Five times as many people read headlines as read the body copy, "Father of Advertising" David Ogilby taught. Blogger and book reviewer Brad Shaw tests headlines against three Ogilby to-do's:
- The headline promises the reader a benefit
- The headline contains news
- The headline is conversational
Business bloggers can take all three of these tips from the Master to heart. In fact, headlines may prove even more important for blogs than for ads. Blog headlines help capture the interest not only of online searchers, but of internet "web crawlers" as well (a compelling reason to make blog headlines key-word rich).
Here are some ways I can think of for using the three Ogilby to-do's in blog post titles:
PROMISE A BENEFIT
a) More and better - more miles per gallon, better health, more glamour, more time saved, more comfort, more money.
b) Less of something undesirable - less pain, less cost, less waste, less hassle.
NEWS
a) News of a new product, an improvement on an existing one, a new way to use the product, a new strategy.
b) Recognition of your company in a trade journal or newspaper, an award or honor, a new customer testimonial.
CONVERSATIONAL
a) Asking a question: "Do you…?" "Have you ever……?" "Where can you……?" "Why would you……?"
b) Reassurances: "It's OK to……" "Everyone likes……….."
In talking about advertising great David Ogilby in one of my earlier Say It For You blog posts, I mentioned his five-point acid tests for ads. When it comes to blogging for business, headline acid test #4 is the one I think is paramount: Does it fit the strategy to perfection?
While of course headlines have to make searchers want to learn more of what you have to say, we business bloggers must remember: a blog is only one tactic in an overall marketing strategy, and everything about each blog post, including the headline, needs to be consistent with the "voice" you want your company to project.
Composed with that broader context in mind, that times-five effect of blog headlines will bring benefits not only to the readers, but to the business' bottom line!
Fastened low on the wall near the door of the restaurant was a metal thing-a-ma-gig with coloring sheet handouts for kids to color. That day's handout had an outlined picture of a snowman talking with some penguins. There was space on the paper to fill in the child artist's name, age, and phone number, and a pocket in which to deposit the finished work.
Between Shakespeare's Juliet asking "What's in a name?" and father-of-advertising David Ogilby's emphasis on headlines, there's simply no contest when it comes to blogging for business - titles matter! There are two basic reasons titles matter so much in blogs:
apparitions from which we professional ghost bloggers derive our name, doubts about the legitimacy of our pursuits return periodically to haunt online conversation spheres.
consultant to one of the judges, mentioned that a point was "entirely
Parents may be reassured by finding a video game rate “E” (for everyone), but that’s certainly not the best rating for business blogs. In order for blog posts to be effective as part of a business marketing plan, the content of the blog must be targeted towards a specific audience.
Talk about an "in a nutshell" summary of a big topic in a few words!
Hard to believe, but my little professional ghost-blogging company, Say It For You, is celebrating its third New Year's today!
Every holiday is a marker, however you look at it, and it's hard to resist tallying along with the toasts.
comes to blogging for business.
Presidential politics is about storytelling, says John Harris of