Why do we write blog posts?

Because we love to write? Because we have a story to tell? Or because we have a message that we want to get across?

Whatever the reason, blog posts are written with one thing in mind – to be read.

If the statistics tell us that 80% of people will read the title and only 20% the content, we have our work cut out don’t we?

Writing the title of your post, or your headline, can be the most difficult part. For such a short number of words it’s amazing how long you can deliberate over it.

So what do you need to take in to consideration?:

• You want to give an indication of what the post is about
• You want to stand out from the crowd (or in this case, the social media jungle)
• You want to give people a reason to click on to your post

 

So, ‘how to get people to click on your post’

Hang on, did I just promise you a solution to a problem there? Maybe, but you might click on a title like that in the hope that you will learn something. Offering your readers a promise or a benefit is a great attraction. You have to fulfil that in your post though, otherwise they might never come back!

 

What 3 things would most attract you to a post?

Giving a quantitative figure of facts shows your reader instantly that they are going to learn something when they read your article. It also gives them an idea of how long it might take them to read it. Ask them to read 5 facts and they might just try you out. Ask them to read 500 and you might be pushing it.

 

Why should you bother writing a headline?

Who is going to benefit from reading your post?

When is this person going to stop asking me questions?

What is the point of this article?

Ok, I’m messing now, but you get the idea (I hope). Plant a question in your reader’s mind and they might just want to know more.

 

If you are really clever, you can try telling a story in your headline.

The day Nikki Young failed to write a decent headline

This post was going so well until she tweeted the link.

 

And if you are feeling really brave, you could even dare your reader or make them think that something bad will happen if they don’t read your post.

I’m going to leave that one open – you can fill it in for me.

Go on – I dare you!

 

For more blogging tips, visit the IBA Blogging Library.