Question: What is the most important element of a blog post?

Here are your multiple choice answers. Choose wisely.

a) Clear, easy to follow writing.

b) An interesting topic.

c) The absence of spelling and grammatical errors.

d) An effective title.

e) All of the above.

Ok, 'all of the above' is obviously a no-brainer. But in order to get someone to even open your blog post in the first place, there needs to be an effective, compelling, attention-grabbing title!

Before readers even get to your website blog, the title needs to get attention through search engines, social media sharing websites like twitter, and email newsletters.

When readers arrive at your website they'll usually see a list of blog titles and it's at that point they will scan-read and make a snap decision as to whether clicking and reading further is worth their time. If you don't write an effective title for your blog post, your chances of the post being read are minimal!

So to help you grow your blog readership we present 7 proven tactics for effective blog titles.

1. The numbers game blog titles

People have limited time. They may indeed be interested in your blog post but they want to know that it's not going to take a great slab of their time to read it, and deliver on their expectations. Including a number improves confidence that the blog post will deliver the information in the title. It also indicates that a blog post has been broken up into short, digestible chunks for easy scanning and readability.

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2. How to blog titles

We all love to be told how to do something. We want guidance and we want it all laid out neatly for us. 

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3. Punchy words for blog titles

Exciting, attention-grabbing words instantly increase the appeal of a blog post title. They can give a feeling of immediacy like "right now" or "quick", add authority like "proven" or "effective", or excite, like "super" "fantastic".

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4. Controversial and inflammatory blog titles

Nothing grabs attention like controversy. Your blog post may polarise readers and that's a great thing because not only will your title compel them to click through and read it, but they'll be keen to comment too!

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5. Blog title questions

Question invite people to satisfy their curiosity, and imply the answer to the question will be in the blog post.

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6. Time related blog titles

Adding a time reference to your blog post lets people know what period the post is relevant to. This is great for annual reviews and letting people know your content is fresh and current. Of course this will lead to your content being perceived as dated faster. 

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7. Include benefits in blog titles

Readers are looking for solutions, so including benefits in your blog post titles will help draw them in.

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A few more blog title tips

Aside from the tactics above, there are other tips you should know about writing effective titles for blog posts.

• Being too cute, creative, or cryptic can dilute your readers' understanding of the topic.

• Save your puns for the opening paragraph and make the title crystal clear.

• Incorporate keywords in your blog titles and do some keyword research.

• Don't write a headline that fails to deliver on content.

To find blog title templates look at your industry blogs that depend on advertising for revenue. Magazine covers can give you great ideas on how to write effective titles for blog posts. Practise makes perfect so keep writing and keep experimenting with titles for your business blog!