Taylor’s Rules For Blog Post Titles

By Allen Taylor

I spent some time a few years ago as a newspaper editor. I learned that a good headline can really sell newspapers. A good headline should get people read.

One of my favorite headlines to write was “Train Derails, Spills The Soybeans.” Any idea what that story was about?

If you guessed it was about a train that derails, spilling soybeans everywhere then give yourself a pat on the back. You’d be right. Which brings me to my first main point.

Two Things A Good Headline Blog Post Title Must Do

A good headline should grab people’s attention. The second point is this: A good headline should tell the reader what the story is about. And that about sums it up.

Of course, with article writing, blogs, and web site content, they’re not called headlines. They’re referred to commonly as titles. Hey, you say “tomatoes” and I say “funny looking red fruit.”

Titles are a lot like headlines. You want them to grab your readers’ attentions. A good blog post title will draw your readers in and get them to read your blog post. Content without readership is just dead copy. Who wants a decomposing cadaver of words on their blog or website?

Yes, you want a blog post title that reaches out and grabs your visitors by the throat, then puts its schnoz right up against those beady little eyes and yells, “Read me, you fool!”

What If Your Blog Post Title Doesn’t Follow My Rules?

Suppose you do write a blog post title that captures your readers’ hearts and minds. What then? Suppose, furthermore, that the title that gets their attention turns out to be for a blog post about a different topic altogether. Do you think your readers are going to be happy about that? Probably not. And they likely won’t return to read your blog again.

That’s why you want your blog post titles to get attention, but you also want them to state what your readers will be reading about. The title should reflect the thesis of your content. It should say, “This is what this story is all about.” If it lies, it dies.

OK, but after you’ve got their attention and you’ve told them what they’re about to read, what next? Keep it short without leavin’ nuthin’ out.

Pardon my ingrammaticalness. I’m just trying to keep it simple. The point is your blog post title should be short enough to grab your readers’ attentions but long enough to say what it needs to say. It should be optimized for size.

So that’s it. Taylor’s three rules for writing blog post titles. Follow them religiously and you’ll be read.

P.S. Don’t forget to use your keyword. That’s four rules. One to grow on.

Professional Management for Business Blogs
Article Marketing Blog
SEO Service Provider Blog
Business Blogging