Have you ever struggled thinking of a catchy headline for your blog post? I know I have. Whether it’s your own post or a guest post you are writing, the content can sometimes be easier than writing the title. For me, I often change the title numerous times before I actually publish the article.
It’s important to try and get the title right because it can be the deciding factor between a visitor to your site reading your post or clicking the back button. The content might be fantastic but if the title doesn’t grab them and draw them in, then they are never going to read all that fantastic content that you have spent hours writing.
Plus, when someone has searched for a topic in Google, and your post is sitting on page 1 in the midst of all the other posts, what is it that is going to make your article stand out from all the others? Well, it’s the attention grabbing title that is going to entice readers to come to your site?
Let’s put it this way, which of the following articles would you be more likely to read?
- The Disadvantages of Drinking Coffee
OR
- Warning…Coffee May Be Dangerous to Your Health
Or what about this one?
- Ideas for Making Money Online
OR
- 7 Surefire Ways to Make Money Online Fast
And this one?
- Cordless Drill Review
OR
- Read Why this is Rated the #1 Cordless Drill
The 3 Golden Rules for Writing Blog Post Headlines
Okay, maybe they aren’t golden rules but I just wanted to get another catchy headline in this post. Still, these are important to remember when writing blog post titles:
- Keep the title short but simple – You really want to try and keep it under 10 words but if it makes sense to go longer then go for it.
- Ensure the title matches the content – It’s all very well trying to write a catchy title but if the content has nothing to do with the title then your visitors aren’t going to bother reading anything else on your site.
- Keywords – Yes, keywords are still important so try and get a keyword or two in the title if possible. Just don’t overdo. Personally I prefer to write the title first without even thinking of keywords and only then do I think about trying to get a keyword in, but only if it sounds completely natural.
10 Attention Grabbing Headlines
Let’s take a look at some blog post titles that will grab your readers attention.
1. The Secrets of…
Starting a headline with the words “The Secrets of…” can’t help but grab someones attention.
- Eg. Secrets of Making Money Fast
- Eg. The 7 Secrets of Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee
2. Did you know…?
Getting your readers curiosity peaked can entice them to read further, although you have to be careful that you don’t give away too much in the title.
- Eg. Did You Know that Coffee is Actually Good for Your Health?
- Eg. Did You Know that 70 People Die Each Year from Shark Attacks?
3. Warning signs…
This one is always a good one for health articles but it can work for just about any niche.
- Eg. 5 Warnings Signs That You Might Be Going Deaf
- Eg. 10 Warnings Signs That You Might Be Addicted to Coffee
4. How to instantly transform…
This sort of headline implies to the reader that if they read on, their problem (whatever that might be) will be solved quickly, and who doesn’t want that?
- Eg. How to Instantly Transform Your Blog into an Authority Site
- Eg. How to Instantly Transform Your Life in 52 Easy Steps
5. Is it worth it?…
This headline can often work well for review sites. People don’t want to have to do the research and this sort of title implies that you have done the research for them.
- Eg. Is Signing Up to Google Plus Worth it?
- Eg. Is Buying a $600 Coffee Maker Worth the Price?
6. Five minutes, 24 hours, 30 days…
This type of title just about always works. It lets the reader know that their problem can be solved in whatever time period you set.
- Eg. 30 Days to a Healthier You
- Eg. The 5 Minute Plan to Changing Your Life
7. Should you be worried…?
Using fear and uncertainty can be a good way to grab your readers.
- Eg. Should You Be Worried about 2012?
- Eg. Should You Be Worried about Drinking Too Much Coffee?
8. The World’s Best…
This can work well for a review site. I mean, who doesn’t want to know which is the best of the best.
- Eg. The World’s Best Sports Cars and Where to Find Them
- Eg. The World’s Best Travel Destinations
9. Complete guide to…
This one is definitely a winner, however you have to back it up with good solid content. You really can’t write a complete guide to anything in under 500 words.
- Eg. The Complete Guide to Making the Ultimate Cup of Coffee
- Eg. The Complete Step-by-Step Plan to Building a Better Blog
10. Sure-fire Ways to…
This is a favorite of mine. It implies certainty to the reader and works really well for any niche.
