Smashing Tricks to Writing Eye Catching Titles

Mannequins with Awesome Clothes - A Teaser for the Shoppers

Shopping is a fun activity and sometimes you do it just for the fun i.e you do window shopping. In window shopping you are not actually looking to buy any products and that is why you are just glancing through the products. While you are glancing through a clothes shop, you will see many mannequins displaying very beautiful clothes (Usually they are one of the best of the stock). These mannequins give us a teaser trailer to what we can expect in the store (Even though it might not have clothes of the same quality or standard). If you don’t like what you see outside, you will not bother to see what’s inside. If you really like what you see outside, you will be compelled to see the shop and you might end up buying some of these clothes.

A teaser trailer forced you to buy a product even though you had no intention of buying. So, now you can understand the importance of a good teaser trailer

Title – A Teaser

Titles are very similar to your mannequins. They give readers a sneak preview of the article. Readers then judge the article on the basis of this title. If they like the title, they will move forward and read the article and if the title is not able to impress them, then they will skip reading it.

Titles usually get the maximum attention and hence bloggers should use it as a tool to tempt the reader to read ahead. Writing captivating titles is a skill and like many other skills, this can be learnt through a little bit of guidance and lots of practice and experimentation.

I will try to focus on the guidance part and I hope you will try to do the experimentation part.

Reader Focus

Before we try some eye catching headlines, you have to focus on the reader. Titles will catch more attention if they are focusing on the reader. Reader’s are always looking for answers to their blogging questions. If the title is able to sell to the readers that the article would be able to find a solution to their problems, then the probability, that your readers will read the article will be very high.

There is an easy way to find out reader’s problems. The comment section of your blog is the best place to find out your reader’s problems. Readers usually give their feedback and also ask their questions in their comments. You have to collect these questions and convert them into articles and write titles proposing a solution to their problem.

Tips to Write Attention Seeking Titles

I will provide with tips that have worked for me and have brought huge amounts of traffic and comments to my article

Numbers

What would be a better starting than using numbers? Articles with numbered titles are usually roundups or list articles and they are like a very luxurious Item. They make you want to see them and hence, they are an instant attraction . Many bloggers wonder why these are so popular. I have given a theory behind the numbers but there has been no concrete reason behind the attraction. Even if there is no reason behind it, but it is a fact that readers are obsessed with numbers.

Example Articles:

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Adjectives

Adjectives can be used to present your articles in a glorified manner. By “glorified” I mean that you add adjectives to show how good or useful your article is. These adjectives are usually of higher degree i.e they are usually used to express extreme feelings. A Mind Blowing article would provide something really very valuable and unique (at least the readers will think that way). Here are a few adjectives which can be used for your article.

Smashing

Breathtaking

Mind Blowing

Gorgeous

Heavenly

Golden

Article Examples:

7 Smashing Techniques to Pull Guest Authors to your Blog

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Slangs

People might think that slangs are inappropriate for titles, but the fact is that slangs are the new adjectives  and they have immense popularity. Readers prefer slangs because they use it often and slangs have become a inherent part of their lingo. So, slangs are easily understood and grab attention really fast. Some commonly used slangs are:

Kickass

Dumbass

Badass

Noob

Punk

Woot

Article Examples:

Kickass Alternative Commenting Systems for Blogger

Ask a Question

Asking a question in titles can generate interest in the reader’s mind. Readers can be intrigued by the idea and they might want to follow up. By asking a question you are provoking a thought. The reader might have the same question in his mind and this will force him to read the article and find a solution to his question.

Article Examples:

The Great Social Media Debate : Twitter Monetization. Is it Ethical?

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Personal Experience

Blog readers are always looking for a advice that is genuine. They prefer personal experiences that could teach them something truly valuable. Titles that usually use I and me drive attention because they are usually contain blogger’s personal experiences and hence they include genuine advice.

Article Examples:

How College Taught me to be a Better Blogger

Why I won’t follow everyone on Twitter

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Controversy

Yes, you can create controversy with titles and it has proven to be really beneficial for me. I tried to write an article which showed that google wave has really failed to make a mark. People who were in support and who were against this thought were forced to join in this discussion and push their thoughts forward. This led to a burning discussion that generated humungous amounts of traffic.

The only problem with controversy is that it can convert into an ugly discussion and things might get out of hand. So, use controversy with caution.

Have you tried these title writing techniques? Do you have a unique title writing technique? Share with us.