The Anatomy of a Clickable Headline: How to Write Clickworthy Titles

with NEIL VIDYARTHI

We’re going to focus on writing great titles (and content) for blogs, Facebook and Twitter

But the truth is that these lessons apply to various other types of writing: Resumes, cover letters, professional email◦ Even creative work can benefit from the ideas of

mystery and precision

The secrets to writing great titles are…

Flannery O’Connor devoted “Mystery and Manners”, to mystery in writing

Every good article, novel, screenplay, short story, dinner story must have a mystery/secret

We are wired to want to find out the answers to questions◦ So ask the reader questions he/she doesn’t

know the answer to Once you have their attention, then you can

get your message across.

A big question you should ask yourself when you post content is “would you tell your friend about this at a dinner party?”

Most people I talk to say “probably not.” and then give me a million reasons why they wouldn’t.

If you’re not writing about something you care about, your readers can tell.. And it won’t go anywhere.

So find something you care about, and if you rack your brain and can’t find a single thing in your business that you care to write about to your customers, find someone that is to do your writing◦ And you should think about what you’re doing there,

anyway

Titles are important◦ Titles are the promise of the content◦ In a fast-paced world, they need to be precise◦ They should prompt difficult questions

Content is what drives a title◦ Fulfill your promise◦ Use mystery and personality to entertain◦ Use original statistics and empirical data

Most people use social media without adjusting their content strategy◦ The age of just ‘being published’ is gone.◦ You can’t throw average content online◦ It’s time to make engaging, relevant promises

Lists & Guides◦ Lists are a promise The best ways to launch a social game The 7 best ways to launch a social game◦ You can open a relationship with the reader After which you can write more ‘artistic’ forms

People criticized lists◦ If the existing guys are making a clamor you know

you’re on to something... Not always worth pursuing but you’re actually making some difference

Guides◦ How To Learn Quora in 5 Easy Steps◦ Everything You Need To Know About Tumblr◦ The Complete Guide to Apple’s New Social Network◦ iPad for Dummies

AllFacebook’s Complete Guide To Privacy How To…◦ Solve a Problem◦ Use A Tool/Service◦ Earn Revenue Using A Tool/Service

SocialTimes for example◦ New Social Job Sites Help You Find Employment Vague, “All-Encompassing”, No Mystery◦ 5 Social Job Sites That Will Get You Hired Direct, Makes a Promise◦ “Social” And “Job Search” Finally Have 5 Things In

Common Mystery, Promise◦ 5 Secrets That Helped Me Land A Job Online Now we’ve iterated the title, and the idea Because we’re making promises

New Post: How A Tweet Turned Into An In Flight Dance Party  http://ow.ly/1sj5DY◦ Consistent

This would be the best flight ever! How A Tweet Turned Into An In Flight Dance Party  http://ow.ly/1sj5DY◦ Excitement for target readers

Have you ever danced with your plane-mates?  These 150 people did, all thanks to 1 tweet. http://ow.ly/1sj5DY◦ Conversation-piece, mystery

Planes + Tweets = Dance Party  http://ow.ly/1sj5DY◦ “Worth a click”, Mystery

Stimulate Discussion◦ Do your Facebook page posts stimulate discussion?◦ Are they just ads?

Methods◦ Ask Questions Everybody has an opinion they want to share. Respond to their questions! Try to avoid Yes or No questions

Wrong: Have you ever been addicted to Facebook? Right: Why would anyone be addicted to Facebook?

…Methods Continued◦ Make Bold, Accurate Challenges for Debate Stimulate people to think and put forth a solid

argument for one side of a debate Avoid sensationalism, as you’ll lose your sharper

readers “Reports from the ground indicate that the Egyptian

revolutions could not occur without Twitter. Do you agree?”

Tools◦ Use “Facebook Social Plugin” or other similar tools

to find out how many times your articles have been shared.

Tools◦ BackType Pro What are my most popular tweets How often are they being clicked?◦ HootSuite Multiple streams of Tweets can tell you who’s saying

what about your articles and topics Analytics for clickthrough and more.◦ Klout What “kind” of Twitter user are you? How is it being

perceived?

CopyBlogger ProBlogger Slate Cracked Salon Huffington Post New York Times Your local magazine rack

Questions?

Thanks for joining us!