and contact our team to handle everything for you!