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| Choose your title for maximum readership. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons. |
This post is part of our monthly series, Catholic Bloggers' School.
Avoid flowery language
Members of CSBN know that I sometimes change the titles of their posts on our site. Partly from reading posts about blogging, partly from watching the stats on this blog, I have learned a lot about the types of titles that draw readers in. A good title will bring readers from Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. It will make your subscribers open their email sooner.Titles that work well for creative writing don't often work for blogs. For example, I'd love to write a post called Blogging in Borrioboola-Gha. If you're not a fan of Charles Dickens, that title would likely puzzle you. Some people might click on it just out of curiosity. But how many people would search for "Borrioboola-Gha"? A better title on the same subject might be Family Before Blog. That's not as creative or interesting, but it conveys to a wider audience what the post is about. And someone might even Google it.
You don't want to bring just any traffic to your site. You want to bring people who are actually interested in what you have to say. Make it easy for them to find you.
Ask a question
Do you know your ruling grace? Are you a jackass for Christ? Can you love God for just one minute? These are three of our recent posts at CSBN.When your title is a question, readers want to discover the answer. Make sure you give it to them, or give them the tools to find out for themselves!
How to ...
Starting your title with "How to" lets readers know they will learn something from your writing. If you are running out of ideas for your blog, brainstorm a list of how-to posts. You could get a lot of hits from searches this way.Numbered lists
If your post is about saints who are known for answering prayers, title it 5 Saints Who Never Fail You. If you're making suggestions for All Saints' Day dinner, call it 3 Delicious Recipes for All Saints' Day. I have done posts beginning with 4 tips, 3 ways, and 5 reasons. These titles are easy to remember if readers want to return to your blog in the future. Your tips are also easier to remember in a list.Titles are not the most important part of your blog post, but without a good title few may click on it. It doesn't matter how good your post is if no one reads it.
Very true! When I started to create titles in numbered lists and question forms, I noticed that my posts attracted more audience. I would also suggest, if appropriate, put two seemingly contradictory things together. Like maybe "relaxed orthodox", "obedience and freedom", etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the extra tip, Anna Elisa. The titles you suggest are both intriguing and informing.
Delete"Anna Elissa." Sorry for the misspelling the first time.
DeleteI hadn't thought about what people might be looking for in searches, until a post about "erasing the board" got unexpectedly stuck with superglue among my most popular ones. I started looking at stats, and realized that people search regularly for pictures of blackboards! But as far as post titles, I generally don't think about them. Although even a I type this comment, I am suddenly distracted by a title on the sidebar here. "Jesus and the Jar of Pickles...." (from Little Steps Along the Way). PROOF of what you've just written, Connie (and Anna Elissa)... because guess what my very next click is going to be?! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. There are some really good bloggers here at CSBN who still don't have the traffic they deserve. Before creating CSBN, I did a lot of searches for good spirituality blogs and had trouble finding them. I'm sure there are many other potential readers out there who just don't know our sites exist.
DeleteIt takes time to get known especially by google searches. I think all of us will attract more traffic as this site grows and it WILL grow exponentially because of the excellent content and all the links
DeleteIt's hard to be patient sometimes. But beyond that, if someone is searching for advice on the spiritual life, we want them to be able to find sound Catholic advice easily. Good blog titles will help. When I go to write a title, I often think about what words I would search on if I were looking for the kind of post I am writing. Then I include those words in my title. It seems to work.
DeleteThe title of this post made me come over and check it out!
ReplyDelete:) Now I hope you'll stay and look around a while.
DeleteConnie,
ReplyDeleteI also love the title of this post. I just had to click on the link! You make some excellent points. I've noticed how some blog posts of my own have attracted readers because of their titles. It seems such a shame to put a lot of hard work into a post which might not get read just because it has the wrong title. Yes, a good title is essential!
Totally agree, Sue. Blogs are different than books or magazine articles, where titles can be more creative and still reach their intended audience.
DeleteConnie, you have some good thoughts in your post.
ReplyDeleteNow I wish I had changed my last blog article into a question: "Are You God's Chalice?", rather than "You Are God's Chalice" - - even though the latter is true.
Thanks for the post.
-Deacon Paul
Actually, "You are God's Chalice" is a fine title. It's intriguing and gives me an idea what the post is about before I read it. Or you might try "You Can Be God's Chalice," if you're going to tell us how--or even, "3 Ways You are God's Chalice."
Delete