Why Prostitutes Deserve Free Deodorant

Before I begin, I have a confession to make. This article is not going to be about hos and why they need deodorant (though I am sure it’s good for them to use it!) I got the title from a discussion on Twitter that @DominickEvans had with someone concerning the legalization (and the possible tax deductions) of prostitution. I used the title because I needed something that would grab your attention, and really, what is better able to do that than hos and deodorant?

The real topic has to do with writing a title that is going to get attention and cause people to click on/read your post. I don’t recommend going as far as I have here, but we will get into all of that in a minute. The reason I decided to talk about this today has to do with the stats on one of my smaller blogs.

My personal blog doesn’t get very many visitors/page views currently, though that is because I haven’t put enough time into it. However, the other day I wrote some posts and apparently they had the right headlines because my visitors/page views more than tripled in one day! The posts weren’t anything that I thought would get much attention. I thought some people would notice them, but I wasn’t expecting more than three times the amount of people I normally get. It’s amazing what a title can do.

Are your titles larger than life? You want something that catches a person’s eye and really convinces them to click. If you’re writing something about turtles and you name the title “The History of Turtles” that may be what the post is about, but it doesn’t guarantee someone will click unless they are looking for the history of turtles. However, if you take a fact or something interesting from your article and build the title off of that then it will catch the interest of more people.

So how do you get a reaction out of someone based on your title? Well, that depends on what you’re writing about. Here are some tips for you.

-Consider your subject matter and say something controversial. One of the articles I wrote was about Sarah Palin. I called the article “Shut Up and Go Home, Bitch.” I was frustrated with the ignorance of the self-proclaimed hockey mom and certified moron, so I showed that in my title. However, if you love Sarah Palin you might have a title singing her praises like “Africa is My Favorite Country” or “Goddesses are Just Mom’s with Hockey Sticks and Lipstick.” These are just made on the fly, but I know I’d click on them just to see what the person was talking about and comment if need be.

-Write something that You would want to read. Writing for your audience is important, but if you don’t take interest in it yourself then no one else is going to be interested either. If you’re bored writing it or reading it once you’re finished, then you’re probably on the wrong track.

-Twitterfy your title. Using Twitter teaches a person how to communicate in short sentences. You only have about a sentence or so (give or take) to say what you need to and make an impression (if you want more followers) so people try to use that space well. Do the same with your title. Grab a reader’s attention and they will likely continue reading. If they really like what you have to say, these people will not stop at just that one article!

-Explain the type of post you’ve written. If it is a question to your readers, a poll, or a rant consider labeling it as such. This gives people a better idea of what they will be reading and whether or not they want to read it (some avoid rants, for example). Some readers might see this as an honest courtesy and will cause them to look around your site even if they don’t want to read the newest article.

-Craft the article first and write the title last. This will give you the freedom to build the article/post without the title looming overhead. It will also allow you to come up with a more accurate and engaging title.

These are just some ideas for creating the perfect title. If you have some of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments.

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