Killer ideas for blog titles - Wildheart Media (2024)

If you’ve been following our previous blog posts, you’ll know how essential blogging is to content marketing your business, and you’ll have read How to write a blog with structure and style.

Ok, so we know how important it is to be publishing regular, good quality content on your blog. But the title of your blog post is just as important, if not more so, than the content itself. Read on for some of our best ideas for blog titles.

The title says it all

According to Copyblogger’s 80/20 rule of headlines,

“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the content.”

The title is what draws people in. There’s no point having great content if nobody reads it. And they won’t read it unless you grab their attention with a great title.

According to the 4-U approach taught by AWAI (American Writers & Artists Inc), your headlines must:

• Be USEFUL to the reader,
• Provide him with a sense of URGENCY,
• Convey the idea that the main benefit is somehow UNIQUE; and
• Do all of the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC way.

4 tips for attention-grabbing headlines

So, how do you ensure your headlines are fulfilling all these requirements? Follow our 4 tips and you can’t go wrong.

1. Make a promise

A great title should make a promise. It should clearly state what the reader will learn or gain from reading the article, with just the right amount of mystery to keep them interested.

So, you need to make an intriguing promise that’s irresistible to your target audience. And understanding your target audience is key here. As we’ve seen before, it’s so important to get to know and understand your customers, readers and email subscribers. Who are they? What are they interested in? What do they need? What problems do they face that you can help solve?

Using words like “how”, “why” and “what” in your headlines is a clear way of stating your promise and grabbing your readers’ attention. Make sure your promise is specific and to the point.

2. Do your research

It’s a good idea to do some research into headlines that have been proven to work in the past. You could study headlines from the following sources:

• direct response advertising headlines
• magazines
• tabloids
• popular blogs

You can then use these as a basis for your own headlines, by editing them to fit your content.

3. Learn why

Rather than just copying someone else’s headline, you need to understand why it works. This will help you formulate more headlines in the future, as you’ll have a better understanding of what works and why, for your particular target audience.

This is largely a matter of research combined with trial and error. If you learn which kinds of headline structure work best for your audience, and how to tweak it to best fit your audience, you’ll be generating great headlines in no time, which will attract more visitors to your blog.

4. Be credible

Remember we said a good headline always makes a promise? Well, now you have to make it credible and deliver on that promise.

It’s important to have high quality content to back up the promise you made in your headline, otherwise readers won’t come back. Nobody likes an empty promise. It encourages a lack of trust and a lack of respect.

So, keep checking back to your headline and make sure you’ve delivered the goods with your content. Your aim is to inform and entertain your audience, whilst instilling authority and demonstrating your expertise. If your readers feel you’ve done this (whether consciously or unconsciously), they’re more likely to want to read your content in future.

Ideas for blog titles: 9 formulas

We know we need to make an intriguing promise with our headline, but just how do we do that? There are many different approaches when it comes to writing a killer headline, but we love Copyblogger’s 9 proven headline formulas:

1. Say it simply and directly. No fuss, no wordplay, just be direct.
2. State the big benefit. Be upfront about your No.1 selling point.
3. Announce exciting news. Write a headline that suggests news rather than advertising.
4. Appeal to the “how to” instinct. But make sure you highlight the main benefit not the process itself.
5. Pose a provocative question. But don’t make it random or clever. It must relate directly and clearly to the major benefit of the product.
6. Bark a command. Be dictatorial rather than conversational: allows you to be direct, provide a benefit and take a commanding posture simultaneously.
7. Offer useful information. People don’t just want more information, they want to simplify their life and feel organised. Offer useful hints, tips and advice to help them.
8. Relay an honest, enthusiastic testimonial. People like to know what others are saying.
9. Authenticate your proposition with a little something extra. People distrust sales copy so use something a little quirky or specific to help add believability.

Remember: you must understand why a headline works before attempting to use it.

Ideas for blog titles: Proven headline types

There are 2 types of headline which are very popular right now, which you’ve undoubtedly seen a hundred times:

• The “How to” headline, and
• The “list” headline.

These headline formulas are foolproof - following one of these is a sure way to ensure your blog post will attract attention.

The “How to” headline

The “How to” headline is one of the most effective headline types in the world. To maximise its effects you should emphasise how people’s lives will be improved by reading the article, using words like “easier”, “better”, ”happier”, etc. It’s also important to focus on the benefits.

E.g.:

• “How to Start a Conversation With Strangers at a Networking Event” (Entrepreneur)
• “How To Create An Easy Content Marketing Strategy You’ll Actually Use” (Forbes)
• “How to Plan Meals and Make Your Life Easier” (Huffington Post)

The “list” headline

The “list” headline is also very effective and makes a very specific promise. It makes the article easy to follow for the reader and also provides an easy structure for the writer to follow when crafting the article.

E.g.:

• “8 Public Speaking Techniques To Wow Your Audience” (Brian Tracy)
• “5 Common Grammar Mistakes to Avoid in Business Writing” (Shutterstock)
• “13 DIY Decor Solutions That Will Make Your Life Easier” (House Beautiful)

Other proven formulas

Apart from the “how to” and “list” headlines, there are plenty of other tried and tested headline structures. Here are just a few examples:

• Who Else Wants….?
• The Secret of…
• Here is a Method That is Helping… to…
• Little Known Ways to…
• Here’s a Quick Way to...
• Have a… You Can Be Proud Of
• What Everybody Ought to Know About…
• The Lazy…’s Way to…
• Do You Make These Mistakes?
• Warning: …

Ideas for blog titles: Yoga and wellbeing

Working with our wonderful clients in the yoga and wellbeing niche, we're always coming up with new ideas for blog titles based on the keyword and topic research we carry out in our SEO Packages.

Here are some recent examples of blog titles suggested to our clients:

• What is yoga philosophy and how can I incorporate it into everyday life?
• 5 ways to get started with yoga for beginners
• What’s the difference between Hatha and Ashtanga yoga?
• 3 simple pranayama practices to calm your body and mind
• Modifications and assists in yoga: what's the right way?
• 5 ways to get the most benefit from online yoga classes
• How yin yoga can help calm the nervous system
• Why yoga is one of the best natural sleep aids
• How to improve your workplace wellbeing even if you hate your job
• 7 examples of resilience and how to learn from them
• 10 tips for self care this winter
• How to feel better about yourself right now
• 6 surprising benefits of nature walks
• 5 ways of wellbeing for a balanced life
• 10 personal empowerment practices

Need help with ideas for blog titles?

If you need help coming up with ideas for blog titles, carrying out keyword research or ongoing content creation, we can help.

Our SEO Package includes a tried-and-tested research process, including keyword and topic research to generate blog ideas based on the latest data.

We can also support you with ongoing content creation for your blog and email newsletters. Book a free consultation to find out more.

Or, to discover the other steps involved in setting up a blog, read How to establish a blog for your wellbeing business.