Killer Headlines For Writing Blog Posts: 15 Elements For Creating Compelling, Shareable Blog Post Headlines

Unless you write killer headlines for your blog posts your chances of getting visitors to read the rest of your content drastically declines. This is why you should spend time crafting a good headline before publishing it because you want as many people as possible reading your post. Many blog post titles fail to attract readers because they don’t grab the reader’s attention.

Here are 8 elements for creating killer blog post headlines:

1. Short and catchy is best

As a rule of thumb keep the length of your titles to 70 characters or less to make it easy for readers to scan plus search engines automatically shorten titles if they’re too long.

Example
“Lose 10lbs in one week or less”

Example of a longer title
“21 Ways To Promote Your Blog Post That You Probably Wish You Knew”

2. Include one large benefit

Your visitors want to know immediately what benefit they’ll receive from reading your post so make it easy for them by weaving it into your title.

Example
How to Create An Epic Blog Post That Gets Shared Naturally
The main benefit is that you’ll learn how to get your post shared naturally.

3. Include an emotional component

Instead of just saying “Free Web Hosting Guide” extend the length of your title to get attention ie “Free Web Hosting Guide: 33 Secrets You Probably Didn’t Know!” One of the best online tools for testing the emotional marketing value (EMV) of your headlines or titles is the Headline Analyzer.

Most professional copywriters’ headlines will have 30%-40% EMV Words in their headlines, while the most gifted copywriters will have 50%-75% EMV words in headlines.

4. Include your main keyword near the beginning

Search engines tend to index and rank articles which contain the keyword or keyword phrase near the beginning rather than at the end.

Example
Aweber Review – 33 Points To Consider Before Choosing An Email List Provider

“Aweber Review” is the main keyword phrase and “33 Points To Consider Before Choosing An Email List Provider” states the benefits you’ll receive.

Avoid the temptation of stuffing multiple keywords in your title. It will only result in watering down its effectiveness by losing readers and rankings.

5. Solve a specific problem

If you dream up a title that’s of no interest to your readers you’re not going to attract much traffic. Think about the frequently asked questions your customers or subscribers have then answer them in your article. This will help retain your viewership.

Example
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” is one of the most popular and most effective evergreen titles you should use when crafting your own.

6. Deliver what you promised

Th content of your post must support what you promised in your title. Don’t make the mistake of using “bait and switch” tactics where you promise one thing then deliver something entirely different. It will only frustrate your readers.

Example
If your title says… “Top 10 ways to lose fat” then make sure you include all 10 ways in your content.

7. Create a natural flow

One of the hardest things to achieve as content writers is to maintain the attention of your readers throughout the content. To achieve this your first paragraph should support your title then succeeding subtitles and paragraphs should build upon one another.

8. Use correct grammar, capitalization, and spelling

Visitors will immediately get turned off if they notice errors in your title and content. Make sure you proof read your post before publishing it or get someone else to review it.

Here’s a list of resources to find inspiration
for creating compelling post titles:

Google Adwords Keyword Tool
https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool

Do a search for related keywords by entering your main keyword in the search box. Use the list of keyword results it generates to help you write compelling post titles.

Google Trends
http://www.google.com/trends/

Enter your search terms in the search box to discover the hot trends for a specific keyword. Under the heading “limit to-web” you can find images, videos, news and products related to the topic you searched.

Yahoo Answers
http://answers.yahoo.com/

Discover the questions people are asking about your topic by entering your keyword in the “search answers” box. This enables you to easily tap into the minds of what people are thinking about.

Forums
Search for forums related to your niche by entering “keyword+forum” in the Google search box. Visit the topics and read the comments to find good post titles.

Google Blog Search
http://www.google.com/blogsearch

Find the most popular blogs in your niche by entering your keyword into Google’s Blog Search Box then read the comments. Often commenters will ask questions that the blog owner has no time or can’t bother to answer.

Google Analytics
http://www.google.com/analytics/
Look at the keywords and keyword phrases your visitors are using to find your blog posts. Utilize these hidden gems for writing future blog post titles.

EzineArticles Headline Suggestion Tool
http://www.ezinearticles.com
If you have an ezinearticles.com account you have access to the headline suggestion tool. When you enter a keyword it spits out a list of suggested titles.

PPC Ads
Advertisers spend 1000s of dollars tweaking their ad titles. You can utilize their research for free by viewing the ads displayed at the top and right sides of the search engines. Simply enter your keyword in Google, Yahoo or Bing to view the ads.

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/
Amazon is the largest book store online. Authors spend countless hours agonizing over what title to use for their book. By reading the titles of the most popular books in your niche you’ll find the inspiration for creating exceptional titles of your own.

Offline Magazines
You can’t help but notice the multitude of magazine titles that grab your attention when you go through the check out line at your local grocery store or when visiting your local book store.

Example
Here’s an example of a counter intuitive title in the Diet and Fitness section of Cosmopolitan..”Why You Should Eat Cake for Breakfast and Other Kinda Awesome Ways to Lose Weight”

Copyblogger.com
http://www.copyblogger.com
The founder of this blog, Brian Clark is a professional copywriter so he knows how to create captivating blog post titles. If you get stuck for inspiration read the headlines of some of his articles then rework them to create your own.

Here Are 7 Ways To Write Killer Blog Post Headlines

9. Ask a question

Asking a question peaks a reader’s curiosity and will get them to read the rest of your content to find the answers.

Example

“Are you struggling to lose weight?”

10. Solve a problem
Stating a problem then offering a benefit is a great method for creating great titles.

Example
“How to lose 10lbs in one week without dieting and exercise”

11. Use lists
Readers love knowing ahead of time what to expect in the content.

Example
Web Design Checklist: 55 Things Every Website Must Have”
“5 headline copywriting mistakes to avoid

12. Create controversy
Controversial titles can stir up people’s emotions because they may or may not agree with what you have to say and have their own strong opinion.

Example
“Man with syringe arrested in hospital”
Article Writing Myth Busted: I don’t know what to write about

13. Be counter-intuitive
These are titles counter to what intuition would lead you expect.

Example
Fastest Way Up Hills: Zigzag
Nice Guys Finish Last

14. Offer a guarantee
This removes risk and inspires confidence.

Example
The crispest and clearest prints of any scanner or your money back

15. Include statistics
Stating facts in your titles immediately tells readers the truth and will encourage them to read more.

Example
It costs 30 to 40 times more to gain a new customer than keep an existing one.”

Conclusion
Your content is competing with 1000s of other blogs on the Net so it’s easy to get frustrated when your post doesn’t get read or shared by others especially when you’ve invested so much time and energy into it.

Don’t despair!

The key is to add new content on a regular basis (even if it’s only once a week) then spend the same amount of time promoting it. Over time you’ll become recognized as an authority in your niche, receive more traffic plus generate more sales and subscribers.

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Resources

Neil Patel’s Guide to Writing Popular Blog Posts
How to Create a Blog Post Title That Gets Serious Traffic [101 Ideas]

Best Email Subject Lines
Blog Post Title Examples
10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work
7 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates That Work
9 Proven Headline Formulas That Sell Like Crazy
10 Ways To Create High Converting Headlines
The Secret Triggers Behind 43 Powerfully Simple Fill-in-the-Blank Blog Post Headline Templates
18 Resources to Help you Write Better Blog Titles
Creating Effective, Attention-Getting Headlines and Titles

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