How to Write a Good Blog Post Title

Whether you are into blogging, article writing or email marketing, writing a good title cannot be underestimated. No matter what the purpose of your write up is, writing a good title gets half the job done.


"Title", "headline" or "subject line"...whatever you call it, you must put as much thought into it as you put into writing your article. If you are a blogger, the fate of your blog post depends on the title to a great extent.

So let's consider the importance of a title to a blog post.

The Benefits of Writing a Good Title

• More Readers
• Site Credibility
• More Followers
• More Traffic
• Successful Blogging
  

Types and Styles

I regularly come across various emails and blog posts where the titles are overused cliches:

• For free traffic this works like crazy!
• Use Your Traffic to Make Money
• Some Good News!
• Don't Know How to Make Money?
• The #1 Secret Revealed!

Then there are titles that are soft and yet subtle:

• Your Membership
• You Would Love This

Some titles are ambiguous:

• Choose Now! This One or That One!
• Would You Do This to Your Blog?

Others are straight forward (like the title of this post):

• How to Write a Good Blog Post
• Learn to Blog in 3 Minutes

Some of the above mentioned titles are questions while others are exclamatory sentences. Regardless of the type, style and wording of the title, many of these titles are just irresistible, while others make you balk. However, If you are a writer, you must have resorted to these approaches at some time or the other.

So what is the secret (another cliche) of writing a good title?

A Good Title

A good title must have the following ingredients:



1) It must Grab Attention: The least a title must do is to attract the attention of the reader. This is the first step to getting your readers to read your blog post.










2) It must give the Gist: One look at the title, and it should tell the reader what your post is all about.

3) It must be Genuine: A title that seems promising, but slyly leads to a bunch of marketing waffles will immediately result in the reader hitting the "x" button.

4) It must portray Generosity: Your title must have an air of generosity. The reader must get a feeling that he or she is going to gain something. The blog post that follows must share some information and dispense some relevant knowledge that will be helpful to the reader.

5) It must give some Guarantee: A promising title will always make the reader stop over and read the entire article. You must offer solutions that guarantee results, and not just some hype.

The above mentioned guidelines are applicable not only to blog posts but also to email messages, articles, sales letters (let's not look down on marketers), and tweets.

None of us are born bloggers. We are all learning. I remember writing some crappy blog posts with some pathetic titles. We all have been there. However, in my opinion, even if your blog title has three out of the above five elements, you can consider the job well done.

Happy Blogging!

This Could Happen to You!

We have become so dependent on our pointing devices that should they disappear one day, we may be left high and dry.

No Mouse?

What if you were to wake up one fine day and find your computer pointing device gone or rendered inoperable? Imagine starting up your desktop or laptop without your mouse. Not a difficult task, is it? Most of us would be able to do this. But what next? How about reading your emails or checking out your social networking sites. Would that be an easy task for most of us? I guess not!

How would life be without your computer trackpads, trackballs, joysticks, light pens and mice? Would you have to go back to the early MS DOS days, when you had to learn certain commands in order to go to a particular directory, open a program, change a directory or print some matter?

Not really. Microsoft Windows enables you to use a number of shortcuts to work with your Operating System, Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Browser and Email Client without using the mouse. However, very few of us know these shortcuts. We have become so dependent on our pointing devices that should they disappear one day, we may be left high and dry.

It Happened to Me!

One morning this is exactly what happened to me. My computer refused to co-operate with my mouse. Actually, there was some problem with the driver. I had a freelance assignment to complete, and I couldn’t wait. Fortunately I knew some keyboard shortcuts as I had been using the Windows operating system for the last 10 years (used MS DOS and Win 3.1 before that...yuck!).

Shortcuts Came to the Rescue
How did I get about? I used some Operating System shortcuts; so I could open "Windows Explorer" by using "Windows+E." Then I used the Tab and Arrow keys to navigate around, and finally hit Enter to open my Microsoft Word document.

I knew how to close Microsoft Word using the "Alt+F4" keyboard shortcut. There are other ways to close a Word document, but I loved the "Alt+F4" shortcut, and rarely use the mouse for this action even today.

Another favorite shortcut that I always use even today is "Alt+Tab." It is so convenient to switch between all my open “windows” using this combination, rather than pointing my mouse to the taskbar and clicking on the required window.

