Why are you reading this post?
What attracted you to this post?
I hope it was the title, because that was my intention.
If I had titled this “Post Number 229, February 20, 2015”
would you be reading it? Maybe, because
I just posted it, but only because it was new.
However, would “Post Number 229, February 20, 2015” catch
your eye in 6 months? I doubt it, but
would “Writing Posts for Future Income” attract your eye today and still be
relevant a year from now? Two years from
now?
When writing a post you’d like to be read in the future you
need to attract the reader’s attention with the title not only today, but also
in the future. Therefore, if your
intention is for the post or article to be read in the future, keep that in
mind when you not only write the post, but when you decide on a title for it. You want a title that will be timeless and
will endure.
Now I’m not a writing genius but I do know that titles
attract readers. If you don’t pay attention to your titles you can forget
getting much in the way of readership and passive income, if you were hoping for
that. However, keep in mind that your
title cannot be deceitful or the reader will quickly leave and you will never
see them again. For example, If I had
titled this “10 Unique New Ways to Make a Sandwich” and then failed to deliver
on those 10 new ways, you would fee lied to and would rightfully be upset with
me. I would also be upset, as I was
looking forward to learning 10 new ways to make a sandwich.
So your titles must be truthful and deliver what you
promise, but they can be jazzed up a little to attract attention. Try using words that personalize, like “You”
and “Your”.
Sometimes asking a question
will attract readers, like, “Want your posts to attract readers next year?”
Keywords are always good to use in titles, but they must be
used in a meaningful way or they will stand out as keywords.
There are also some words that always seem to attract
attention. Words like “Free”,
“Stunning”, “Easy”, and who doesn't like to learn a “Secret”.
One of the latest attention grabbers are numbers like I used
in “10 Unique New Ways to Make a Sandwich”.
You see numbers used quite lot now in post titles, almost to the point
of over use.
I know I am not perfect, because I have my share of lame titles. Titles that I did not put enough time or
thought into. However, I am trying to
get better at it and help you to think about using your post title to attract
future readers. Take the selection of
your title very seriously as it will be the standard bearer of your post for as
long it exists on the internet.
So go forth and try to “Titillate with Titles”.
Photo Credits: http://pixabay.com/en/surfer-surf-sea-wave-sport-ocean-18661/ http://pixabay.com/en/blogging-blogger-office-business-336376/
