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Read This Post, If It's the Last Thing You Do

Don't you wish all your blog posts could have that title, and the corresponding effect of everyone who sees it follows through? As I was digging through my Google Reader this morning, I realized how much I rely on the title (and first sentence or part of the first sentence) to help me decide whether or not to read more of the post. I have boatloads of unread posts in my reader and just can't get fully read each one. Granted, I have probably already read a number of them because I clicked through to it when a trusted source tweeted about the post. However, I know I am missing good content because the title and first sentence don't grab me or tell me what the post is really about.

Therefore, I am making a resolution to do better with my title and first few words to make it better for my readers.

In addition, if you have any tips on Blog Post Title creation, please share. I am all ears!

PS - this is also a test to see if my page view numbers increase at all with this title. We shall see.

Comments

Dave S. said…
Matt, great point and I agree completely. It's funny that the post above yours in my reader was from Mashable: Woman Uses iPhone App to Get Pregnant, that title definitely caught my eye - not sure why, but it did - so it stands to reason that it's one of the, if not the, most important aspects of your posts.
January 25, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Matt Baehr said…
Thanks for the link Joe. I forgot how good a resource Copyblogger was.
January 25, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Just C said…
This was a catchy title (and good post) but the main reason I stopped and read through was that Maddy Grant had retweeted your post. I still think the recommendations of trusted sources is worth its weight in gold.
January 25, 2010 at 6:16 PM
Maggie McGary said…
Lol--you got me! What I find works are:

1) Cuss words
2) References to big companies like Best Buy or Comcast
3) Any tie between the phrases "social media" "salaries" and "ROI"
4) Cuss words
January 25, 2010 at 8:20 PM
Shannon Otto said…
Coming up with titles for my posts is always so difficult for me, which is strange because I used to be a copy editor and write headlines all the time! I know it's one of the most important parts of a post, so I'm trying to get better at it. Love this post!
January 26, 2010 at 11:03 AM
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