Just kidding, we love puppies. And full grown dogs too. But for those of you reading this, it illustrates a point.
What’s the point you ask?
Headlines matter
How many times have you seen someone post this on Twitter?
“Check out our new Blog Post: http://j.mp/Wz8LgD“
Well we’ve seen it a lot. It’s important to remember a few things about social media:
- There’s a lot of noise out there.
- It’s getting noisier.
- We’re not “growing” any new attention, it’s still limited.
- More often than not, all we see is a headline.
So while you are putting hard work into a blog post, trying to deliver relevant and valuable information to your target audience, you’re not seeing results. It’s important to spend a little more time on your headline, and you should start by studying the masters.
Copywriting Mastery
First and foremost check out Copyblogger’s series on Magnetic Headlines. But next…
BUY ME!
Yes, that’s right Cosmopolitan. Cosmo has been getting people to buy their moderately trashy and repetitive magazine for YEARS. And they do it by writing intriguing headlines…and selling sex. (I’m not suggesting you use sex as a selling point, I’m just highlighting the other obvious reason Cosmo sells.)
Study the headlines you click on. Study the headlines from your industry that work. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask: “do I want to click this link?”
Here at Social Media Philanthropy (and True Voice Media), we spend at least 5 minutes on every single headline we write. The result is that we’ve seen a significant bump in page views, shares and subscribers.
And seriously…don’t worry about the puppy, he’s just fine.