Ten Tips to Writing Irresistibly Clickable Blog Headlines

"In a world full of noise, how do you get people to actually read what you write?" (Jeff Goins)

According to blogger Jeff Goins, the headline is the most neglected part of a blog post (http://goinswriter.com/catchy-headlines/).  The headline introduces the post and should therefore grab the reader's interest, make the reader want to read more.  According to copyblogger, while 8 out of 10 people read the headline, only 2 out of 10 people read the body of the post (http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/).

Here are ten tips to writing irresistibly clickable headlines that will grab the interest of your readers:

1.  Include a number in your headline.  

As Jeff Goins points out, if you stand in line at the grocery store, notice how many magazines have numbers in their headlines.  See https://blog.bufferapp.com/headline-strategies-psychology.

2.  Include interesting adjectives in your headline.

Use adjectives like effortless, painstaking, free, incredible, absolute, strange to pique the interest of your readers.  Visit http://www.blogussion.com/favorites/45-better-blog-headlines/ for examples.

3.  Answer the questions what, why, when or how.

Give your readers an idea of what the blog post or article is about.  Again, make them want to read more.

4.  Make an audacious promise.

Promise to unlock an ancient mystery like the makers of the Cadbury commercial did (How do they get the caramel in the caramilk bar?).  Get your readers to try something they've never tried before. As Jeff Goins says, "dare the reader to read your article".

5.  Use keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Read my post about the importance of keywords at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/keyword-search-is-key-to-blogging.html.  Other bloggers seem to agree that using keywords in blog headlines is a good idea.  However, don't overuse them, making your title awkward.  Ideally, according to Brain Clark of Copyblogger, if your headline is 10 words in length, use two keywords.

6.  Avoid symbols like &, @, # or < >.

These symbols are difficult for web browsers to translate which confuses readers.

7.  Let the passion in.

If your blog headline conveys passion, chances are that your post will too.  

8.  Keep the headline an ideal length.

According to Kevan Lee, the ideal length for a headline is six words https://blog.bufferapp.com/optimal-length-social-media.  However, according to Outbrain, the ideal length should be more than eight words, ideally 12 to 18 words.

9.  Be specific, not generic.  

10.  Here is Jeff Goin's formula for the perfect blog headline:

# or trigger word + adjective + keyword + promise

"How to Bath an Elephant" vs. "18 Unbelievable Ways You can Bath an Elephant Indoors"

"Sell your House in a Day" vs. "How You Can Effortlessly Sell Your Home in Less Than 24 Hours"

http://socialproofinteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/clickable-headlines.jpg

Blogging a Trail of Breadcrumbs

"Hansel and Gretel may have been the first Internet readers...They were both so ADD that they couldn't even remember how to get home on their jaunt in the woods.  Readers on your blog are the same...but they can't leave their own breadcrumbs to find their way back -- so you have to help them find out." (Daniel Vassiliou, Endurance SEO)

How do you make it easier for your blog readers to navigate your site?  How do you draw visitors to your site for longer periods of time?  How do you lower your bounce rate (visitors who make a brief visit and leave)?  How do your raise your Google rankings?

The Internet has "web spiders" or "web crawlers" which "trawl around the web following links and indexing all content of web pages" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_crawler).  You want as much of your blog content as possible indexed by the web spiders.  Providing interlinks increases your chances of getting noticed. 

For small blogs, it is easy to set up manual links in your blog to other relevant posts within your blog. However, with larger blogs, it becomes more complicated.  Daniel Vassiliou recommends a tiered linking system using the top down approach starting with your homepage (http://www.problogger.net/archives/2013/05/15/interlinking-your-blogs-for-seo/).  

You can use plugins to incorporate breadcrumbs into your siet (see Yoast's breadcrumb plugins for Wordpress) which enables you to link pages and posts.  You can also use SEO Smart Links to match keywords to tags and titles in your blog (https://wordpress.org/plugins/seo-automatic-links/).

When I studied French at McMaster, in grammar class we were given ten or fifteen French vocabulary words and we had to build an essay around those words.  The challenge was to incorporate all of the words into the body of the essay in a natural, rather than an artificial way.  

Similarly, as a blogger, you are given a list of keywords, applicable to your topic.  Your task is to mix in your keywords to fit naturally into your blog post.  For example, the other day, I did a blog post about Keywords.  Now would be a good time to share that post (see http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/keyword-search-is-key-to-blogging.html). 

Blogger Yaro Starak gives the example of a post written about "shared trading" in which he gives a definition of PE ratio (see "price to earnings ratio" at http://www.investopedia.com/university/peratio/peratio1.asp), a popular keyword or phrase.  In his subsequent posts, he attempts to refer back as often as possible, when appropriate, to the PE ratio in his anchored text (the underlined links). 

Incorporating keywords and interlinks into your blog posts will raise your page views.  However, don't overdo it.  Again, make it a natural fit.  As Daniel Vassiliou warns, nothing can replace good blog content, regardless of keywords and links.  Now would be a good time to share my post "Developping Good Blogging Content" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/developping-good-blog-content.html.  However, it can "boost strong content to the next level".  And it can help your readers navigate your blog, the way the breadcrumbs led Hansel and Gretel through the woods.  

http://www.smallkidshomework.com/wp-content/uploads/Hansel%20and%20Gretel_2(1).jpeg

Advertising Your Blog

"The importance of your site is based on how many other sites link to yours and how important those sites are." (Professional Blogging for Dummies)

Now that you have set up your blog, it's time to get the word out.  Start by telling your family, friends and business associates.  Make a business card with your blog address.  My card says "Writer" with a picture of a typewriter in the background.  Send a mass e-mail sharing the details.  Include a link to your blog in your e-mail signature.  Advertise your blog on your website.  If you have a business blog, give a brief description of it in your company boilerplate (a brief description at the end of a news release).

Set up an ego search online which lets you know when your blog is mentioned or linked to other blogs.  Set up a Google Alert search of a topic that you blog about.  You can even do a Google Alert for your own name.  Link to other blogs regularly.  Leave comments on other blogs to identify yourself as part of the blogosphere.  Remember to keep your comments relevant and new, rather than just repeating what other readers have written.  Make sure to mention if you have a personal interest in the topic.  Comment on topics that have no interest to you twice as much as topics that do, thereby showing you have no immediate value in doing so.  Remember to reread your comment for errors and tone before your click Send.

Social media is an excellent way to promote your blog.  As of 2010, Facebook already had five million active viewers.  You can set up a like button on your Facebook page.  Similarly, you can set up a Like button on your blog which can link back to your Facebook page.  Read Facebook for Dummies (http://www.amazon.ca/Facebook-For-Dummies-Carolyn-Abram/dp/1118633121) by Leah Perlman and Carolyn Abram for more information.  You can also share your blog on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Google Plus as I do when I write a new post.

Try writing a guest blog for someone else.  A one time deal might only drive your traffic up temporarily but if you do it on a regular basis ex. once a month, you'll likely see a lasting increase in your blog hits.

Another way Internet surfers can find your blog is through keywords.  Google analytics can tell you the keywords people use to find your blog based on algorithms, proximity, frequency and page rank. Sometimes, the strangest keywords come up ex. kosher clowns, ghetto chicken head, pregnant man or yellow balloon cake.  It is a good practice to get into to include keywords at the end of your blog. However, remember that people read your blog for its tone, not for its keywords.


For more information, visit http://www.thesitsgirls.com/make-money/30-ways-to-grow-your-blog/.

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