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BMI: Tuesday Marketing Notes (Number 183—July 21st, 2009)

 

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How to Write a Better Title in Ten Minutes

by Michele Linn, Linn Communications

Arguably, titles are one of the most important elements of your white papers, ebooks, articles, blog posts, webcasts and any other B2B content. Like everything you do, you need to think about the title from the perspective of your reader. In the words of Rebel Brown, “It’s not about you anymore.”

When deciding on a title, there are two things you need to think about: 1) What makes a title stand out, and 2) How will your reader be searching for your content.

Create Titles that Stand Out

There are lots of tips on titles, but these are my favorites . . .

Include search terms: If there is only one tip to take away from this, I would strongly suggest that your title include search terms your ideal reader is searching for. The most common way for readers to look for information is through search engines; RSS feeds (such as news alerts) are also very popular. If you don’t have the right keywords in your title, it simply won’t get picked up.

For a previous article I wrote for Tuesday Marketing Notes, I suggested that your search terms be aligned with where your content is targeted in the buying cycle, and I think this bears repeating here.

In general, earlier in the buying cycle, prospects may be searching for a pain or very general terms if they don’t know your particular solution exists. However, the more advanced they are in the buying cycle, they will likely be searching on more specific terms. Your title needs to reflect this.

Here’s the example I used: if you have an issue managing your leads, you may not know where to begin. You may search for phrases like lead generation and lead management. As you do more research you will likely start searching on more specific terms such as lead nurturing, lead scoring and marketing automation, terms that you may not have been familiar with when you initially started your search.

Use a number in the title: This is a very common approach, but it is really effective. Readers love lists of all kinds, and they’re easy to skim.

Don’t include your company or solution name: The last thing you want to include in your title is your product name. Product name equals sales pitch, which will make most readers shy away from your content.

Focus on benefits: Instead of including your product name, focus on what your reader cares about. What will the reader learn? What pains are you addressing? Get to the heart of the matter and put that in the title.

Be educational: Readers love to learn, so if appropriate, consider titles that include phrases such as “How to” or a “Guide to”. This immediately makes the content seem less sale-focused (although, of course, make sure your content isn’t a sales pitch in disguise).

Avoid gobbledygook: You only have about 5 – 10 words to create an affinity with your readers, so you need to choose these carefully. Using overused words that don’t mean much won’t get you anywhere. I love this list of the top 325 gobbledygook words for 2008 from Dow Jones and David Meerman Scott.

Consider a two-part title: If you want to be clever and catchy yet still informative, consider the two-part title, separated by a colon.

Include the ideal reader’s title: Another way to create a connection with the reader is to use their job description in the title. For instance, I’ll be immediately be drawn to something that is a guide for B2B marketers.

I also suggest doing this when you are promoting your content via a pay-per-click program. You want the title of your piece to be as specific as possible, so you get the most qualified leads for your expenditure. By calling out the title of the person you want to read something should help you capture the interest of the people you are going after.

Consider calling it something else: You don’t need to stick to these rigid guidelines when it comes to naming something. For instance, if you have a white paper, consider calling it an executive summary or research report.

Be catchy: Clever titles can work in some instances, but they can also be a turnoff if they look like marketing. Know your audience: if they are more technical or if they like a straightforward approach, you’ll be better off with a more conventional title.

Test your titles with your ideal reader. If you have an important piece of content, consider running some titles by people who will be reading it. You could be surprised at what they like best.

Think About How Your Reader is Searching for Information

There are a lot of general ideas to make your titles stronger, but you also need to think about how your reader is coming across your content, and create your titles with these things in mind. Here are a few examples of how your titles may differ based on how you are planning to promote something.

Website resources section: If your content is included as part of a list, it needs to jump out when a reader is skimming the page. Catchy is key: use numbers and/or try to be clever.

Twitter: If you are planning to use Twitter to spread your content, make sure your title is short (preferably 100 characters or fewer) so it can easily be retweeted. Also think about what terms your reader is searching on and use those in your title as many people receive information based on key terms. Alternatively, use hashtags (i.e. #marketing) when you send out your tweet, but realize that many people won’t go to this effort.

Content syndicators (such as TechTarget): There are a few ways that content syndicators promote white papers and webcasts. People often perform searches on key terms, so you need to make sure the key terms are included. In addition, content is listed on a site in a list, so you want your title to pop out.

All tips don’t apply to all titles, but it’s good to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. If you were them and you read your title, would you be compelled to keep reading?


Michele Linn (http://www.linncommunications.com/) is a freelance marketing writer specializing in white papers, research reports, feature articles, case studies, and other B2B communications. Her business is devoted to making the job of B2B marketers easier by producing buyer-focused content and providing insights on how they can market it. She is also a founding member and frequent contributor to the Savvy B2B Marketing blog (http://savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog). Send her an e-mail (michele@linncommunications.com) or follow her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/michelelinn)







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