“Yet nothing in the marketing mix is more important than a strong title.” —Michael Hyatt
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Hurray! Hurray! This post is the 100th I’ve written. Because I have guests on my blog, I’ve published more than 100 posts, but this is a milestone for me!
I looked back at my early posts. Five posts did well at the time of publishing and continued to be viewed more often than others over the past couple of years.
Tweetable
I believe the titles made these blog posts popular over time. Click to tweet.
5 Reasons I Don’t Care I Lost Money Self-Publishing(Blog #14)
Many in my audience are writers. They’ve probably considered self-publishing.
4 Crucial Elements That Make Your Audience Talk Up Your Creative Work(Blog #24)
Who wouldn’t want more people talking up their work?
4 Ways to Free Yourself from Procrastination in Your Creative Endeavors(Blog #27)
Who wouldn’t want to be free from evil procrastination?
4 Choices That Improve Your Perseverance(Blog #25)
Perseverance is a coveted commodity.
2 Tips to Pump Up Your Flat Characters in Your Story (Blog #28)
My Son’s just purchased 1970 Chevelle
Actually, the tag, Chevelle, that I included on this post, boosted this one to the all-time high number of views.
For over a year, this post received weekly views and spurred several emails from Chevelle-loving men. One wanted to buy our junked Winnebego mentioned in the content.
Including a word repeated often in the content (Chevelle) in my tags, showed SEO works.
Note Two Important Characteristics:
- All titles have a number in them. Number of reasons, elements, ways, choices, and tips. In addition to “How to,” giving the number of items is particularly effective.
- All titles told what benefits people would receive from the content. (4 directly; 1 indirectly) This is a must.
Tweetable
Work as hard on your post title as you do your content. Click to tweet.
Join me in celebrating Blog #100. What is the title of the most popular blog post you wrote and published? (Please no guest blogs whose titles’ effectiveness are masked by the promotion efforts of your guests.)
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Congratulations! (P2) Perseverance Paying off
Thank you, Marcia. I can’t believe I was able to come up with that many ideas – good or bad. :0)
CONGRATS, Zoe!!! I remember when you started blogging so I’m really happy dancing for you!! Well done! =] I’m looking forward to the next 100 too! =]
Zoe, I’ve heard this many times and although I KNOW it to be true, I discovered just how true it is when I scrolled back through my close to 1000 blog posts so I could answer your question. I’m stunned. Honestly. Here’s why…
One of my top posts is “How to Avoid Showing Favoritism.” It’s part of my study on James and it’s received close to 3k hits. That’s 2500% greater than the posts in that same time period and 550% greater than the other posts in that same series. That particular post title is phrased differently than the others.
Another top post is “How to Put Text on a Picture Using Picasa” -part of my blogging tips and tricks series. That post has received 7k hits.
Analyzing the other post titles in those series I see how I could have rephrased them to make them more effective. Much more effective.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Wow! To your confirmation, Patty. And double wow to your number of blogs and hits! I hope other readers will read your comment and get blessed.
Interesting observations, Zoe. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Rick. Nice to meet you yesterday on Anne’s marketing chat.
Congratulations,Zoe!!! That is a notable achievement and your blogs just keep getting better and better (Meaning from good to extra good).
I’m not sure how reliable the site stats are, but it appears my most read one is Old Age is Not For Sissies.
Hi Jane. Your title makes me think, “I’ve made it this far, I must have some mettle in me. I wonder if Jane’s content will give me some pointers to keep going.”
Hi Zoe,
My top post was “Saturday Spiritual Uplift – More Advent Thoughts.” It was a post about God sending angels to the lowly shepherds at the time of Jesus’ birth. It surprises me,
because I’ve had other posts with snappier titles. Congratulations on your milestone
of 100 posts!
How wonderful that readers were attracted to that post, Kathy
Congratulations! I’m so glad I stopped by. I’ll definitely work on your suggestions.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks, Jackie. I’m going to work on them too!
I recently heard blog expert Sheila Wray say that content is king, graphics are queen, and numbers are golden. This post reinforced that approach. I don’t think I’ve ever used numbers in a title but I plan to! Thanks, Zoe.
It’s good to see others confirm the use of numbers, Johnnie. I guess people like to think they will get a list of tips, steps, reasons, etc.
I’m going to check out those older posts. I’m a fairly new reader here. 🙂 Thanks for the great tips.
Susan, they are oldies. Let’s hope they’re goodies for you. :0)
Zoe, my husband I recently arrived home from camping at Fort Mountain, in Georgia. Instead of being “renewed”, I’ve come home in a panic. Self-promotion is my big downfall, I’m struggling with the whole idea. I know I have to step up to the plate and do better. Time is ticking away. But after reading through your suggestions, etc., I’ve got some ideas. I have a title in mind–“One Way to Collect Unwanted Stares”. I must start with the number one. Ha.
Hurray for getting some ideas, Karen. I know your feeling. I’m praying more, staying organized, and doing one thing at a time. I’m so much better. Oh, yes, and breathing. Cute title.