Your Steemit story headline is the most important part of your blog. Here are some tips to make sure you are using headlines that get people to click on your blog.
When I said the headline is the most important part, it is. If you have a good headline people are more likely to click. If you have written the greatest blog ever, but the headline doesn't work, you won't the views. Here is how you write good headlines.
Quick background - During 2015 & 2016, I wrote 5-6 articles a day for different online publications with over 6 million total views. I have personally tested over 200 headlines and written over 1,000 articles. I can tell you, it is all about the headline.
There are two main ways to write headlines. Before you start writing and then after you finish. We will look at both, but there are a couple of rules that apply to all that we will cover too. Here we go.
Option 1: When you have finished your blog, write a good headline.
Most people write a great blog and then need to title it. You'll want to find ways tie in your content while following these three rules. This can be challenging but if you follow these simple rules whenever you can, it will work.
RULES FOR HEADLINES
1. Don't give away the farm
Fully explain what you are writing about and what the reader can expect, but don't tell them what the main point is in the headline. Example:
BAD - "Ethereum Will Continue To Drop For The Next Month" - In this headline you are telling the point of your blog, why would people click on it? They already know what it is all about and what your thoughts are. You think will go down.
GOOD - "Will Ethereum Continue To Drop Over The Next Month? - In this headline you are engaging the reader to decide if Ethereum will drop over the next month. By doing this, if they don't know the answer and are interested, they are more likely to click. If they have made up their mind, but want to offer their reasons after your advice, then you get more interaction and more views. Asking questions is a great way to get people to read and engage.
Also GOOD - I Know Where Ethereum Will Be At The End Of The Month - You are making a strong statement, saying you know something, that they may want to know.
If you are talking about a travel blog think of saying something like... The One Place You Have To Visit If You Go To Hong Kong. Make a strong statement.... look at the title of this blog... "How To Write Headlines That Make You Money On Steemt" It is a strong statement and it is one of the main reasons you clicked.
2. Know Who You Are Writing For
Know who you are talking to and don't be general. Find ways to speak directly to your specific audience and don't be boring.
BAD - "Who Likes Food?" - Sure a headline like that might work and you could get some people to click, but if they love food and you are talking about sushi, they might get mad and leave a bad comment. They won't upvote.
GOOD - "Who Likes Food Wrapped In Seaweed?" - Instantly people who like sushi will know what you are talking about and are more likely to click and engage because they are already very interested in what you are writing about. The people who don't like it will stay out, and that is ok because you will have more of the people you want to read it.
The better you "qualify" your readers with the headline, the better chance you are to get votes and replies.
3. Keywords
On Steemit, you get the tags, the headline, the picture and the first sentence to make people click. If you are writing good headlines, then they all need to be working together. It starts with the Headline. If you are going to use the Steemit tag in the first spot, then make sure that "Steemit" is in the title. If you are going to use writing, then have writing in the headline.
If you can't do it or it doesn't work and seems forced, then make sure you try to get at least one of your keywords in your headline. The reason being, when people search for certain headlines, that is exactly what they want to read about. If you are writing crypto blogs then find ways to get that word in the headline because that is already in the mind of the reader. They just clicked on it.
If you go back and look, I have Steemit in almost every title that I used the steemit tag. Why? The people that click on Steemit are trying to learn more about Steemit. If that is the case, then my blog should appeal to them. It speaks directly to the need or desire of the reader. It connects and that will help you get more clicks. It may help with SEO, but I don't care about that.
Those are the three main rules when writing headlines on Steemit. Follow those and you should be able to write more appealing headline that fit your content.
Option 2: Write the headline first (More Experienced)
I keep a notebook by my desk all day and write down headlines as I think of them. Things that if I saw, I would click on it. Or after reading a bunch of replies, seeing what kind of information people need. If you write a bunch of headlines and then pick that topic, you can then write the blog to fit the headline.
This option is especially useful to the more skilled writers that pump out a lot of content and can write to a topic, but it isn't for everyone but a skill worth working on.
I hope you found this helpful. I know this was a long one, but I really wanted to fill it with some info that can really help you. Let me know if this helpful in the comments below.
To my followers... You are amazing. The support for my tutorials has been overwhelming. Thank you.
again nice tips. i have been implementing. i recommend this wonderful blog for every steemians. i upvote & resteem your informative post.
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Dude you rock. Thank you so much for the support. It means a lot. you rock.
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Great tip as always. I have been implementing them on my posts, not all but some of them and I would have to say the best tip is to write comments on posts made by those who voted you. That works tremendously for me. I have been recommending your blog to a couple of friends who are newbies. Upvoted!
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Thank you so much @coloringiship. I really appreciate all your feedback. I will be heading over to your page to return the favor. You recommending me to your friends is a very nice complement. Thank you! You rock.
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very good advice ! Thank you for this !
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You are very welcome! Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
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Helpful as usual @walkingkeys. And a very pleasant read as well. I'll try out your tips for sure👍
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You are very welcome. Let me know if things work out when you try them and if you get more views. Thank you for reading and replying, it means a lot.
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No problemo👍
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Good advice.
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Thank you. You got a new follower. Your bio looks like you have a lot of great knowledge to share. Thanks for the reply.
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Headlines make such a big difference! Excellent post that shows some of the skills you've acquired writing 5-6 articles a day online with over 6 million total views. That's fantastic, upvoted and following you. Here's to much more success for you online and here at Steemit! Thank you for a great post.
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Thank you @judym. It is nice to meet you. I am following you as well now. I look forward to checking out your blog and learning from you as well. That is a byproduct of Steemit that is wonderful. We all learn more. lol. Thank you very much for the kind reply and the follow. You rock. Looking forward to seeing you around.
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You are so right. People judge a book by its cover.
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It is the sad truth. We have to grab attention. Thanks for reading.
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Thank you for your helpful words!
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I am so glad I can help. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and reply, you rock.
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It's always worth reading great content, continue your journey I'll enjoy it aswell, YOU rock! :)
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"make sure you try to get at least one of your keywords in your headline."
This makes sense and I wasn't aware of that, thanks for pointing out all the possibilities to write a headline!
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Let me know if you have some success with it. I hope you do and I am glad to help. I appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to many of my posts. Thank you
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Good Headline! It made me to read the post! :) Cheers for the insights!
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Thank you so much. I'm glad it worked or I wouldn't know what I was talking about. haha. Thank you for reading and replying. I appreciate it.
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Yes, this was very helpful. I have been writing blogs about what I am interested in, but maybe it is not what readers are interested in. It looks like I need to find out what is wanted and needed and then provide that. Thank you much walkingkeys!
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Just my two cents worth.
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I think the trick is finding the balance. You can't force content, but instead find topics you like and then find ways to give value in those topics. I am positive you will figure it out and succeed on here. I also really appreciate all the replies on my blogs. Your support is awesome and I really appreciate it.
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This post received a 4.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @walkingkeys! For more information, click here!
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Commenting to read tomorrow so I don't lose this.
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awesome! Thanks
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Awesome advice... thanks for sharing!
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You are so welcome. Thank you for being a great follower. I really appreciate you @arnel.
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Yeah, I love to follow on great quality content...
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Great tips! I spend alot of time writing headlines in my business and never really thought that the same principles apply here as well.
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Thanks for these tips. I am exploring all useful blogs to get the max out of this experience. Another question you may help me out with. Can you please explain the difference between steem, steem power and the Steem dollar? How does it really work? Any other blog you have or can recommend on this topic?
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Though it been a long time since this post was published I am saying it still useful to me, thank you for this information.
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