Creative blog titles spring from good copywriting, and good copywriting springs from understanding problems and solutions
Potential clients’ pain points are the problems, and the benefits of your product or service are the solutions.
This isn’t new stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but the methods by which the dynamic plays out keep evolving.
Today’s best creative blog titles share DNA with the signs in general store windows, the language of the classified listings, political campaign literature and TV commercials, Google ads, and product descriptions in the SkyMall catalog. OK, maybe that last one isn’t the best example, but you get my point.
They’re designed to draw in targeted consumers, to be the singer who seems to be singing to you.
Like many in our line of work, we at BuzzFarmers are big admirers of Seth Godin, and much of his approach is based on the assertion that marketers in the 21st century, despite the proliferation of tactics and technology at their disposal, are facing a tougher challenge than their predecessors. We see at least three reasons for this – let’s examine how they affect creative blog titles.
1. The Fragmentation of Audience
Whereas audiences were once monolithic and captive – say, as TV viewers and daily newspaper subscribers – they’re now nomadic and scattered. They hopscotch from site to site, are as likely to ride the wave of social media momentum as to visit the same sites every day.
2. A Non-Negotiable Demand for Authenticity
The classic bait and switch of yesteryear will get you blackballed in short order online. Consumers are savvier than ever and don’t suffer fools and gladly. Fools in this scenario are snake oil salesmen. If a company’s using underhanded methods and making promises they can’t keep, they’ll be blackballed in short order.
3. A Tenuous Grip on Attention
The attention span of consumers using search and social online is so minuscule that the term elevator pitch no longer cuts it, unless the elevator is that wacked-out one in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Just 20 years ago, readers, viewers, and other visitors would give you the benefit of the doubt and stick with you because they had nothing else to read or view. Now, forget it: Their options are all but infinite, and you’re lucky if you get 30 seconds.
So, how can you kick down these doors and turn these obstacles into strengths with creative blog titles?
1. Collect Those Fragments
Use all of the channels you can to track consumers down and attract them. Leave no stone unturned. Today, you have to engage readers on their own turf and play by their rules until – and even after – you earn their trust. Ultimately, the best posts are the ones that relinquish control to their readers, particularly in social media.
In other words, once consumers start retweeting and sharing your content, you’re getting more than clicks – you’re getting a real feel for what’s working and what’s not.
Most crucially, when they’re writing their own headlines and paraphrasing key points to connect with their friends and followers, you’ll see evidence of how they interpret your messaging.
2. Be Authentic
This one’s a no-brainer. You get one chance with benefit-driven copy: Don’t blow it with hyperbole and telling people what they want to hear without backing it up. It’s not about what you’ve done, but rather what you can do for potential clients.
Remember: It’s always better to over-deliver than to over-promise. Again, you want more than clicks – you want to build a relationship that leads to sales.
3. Be Compelling From Word One
We use CoSchedule for our Buzzfarmer blog social efforts, and a quick check of some raw analytics shows that our best-performing posts deploy terms like “How to” and “Guide.” One big element of our strategy is to meld customer personas and audience targeting with diligently researched SEO.
Another goal for us is to include “power” words in our creative blog titles. These are typically verbs, but can also be adjectives. With this post, we went with “overcome,” because it sets a positive tone while addressing the fact that folks like you who’re reading this have a problem in need of a solution – you control your own destiny.
Check out our recent post on SEO headlines for more on criteria to consider in crafting high-caliber creative blog titles.
Creative blog titles are built on benefit-driven copy, but they have to be rooted in reality. Use strong language to set the scope of your posts: content that can help your audience solve their problems – not content that can perform miracles.
Can creative blog titles give your original content campaign a better chance of connecting with potential clients? Let us know what you think in the comments!
