Blog Title Questions That Make Them Go “Hmmm…”

Browsing through the latest issue of Breathe Magazine, I couldn’t help noticing that titles that were in the form of questions were more likely to have me stop turning the pages and start reading the article. I realized that what was giving me pause is wondering of that question applied directly to my own situation.

“Addicted to Work?    Hmmm…am I?
“Are You an Empath?”     Hmmm…am I?
“Are You Playing the Victim?”      Hmmm…is that what I’ve been doing??

The tactic of using questions in titles is one I’ve often suggested to blog content writers. After all, people are online searching for answers to questions they have and solutions for dilemmas they’re facing, and often we can help searchers formulate their questions by presenting one in the blog post title itself. Sometimes the question in the title serves to arouse readers’ curiosity about which side of the issue your opinion is going to represent.

Those Breathe Magazine questions, though, seemed to be taking things to a whole new level, I thought. Sure, in a publication about mental health, readers expect the content to be more “touchy-feely”. But couldn’t that technique of using title questions to make readers stop and examine their own business practices and purchase decisions work for all business owners and professional practitioners, I wondered? Hmmm…

“The purpose of a blog post headline is to convince readers to click on the link, or to scroll down and continue reading the post. A good title grabs attention and compels your target audience to check out what you have to say,” Team Kapost of uplandsoftware.com writes, and “questions create intrigue, serving as an invitation to participate in a conversation”..

Open-ended questions help you create better content, advises Neil Patel. But, before you can successfully convert blog readers into customers, he adds, you have to know what they’re worried about. (Then, as you become aware of their problems, you can have the case studies you need to provide a better experience, Patel explains.)

The specific genius in open-ended questions that make readers go “Hmm” may lie in the fact that one thing people tend to be worried about is – themselves! The blog topic might be plumbing, or hairstyles, or sports equipment, but title questions that force readers to stop and question their own ways, feeling compelled to read what you have to reveal about them – well, those titles can be show-stoppers!.