One Simple Template for Crafting Great Titles

One Simple Template for Crafting Great Titles

You know that blog post titles have to grab attention — but how exactly do you go about that, especially when you’ve got the rest of the post to write?

Here’s one way to craft a great title in a hurry:

#1: Use a Number

List posts are popular for a reason: we’re intrigued by numbers. Putting a number in your title helps tell the reader that your post will be valuable. The exact number isn’t too important — but big numbers (think 25 or more) are great for social media attention.

Don’t forget that “one” is a number, too!

#2: Be Clear What You’re Offering

Your post could use any of the following:

Tips
Ways
Methods
Steps
Templates
Rules
Secrets

…and more. What sort of advice are you giving? (“Steps” would be appropriate for a how-to post, for instance.) Which word will be most powerful for your audience?

#3: Add Adjectives

An adjective is a word that modifies another word. You’ll see them cropping up time and time again in titles.

Adjectives can promise:

High-quality advice: great, expert, clever, fantastic, brilliant, top
Practical advice: simple, easy, handy, straight-forward, no-nonsense
New knowledge: little-known, surprising

Be sensitive to your audience here, though. Some readers will be hooked by adjectives like “ultimate” or “astounding” — others will just laugh.

#4: Explain What They’ll Learn or Do

As a general rule, we read blog posts because we expect some benefit: usually, we want to learn or do something. (Even if “doing something” just means being entertained.)

Make a clear statement about what your readers will be able to learn or do. For instance: