Sometimes I scroll over the list of my recent posts and reread the headlines. In general, just reading the heads tells me the subject of the post.
Then there are ones like “Oops, I Did it Again (Sorry Brittany).”
What in the hell is that post about? Cleaning up spills, both in the distant past, and the day I wrote it, but how in the hell is someone supposed to garner a clue as to the topic from that headline?
That headline is more suited to an email sent to a list of subscribers with whom I’ve already developed a relationship. Readers who are familiar with my quirky sense of humour, and odd tangents.
Definitely not the headline for a cold reader, finding the page through happenstance.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the headline. It’s a curiosity generator, and curiosity generates clicks, but it’s too generic to get someone to come inside.
When I come upon these types of heads, I rewrite them, and update the post permalink. My traffic is so low, I don’t foresee losing out on traffic from non existent broken links.
It does teach a lesson or two, though.
- I need a lot of work on headline writing. Writing, and rewriting, and going back and trying to see the headline through the eyes of the reader. Trying to forget my own assumptions.
- The choice of headline is relative to the audience. A perfect headline for a warm audience might be hot garbage for a cold audience, and vice versa.
The headline is the most important part of your copy, and it’s sole job is to get the reader to click open and read the next line.
I need to spend more time writing headlines, and less time going back and rewriting them days after I publish.
