Tantalizing Up Your Blog Titles

“Kick-ass” isn’t an expression you’re likely to find in a Say It For You piece of writing. Still, since Hubspot.com invariably offers advice that’s valuable for blog content writers, I wanted to share with my own readers Hubspot’s formula for “writing kick-ass blog titles”.

Stay accurate. “Accuracy is critical when trying to finesse a title.  Why? It sets clear expectations for your readers….It’s best to under promise and over deliver,” Hubspot cautions.

One of the compromises I suggest to newbie content writers is to use a combination of a “Huh?” to get attention and then an “Oh!” subtitle to make clear what the post is actually going to be about.

Use alliteration. “It’s a device that makes something a little lovelier to read,” Hubspot explains.

An example I used in a corporate blogging training session is this: Say you’re writing about a hair salon in Carmel.  Look for descriptive words beginning with C, such as “Captivating Curl in Carmel“.

Use strong language. “Strong phrases (and quite frankly, negative ones) pack quite a punch,” Hubspot points out, warning at the same time that these must be used in moderation.

In the area of “kick-ass” language, I tend to come down on the side of moderation. Business blogging is one way we have of “talking about ourselves”.  And, whether it’s the business owner or professional practitioner herself doing the writing, or whether we professional blog content writers have been hired to do the job for them, we need to make sure we ”talk” in ways that give readers the right impression.

Make the value clear. “Presenting the format to a reader helps make your content a little sexier”, says Hubspot, meaning telling readers the format (infographic, Ebook, ‘a simple formula’, etc.

Hubspot importantly concludes: “All of this hinges on understanding your core buyer persona. You need to find language that resonates with them, and know what they find valuable.”

In other words, it’s great to tantalize up our blog titles, but we blog content writers need to know what our own readers are likely to find engaging, as opposed to off-putting.