5 tips for you to write catchy titles

Surely you’ve heard the age-old question, “If a tree falls in the forest but no one hears it, did it make a sound?” In somewhat of the same spirit, here’s another question: “If you write a great blog post but the title isn’t compelling, will anyone read it?”

It shouldn’t be a surprise to you that titles are of great importance to get people’s attention and ensure they read what follows. Think about your own behavior—it’s likely you look at articles with catchy titles and bypass those without them.

Is there a secret to writing great titles? There are actually many valuable tips, and one of them—#6, a bonus—already worked since you’re reading this: consider starting titles with a numeric number. According to an article on dreamgrow.com, numbers as digits get double the engagement of the same numbers spelled out.

Here are five more title-writing tips:
1. Keep it short and to the point. Focus on answering “what’s in it for me?” to entice people to read your work.
2. Ask a question. Think about what your audience wants to know, and format your title as a question that encourages them to read for the answer(s).
3. Make it a command. Tell people what they must do to gain value from your expertise so they want to discover the specific details.
4. Promise valuable information. Allude to quick fixes, steps, tricks or tips—like I did—since people are always looking for better ways to do things.
5. Personalize it. Use you; titles including that word are more likely to resonate with people because it seems like you’re focused on their needs. Yes, I did this too—and you’re still reading.

Given that so much writing ends up online these days, you might also wonder about the value of including keywords in titles. Yes, that’s also an important element of writing titles to increase the odds that your content will appear high in search engines—but that topic deserves its own post.

Giving thanks

What’s your favorite thing about Thanksgiving? A four-day weekend? Lots of football? Turkey and all the trimmings? A cornucopia of sweet treats? Mine is family. While my mom’s homemade desserts—usually five or six—were always a high point for me during childhood, today I can make those myself. What I can’t replicate is sitting around the table with loved ones. If you’re fortunate enough to be celebrating with family, appreciate it, and if that’s not the case, do something nice for yourself to enjoy the day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Client focus: PlanetArt

When you’re shopping online, you probably don’t think about the fact that a writer was involved in creating every product description you see. For almost two years, I’m happy to say I’ve been a part of the PlanetArt team, working predominantly to revise Personal Creations copy so it meets Amazon.com‘s standards. It’s a pretty fun gig, since I’m encouraged to use descriptive adjectives, something that’s not the case for most of my business clients. If you’re looking for personalized gifts this holiday season, check out the Personal Creations site or the Let’s Make Memories store on Amazon.