Twists on Titles in the Style of Popular Publishers
How many different ways can you talk about the same thing? Let’s face it- some industries are just more exciting than others. So how do you make a boring blog post title intriguing? Take a lesson from some of the big digital publishing brands like Upworthy and Coppyblogger who are well known for their click-worthy and intriguing titles.
For fun, I took a simple title and rewrote it in a variety of styles to grab the attention on social media.
“Full Home Air Conditioning Systems: Installation and Maintenance Tips”
Upworthy:
Known for heart wrenching subject matter and over the top titles which take full advantage of a gap in curiosity between the reader and the content. After years of publishing, some social media circles find Upworthy insufferable, going as far as to program a parody title generator!
How would our boring HVAC title look through the Upworthy lens?
“You’ll Never Believe What Happened After This Homeowner Installed a New Air Conditioner”
BuzzFeed:
They have perfected the art of the “List Post” over the last few years. Counting along through funny topical lists with equally silly pictures is the perfect time killer for the social media generation. You can find everything from “35 Reasons Living In New York City Ruins You For Life” to the more inane “The 17 Best Notes Ever Written By Drunk People” and everything in between on this entertainment packed website.
Here’s the “Buzz Fed” version of our HVAC post:
“37 Reasons Installing a New Air Conditioner is King this Summer”
Copyblogger:
Rules the realm of informative “How To” articles for bloggers and writers. Their brand is always positive, always helpful and authoritative. Check out a sampling of “The Best of Copyblogger” if you want to see for yourself.
Copyblogger could teach us a few things about HVAC with this useful title:
“The Best Way to Install and Maintain a Great Air Conditioning System This Year”
FOX News:
The FOX formula is simple: there is always a world crisis somewhere. Their titles are typically bombastic and make leaps in logic, but are great at pulling in anxious readers. Look for gripping, capitalized news titles like “COPS ATTACKED” and “PRESIDENT ADMITS WRONG” among the ticker tape every day. And let’s not forget the endless reporting on ongoing conflicts abroad.
Our FOXified HVAC title might read like:
“Air Conditoning Cools HOT TEMPERS in the Middle East”
CNN:
The world’s first, truly all day cable news network is in the business of playing the middle. Not quite as extreme as FOX News and nowhere near as liberal minded as our friends at NPR, CNN aims squarely at the moderate majority, roping them in with mostly non-committal language. If you can’t truly predict the outcome, why pretend?
Here’s the 24-hour news network take on our HVAC title:
“The Pros and Cons of Air Conditioning Repair”
In the age of the internet people come for the headline and stay for the content. So the next time you are stuck for an interesting headline try filtering your title through the lens of one of these brands and then share your results.
A killer headline is a start, but you need to have a great blog post to back up the promise. Not sure how or why you should bother? Download our blogging white paper today.
