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And why some people’s posts never seem to attract any attention

How much time to you spend writing a blog post?  10 minutes?  Maybe 15 if its a good one?  Well How much thought do you give to writing your posts title?  10 seconds?  Maybe 15 seconds if you’re stumped? If that describes you, perhaps you should give some more thought to creating a catch title, it’s important.

One could make the argument that your posts title is the single most important thing about a post.  For sure, the content of the post is important, and images are worth 1000 words.  However word for word your title packs more punch than any other aspect of a post.

Why is a post title so important?

• People will skim titles to decide if an article is worth reading - Your post title is the primary thing which will make people decide whether or not they want to take the time to read a post.  Is it relevant to them?  Does it sound like something they haven’t seen before?  Or is it a yawn fest?
• People will link to you with that title - Face it, people are generally lazy.  I know I sure am.  When other bloggers link to you which are they more likely to do, create their own phrase to summarize your post and its content?  Or use one that you have readily provided for them?   I think the answer speaks for itself.  Because people are going to be linking to your blog with your post titles, they need to attract visitors as well as contain valuable anchor text.

Alright, what makes up a good post title?

A post title is an intriguing promise to your readers.  You are saying, read this post, I have something new and exciting to offer you.  You won’t be disappointed.   Your post title is a sales pitch.  So in order to find what makes a good post title look at what makes a good sales pitch.

A good sales pitch

1) Starts with a declaration.   Look at this post title.  It is a declaration that some people have a method of attracting links.  A declaration makes the reader assume you know what you are talking about

2) Promises a solution - The Why or How in the post title tells the reader that you will show the secret of whatever you are talking about.  This says, in effect, Some people used to get all the links… but read this post and you’ll learn their tricks

3) Qualifies your statements - If you come on too strong you’ll sound like a used car salesman or someone on an infomercial.  Qualify your statement with “Almost” or “Seem To” and it will make you more seem more grounded.  Although outlandish claims may get you some readers once or twice, and may land you a Digg every now and then, getting credible by making realistic claims and living up to them will help you more long term.

That’s all there is to it.  Model your post titles after those sales pitch tactics and you will see results.  If you are having trouble coming up with a killer title for a specific post, check out 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas that Work