5/18/2010
Write Blog Post Titles with Your Target Audience in Mind
The title is arguably the most important content element of a blog post. A good title grabs the attention of readers and if optimized properly, grabs the attention of Google as well. The question is, what is “good”?
I’m writing a blog post for a client about their new, energy efficient forklift truck. Which title is good?
- Save Money with the New XYZ Forklift
- Reduce Energy Consumption with the New XYZ Forklift
- Decrease Energy Consumption 15% with the New XYZ Forklift
- Go Green with the New XYZ Forklift
Which title is good? Answer: The one that speaks most strongly to the target audience.
If I’m trying to reach high level management, I want to bottom-line my title. Number 1 is the right choice.
If I’m trying to reach operations or engineering, numbers 2 and 3 make more sense. People in these areas tend to be fact and detail oriented. Pardon the contradiction in terms, but a fluffy title will go over like a lead balloon.
If I’m trying to reach the leader of a corporate sustainable initiative, 2 and 4 fit best. People here aren’t primarily concerned with saving money, so 1 is out. Number 3 has too much detail.
A lot of virtual ink is spilled on the topic of title writing techniques. Some bloggers like nuts and bolts, informational titles. Others prefer highly stylized, provocative titles. But whichever way you go, start with your audience. Be relevant to your audience in terms of content and style. Do the people you’re writing for read Cosmopolitan or The Wall Street Journal?
The title Steam Up Your Bedroom with the XYZ Forklift might attract a wide audience – but will it be the right audience? If you’re selling lingerie, will a title like Our Products Improve Nonverbal Communication get the job done? No and no.
Audience Factors to Consider when Writing Blog Post Headlines
Industry. How do people in the industry normally talk? Is communication formal, informal, technical, irreverent, or what? If you want to be perceived as an insider, as someone in the know, talk like one.
Organizational Role. We talked about this earlier – are your target readers managers, staffers, or consumers? Depending on their role, people have markedly different interests and respond to varying levels of detail.
Familiarity with Topic. If everyone knows what you’re writing about, you can be effectively vague. 10 Benefits of XYZ Forklifts is a passable title in that everyone knows what a forklift is. However, 10 Benefits of the Rhomboid Interface won’t do. For unfamiliar topics, the title had better describe something the reader will understand.
A Final Title Writing Tip
The last point suggests a useful technique – combining the familiar with the unfamiliar. 10 Benefits of the Forklift Rhomboid Interface is a potential winner. If someone in the forklift industry sees this title and doesn’t know what the rhomboid interface is, you’d better believe he or she will want to find out. (It’ll take a while – I made it up.)
Over to You
How carefully do you consider your audience when writing blog post titles? What techniques have worked well for you?
20 Responses to Write Blog Post Titles with Your Target Audience in Mind
Well, ya gotta admit, that “steam up your bedroom” headline will probably earn you the front page on DIGG! But you make an excellent point as always, Brad. A manifestation of the “begin with the end in mind” rule.
.-= Robert Hruzek’s last blog ..Signs of Life =-.
Robert, Excellent point: writing is easiest when you know how the story ends. Does that apply to fiction as well as business writing?
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
Relevance is key to happy readers. Although if you were writing pages for a corporate site I imagine each of those headlines would make sense with an appropriately targeted article attached.
.-= Fred H Schlegel’s last blog ..What are you selling? =-.
Hi Fred, In that situation, you could use all the titles, making three of them subheads.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
Do you feel keeping it as a single longer article with subheads would be more effective than smaller individual articles from a search perspective? I like the efficiency and informativeness of longer articles but I get the feeling that search prefers the closer match even though the information isn’t as deep. (I actually got depressed writing that…) Of course this assumes that search is playing into the equation of this particular scenario.
.-= Fred H Schlegel’s last blog ..What are you selling? =-.
Fred, Good question. Google is looking to match up searches with the most relevant content. So if you have a narrow topic that matches up with a narrow search, that’s a good thing. On the other hand, a longer article with more depth may attract more links, making that article more authoritative in the eyes of Google. Best approach is to write high quality content that goes into reasonable depth on all the terms you’re targeting in that article – it may take one or several articles to adequately cover all your search terms.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
In addition to relevance, I think finding the right title is easier when you think about the audience’s “pain point.” True, some subjects might be relevant, but do they solve a pressing problem or fill a need?
(BTW – Love the Steam Up Your Bedroom with the XYZ Forklift title. How did you come up with that? Maybe I don’t want to know!)
