How to Sabotage Your Business Blog Article…
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With a Bad Title in 4 Easy Steps!
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An original Business blog article by Yonatan Maisel exclusively at JobShuk
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"Self-Sabotage" (my definition) (verb): Cock pistol. Aim towards foot. Pull trigger. Shriek in pain! Pick up phone. Call ambulance!
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A BUSINESS BLOG is the #1 way to market a business. It’s is a highly-effective and free form of advertising. I am now at the point where 80% of my new clients contact me as a direct result of having read one or more of my posts. IT WORKS!
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Yet, as I have found out through my own experience and from having read the posts of others, there are several ways in which a title can (pardon my language), FUCK-up an otherwise great article.
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A bad title can in many ways ensure that a great article has very little chance of being read. And, as we shall see, it can effect the "Twitter-ability" of a post as well.
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So here, without further adieu, are…
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GREAT ways to sabotage a business blog post:
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1) "Been there, seen that, done that!" A relevant and timely example: Social Media is all the rage in business blogs. Many great articles have been written and many more are waiting to be written. It could very well be the next mega-hit article for you and your business.
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But go ahead and give it the following title: "5 Ways to Use Social Media to Improve Your Business." Whether 5 ways, 10 ways or 20 ways, this title has been used literally tens-of-thousands of times. It is old. It is tired. People are weary of seeing it. It no longer opens eyes and makes people want to click through. It is sabotage. Jazz up the title to increase your hit-count and ROI!
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2) B-O-R-I-N-G! Yup, consider it a continuation of point #1. There are hundreds-of-thousands of great business blogs out there, each one vying for readership. Want yours read? You BETTER spice up the title! A small dose of C-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y goes a long way! Your article might contain fantastic content, great tips and wonderful advice, but a boring title is a great way to make sure it won’t be read!
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3) Stating the Obvious! For the sake of continuity, let’s stay with Social Media. Give this title a try: "Social Media is GREAT for Your Business!"
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Well, pardon my language again: "NO SHIT!" Don’t be surprised if your prospective reader mumbles to him or herself, "I already know that Dick Tracy!" Stating the obvious in a title gives a reader who already knows the obvious that you have stated a GREAT reason to skip the article. When you are "preaching to the choir," expect the choir to not pay attention!
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4) Apostrophes and Other Punctuation Marks. This is one I have been guilty of. Apostrophes might seem like a good way of highlighting or stressing something in your article title. It is a great way…unless you want to utilize Twitter Tweets and Re-Tweets to pass your article along.
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Try this article title:
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The "Hitch Hikers" Guide to Social Media!
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Catchy title? Yes, but on Twitter, your Tweets and Re-Tweets will look something like this:
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The &Apos. itch Hikers&Apos. uide to Social Media!
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Not the best way to give it readability on Twitter!
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Here are a few of the punctuation marks you will discover that Twitter does not like: ("), (‘), (;) (&).
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Blogging for Business is…
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ULTRA-Competitive!
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One way to increase the chances…
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That your posts will be read…
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Is with effective TITLES!
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Image Credits: Shooting Self in Foot: http://www.2.bp.blogspot.com/; Bullet: www.aa-ok.com/; Blog: www.manuinfosolutions.com
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Yonatan Maisel is a Business blogger, history buff and author. He specializes in all aspects of Business writing.
From speeches to resumes, from corporate bios to research, from blogging to website content, from articles to ghost-writing, he provides the highest level of quality at a very reasonable price.
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Rebecca,
Books, magazine and newspaper articles are all great examples. Obviously they must be filled with great content, but without a dynamic headline, that great content may never be read.
Yoni
Shoshana,
You make a great point. A title that screams Read-me! is one which increases the odds that people will in fact read. And since readership is the goal of all blogs, it seems like a no-brainer!
Yoni
Braden,
My outlandish titles emenate from the fact that I am a bit crazy. I suppose also that being a literary writer factors into it as well.
Thanks for reading!
Yoni
Heidi,
Thanks!
And thanks for reading!
Yoni
Benjamin,
As always, thanks for your feedback, opinions and for taking the time to read!
Yoni
Ollie,
Thanks for the thumbs-up. I’m pleased you found the information useful!
Yoni
Braden,
Shosh is right. There are articles that yell READ-ME and there are others which seem to say “I don’t really care if your read me.”
It’s about selling and marketing an article and making it appealling enough for readers to click through.
Yoni
Hamed,
You are indeed correct. When you take into account that income can be gained by a successful blog, having it read increases in importance. It then becomes crucial to give a title that will maximize the chances that people will be attracted enough to click.
Peace,
Yoni
Ronika,
Certainly not the master; I just have a rather weird side to me, part of which comes from being a literary writer.
The analogy I think of when I think of titles is that punk-rocker you and I see every once in a while in a crowd of people. He’s got a big green Mohawk hairdo, black leather coat and a collar around his neck with spikes. You might not like him or relate to him if you meet him, but you are compelled to look. A title I feel is the same, capturing peoples’ attention and making them curious enough to look further.
Thanks for reading!
Yoni