- Eg. 10 Sure Fire Ways to Meet a Movie Star
- Eg. 7 Sure Fire Ways to Get a Girlfriend
- Eg. 5 Sure Fire Ways to Choose a Cordless Drill
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Wow, thanks for a great list. I always get stucked at writing a headline :) With these structure, I’ll definitely bring more traffic to my site
It does help to have a list like this handy for those ‘writers block’ occasions. Some of them can be mixed and matched as well depending on the article.
Thanks Paula and Wanda, This is a very useful list to have when your stuck for headline ideas that are eye catching. It’s good timing I have a couple of articles on the go and may use one or two of these.
Thanks again Shirley
Good to hear from your Shirley. Hope things are going well for you.
Just tried to access your site and it’s taking a long time to load. Might just be me though.
hi paula
Thanks for the great info! It’s not just about having good content, you gotta know how to get people in front of it. Cheers to you. thanks for sharing…
Good list here, sometimes the headline hits me after I’ve written the post. I think no.10 is my favourite, “sure fire ways”, really positive eh!
I think that is my favorite as well. It can work for so many different topics.
I must admit that writing a headline is one of my weaknesses. As you said I sometimes change a headline several times before I publish. I have a fairly decent imagination, yet it seems to fail me when writing headlines. This post is one I will come back to frequently for ideas. Thanks for the valuable info.
I know what you mean. Sometimes I just want to get the post up so I don’t spend enough time on the title. That’s why examples like these are an easy way to get inspiration.
Title is the first thing which a reader notice before visiting your blog, and its really increase traffic, if we have a catchy titles on our blog post..
Exactly Nishant. The title is what is going to entice them to click your link in the search engines.
Always the major problem i have is coming up with great blog titles, a great list to work from, thanks.
No problem Chris and thanks for visiting.
Hello Dear
what great post for me really you are right 3 golden rules for witting blog posting title is most important part for your content and content is most important for blogging and keyword also important thanks for the sharing me
thanks & regards
Sarika
I’ll be the first to say that I’m no good at writing titles, let alone crafting excellent ones. This article was awesome. Thank you for including so many leads and examples as well as where it’s appropriate to apply them.
Glad we could help Ameenah.
Many people now choose the headline based in the keyword for better seo optimization
Using keywords in the headline was very popular until Google starting making changes and people started to not worry about it as much. However, since the latest lot of Google changes I think it is worth going back to using keywords in titles since the spammer sites seem to be doing a lot better these days.
Paula,
Nice list of Post Titles to make users believe there is some thing interesting behind.
Thank you for the advise
A lot of these ideas are tried and true devices which not only bloggers but copywriters in general have fallen back on for many years. As the blogosphere gets thicker and content becomes thinner, though, I think headlines which promise too much are sounding a bit more cliche these days. I try and stay away from headlines like “The Seven Secrets to SuperCharge Blah Blah” because, frankly, so many blog posts these days seem to fall back on that “super promise” formula. I would rather under promise and over deliver than vice versa. But anything that’s catchy or challenges commonly held notions or is just attention getting (as you note) is usually a good direction to head in for headline writing.
I think you have a good point their David. People are becoming used to seeing blog posts(or even book titles) with catchy names that don’t meet the expectations of the blog post itself. So I think it’s a matter of knowing your audience.
Anyone that knows social and read blogs themselves knows this is true. Your headline is really your key. No good headline, no traffic, no readers.
Very good examples too, thank you!
Great list of catchy titles. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Wanda & Paula! The information within this blog post was very helpful. I am guilty of putting out some bad headlines to say the least; however, from reading your blog post, I have more understanding of how to write better headlines. Thanks again for the content. I will apply all that I’ve leard here.
This is a must read article for any blogger wanting to grab the attention of a potential visitor to their site. Thanks for sharing…
Wow what a great post. I am agree with you that title plays a very important role to drive traffic to our website. In 2013 the main thing on which bloggers are focusing is on social media. And It’s very easy to get attention and to drive traffic through those websites, if we use such catchy Titles.
Thanks once again for posting this. :D
Hello !
I agree with David hitt. But if you have strong post which can fulfill the needs of your readers then these headings will definitely attract the readers and will not disappoint them. the word “world best” always attracts me and I use to read that specific article. All these attractive headings would definitely work for others.
Thanks for sharing.
Morton