Heidi, Very true! Titles that promise to take away pain are as close to a sure thing as you can get. I wasn’t thinking in that direction on this post, but something like Turn Red Ink into Black Ink with the XYZ Forklift could be effective on that score – do you think? As for the sexy forklifts, that’s from my last-ditch-effort folder for brands in real trouble. But hey, maybe it would make a good movie …
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
There are many elements that you need to consider for your blog post title’s. The title needs to be able to draw in the reader, yet informative, to the point and at the same time reaching the target audience. This is why ‘Steam Up Your Bedroom with the XYZ Forklift’ doesn’t work as it is giving out the wrong information. It does however draw in the reader. Already, 2 of the above comments talk about this heading rather then the others mentioned. Maybe there is a way to combine this quirky title with one that is more relevant.
.-= Mandeep Khunkhuna’s last blog ..JQuery No Conflicts in your Web Design =-.
Mandeep, There’s always a way to mix elements into a provocative title. The problem is, it takes a lot of time. For important posts, it’s worth the time, but if you’ve got an aggressive blog schedule and lots of other work to do, titles tend to suffer.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
Brad, this is great advice and I often find myself struggling between search, creativity and relevance with blog posts and press releases. If I am having a true battle, I always opt for simple, clear titles that describe what the release or article is about. When it comes to contributed articles I don’t seem to struggle at all. Titles is one area where I am always looking to improve. Thanks for the extra guidance!
.-= Karen Swim’s last blog ..4 Lessons from a 4 Year Old on Communication =-.
Karen, I’m with you. I think the safe assumption is that business readers are in a hurry and appreciate it when you get to the point. For press releases this seems to be especially true. For blogs, a technique I picked up several months ago is to publish with a catchy title to attract readers, and then replace it with an optimized title later to capture search engine traffic. This way, you can have your cake and eat it too!
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Simple Sentences – How to Eliminate Semicolons, Part 1 =-.
Brad, I remember you sharing that tip in a previous post, do you remember the title of the post? I’d like to read it again! Changing the title after publication does not impact search results?
.-= Karen Swim’s last blog ..4 Lessons from a 4 Year Old on Communication =-.
Karen, I looked through the archives – can’t find it. It might have been in a comment. At any rate, changing the title tag could change the rankings for the post, but the idea is to insert a tag later that hits the keywords you want to rank for.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook =-.
Hi Brad,
As a blogger who blogs about blogging, I end up mixing it up. On some posts the titles are straight forward, but others I have fun with. The catchy titles do appear to get my readers attention, but the straight forward ones often evoke a great discussion and draw in new readers.
.-= Barbara Swafford’s last blog ..Blog Badges – Beneficial Or A Waste Of Space? =-.
Barbara, Mixing it up sounds like a healthy approach. Do yo notice any difference in terms of readers? Do your informational titles draw more new readers, or is it the other way around? I imagine that might be tough to answer, but it would be interesting to know …
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook =-.
Thanks, Brad. Excellent discussion points building on your useful post. I like headlines to be highly relevant and also sound like they came from me.
As readers get to know me, I want them to feel that the posts and titles sound like something Robin would say/write. This is part of my brand strategy – the ever sought after balance between relevance and differentiation.
For example:
* Lift your profits through the ceiling with the New XYZ Forklift
* Need a big raise? Get the New XYZ Forklift
Best, Robin
.-= Robin Dickinson’s last blog ..The most valuable community on the planet =-.
Robin, Post titles as branding opportunities – brilliant. Thank you for this great insight. We may not have solved all the title problems out there, but this discussion has definitely been a big plus for the forklift industry!
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook =-.
I know your right. But I am lousy at it! I always go for the goofy creative headline. I can’t help it. I guess it’s the creative writer in me. It’s so boring! I’ve read your SEO tips and others. I know I’m not doing it right. I know I’m never going to get any hits with my titles. I just hold on to the hope that others will find me in other ways. Actually, I have tried it the other way, and it’s not as easy as it sounds. Finding just those right words to grab the reader’s attention. And, as Karen Swim stated in a recent blog post, I’m one of those awful hit and run marketers who tries it once or twice, decides it doesn’t really work and goes back to my old ways. So, keep drilling it in and one day, maybe, just maybe, you will get through this thick skull of mine.
Debbie, Don’t be so hard on yourself! Not everyone’s blogging goals are the same. If you’re comfortable with the size and quality of your blogging community, you shouldn’t beat yourself up because of SEO performance. It’s good that you realize SEO is not an overnight proposition. It does take time – and there’s a lot more involved than titles. Save this post for a rainy day. You can always re-tool posts for SEO once the luster of your original titles have faded.