Are you an individual who knows the power of blogging, but find it challenging to go from thinking to writing? Or a company or nonprofit full of subject matter experts, but can’t get them to write for you?
Want to know the secret to a steady stream of content for your blog? Well, this might be the answer to all your worries:
Write your blog post titles in advance.
You/your writer(s) could do this yourself for a small blog, but for a large multi-author blog, I’d recommend you have a dedicated “Title Guy/Girl” aka “Director of Blog Post Idea and Title Generation”. In other words, assign one person to the task of coming up with a ton of great article ideas and titles and sharing them with your writers.
Why You Need to Write Your Blog Post Titles in Advance
Write your own blog? Now you’ll have a list of inspiring titles ready to go!
Have a multi-author blog? Tell your writers what to write and they’ll be more productive.
Not convinced yet?
Here are two incredibly important reasons why you should give your blog writers titles in advance:
- Many writers struggle with not knowing what to write about
- could be writer’s block
- your blog categories may seem too broad
- they’re confused on what’s allowed
- should they write about themselves, your company, your product, other people
- The title is unbelievably important for getting people to read and share the articles
Cure Writer’s Block
If you give a subject matter expert a list of great sounding titles, at the least, they’ll appreciate the time-saving suggestions, and at best be instantly inspired by the possibilities and flooded with ideas.
For example, I volunteer for a non-profit who got dozens of their volunteers to agree write but not a single one sent in an article in 6 months. Why? Probably these issues under #1 above were leaving them without the clarity to get started. One writer told me “I would have acted on it a long time ago if they’d have given me something to work on.”
Confusion stops people in their tracks. Clarity generates action.
Get Killer Titles!
Writing titles is a skill upon itself. Not every writer is great at coming up with catchy and engaging titles. Yet, it of such utmost importance that it cannot be overlooked. I’ve heard it said that on average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. So without a good title you might as well not even write the post.
BONUS: Improve your Search Engine Rankings
Furthermore, having a great title makes it MUCH more likely that people will want to share your blog post with their friends. Social media shares bring you traffic and help your search engine rankings.
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Have any other title generation strategies? Please leave them in a comment below.
