V11.8: How To Value PR and Thought Leadership

It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about growth hacking so we figured today’s the perfect day. You show me a person who doesn’t want more traffic to their blog and I’ll show you a liar. EVERYONE wants more blog traffic. And it is a rather difficult task, especially if you are new to the whole blogging/social media world.

So, because you read our last blog on growth hacking (find it here if you’ve forgotten), you already know the basics and some great strategies as well.

Let’s turn to something else equally important, shall we? Something like 8/10 people read the headline, while significantly less read the actually blog post. You can write your little heart out and produce the world’s best blog, but without a great title, no one will read it. Part of growth hacking is knowing how to optimize each individual part of your content. Make sure your headlines are helping and not hurting your posts.

Danavir Sarria writes with Grownandconvert.com “The 3-Step Bulletproof Formula To Writing Kickass Blog Post Headlines.” Sounds pretty intriguing, does it not? He reminds us that it is not enough to have good content writing abilities. You have to be able to write– in a short and catchy title– with the hopes of selling the blog to potential readers.

The secret to success, he says, comes from two things: benefit and curiosity. Sounds simple enough… We just need to craft our headlines with the hopes of enticing readers with something they’re actually interested in. Peak their curiosity so that they WANT to keep reading.

There are many ways to write a good headline– it all depends are your own particular style (and the style your audience responds to). Here are a couple tactics you can try:

1. Specificity- Tell them what they’re going to get with the post. Give them specifics– as in, “5 Steps to International Social Media Success.” They know what they’re going to get with the content and will want to read on because they hope to learn those practices.
2. Shock and Awe- Some people respond well to the shock factor. Write a headline that shocks someone into reading more. Make them think!

3. Strong Action Words- This is always a great tactic– one that can be applied to others as well. What sounds better “Makeup Tricks for Beginners” or “Amazingly Simple Makeup Tricks for Up and Coming Beginners”– the second, right? Those strong words draw you in.

4. Drawing Inspiration- It never hurts to look at other blog headlines from popular sources. They know what works and what doesn’t. They’ve been around the block a few times and can help. Look at the types of phrasing they use and how people respond to it.

So, what do you think? Can you handle the pressure? We think so! Just remember these simple tips and let your creativity speak volumes.