Being able to navigate through the Start Menu without using the mouse is also very important, since most of the programs and documents can be accessed through the Start Menu. You can also Shut Down your computer using “Turn Off Computer…” on the Start Menu. However, I love to use "Alt+F4" to shut down my PC.

Once I open a Word or an Excel Document, I can get around without using the mouse for some basic operations. However, I’m not an expert at Word Keyboard Shortcuts or Excel Keyboard Shortcuts. Therefore I end up using the mouse for selecting text color, aligning text, copy formatting, inserting header and footer and other actions.

There are a whole range of Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts too. I just use the basic ones for navigating around a page and for switching tabs. My favorite ones here are F5 for refreshing a page and "Ctrl/Shift+Tab" for changing browser tabs.

What about Blogger Keyboard Shortcuts? Blogger has them too, although very few. Despite the fact that the blogger posts get autosaved, I frequently find myself using the Ctrl+S to save my posts.

The Indispensable Mouse
No matter how well you know your shortcuts, computer pointing and tracking devices have become indispensable. If you don't believe me, try doing the following without a mouse or a trackpad:
- Opening a link on a website
- Opening your Blogger or WordPress Dashboard
- Dragging and Dropping

...don’t work yourself up trying to learn all the keyboard shortcuts. It’s not worth it.

If you think about it, there are tons of things that a mouse can do with ease, and therefore we do not bother to use shortcuts. If you are good at touch typing, like me, you will appreciate some keyboard shortcuts. However, don’t work yourself up trying to learn all the keyboard shortcuts. It’s not worth it. The highly versatile computer trackpads and mice are here to stay till touch screen technology takes over. Until then, don't let your mouse go away :)

Beware! The Web is Haunted!

...there are innumerable ghostwriters hovering around the World Wide Web.

Have you ever heard of a ghostwriter? Spooky as it sounds, there are innumerable ghostwriters hovering around the World Wide Web. They are difficult to spot, and yet they write most of the content you read. Now, before this get's bizarre, let's try to do some explaining.

Who is a Ghostwriter?

A ghostwriter is a commercial writer who writes on behalf of another person. You pay the ghostwriter and the copyrights become yours.

Whom do Ghostwriters write for?

Ghostwriters write for celebrities, online marketers and even for bloggers. Most celebrities have their personal blogs. However, they do not write for these blogs. They hire ghostwriters to write their blog posts on their behalf. Fans respond to these blog posts knowing little that the celebrity rarely glances at the blog.

So, if you are following that well known personality, guess who's writing the tweets.

Why do people hire Ghostwriters?

Some people have great ideas, but the lack writing skill. Others are good at writing but lack the time. Hiring a ghostwriter can help you add new content to your blog or website, and maintain your readers' interest.This means more visitors, and ultimately, more income. No wonder some people invoke the services of ghosts, I mean ghostwriters.

What else do Ghostwriters write?

Ghostwriters write web content, autobiographies, marketing newsletters, ezines,books, novels, forums,reviews, social networking posts and yes, even tweets. So, if you are following that well known personality, guess who's writing the tweets.

Is it ethical to hire a Ghostwriter?

Ghostwriting is one type of outsourcing, and no industry can do without outsourcing. Therefore ghostwriting is a perfectly acceptable practice.

At the moment, I don't see the need for hiring a ghostwriter. I love to write my blog posts, even though I don't write frequently. I'll think about hiring a ghostwriter the day I make tons of money from my blog and the day I'm too busy to write.

Would you hire a Ghostwriter to write your blog?

Let's discuss...

-ContentScoop

How Useful is Your Site Traffic?

You spend hours trying to drive traffic to your site.

Think about this: 
How useful is your site traffic?
Does voluminous traffic really matter?
Do your visitors bring in the business?
Do they serve the purpose of your blog?

Please leave your valuable comments.

3 Questions to Ask When Your Blog Puts You to Sleep

I believe that blogging should come naturally.

The In Thing
Blogging seems to be the in thing. Everyone wants to own a blog, whether they are students, entrepreneurs, parents or grandparents. Why not? Blogging has become as easy and entertaining as picking up your guitar and strumming on it. It can be a hobby- something that keeps you occupied for hours (beware though!).

The Rut
No matter how much on the blogging edge you are, there are times you fall off the edge and into a rut. You may begin to be in need of new things to write. At times such as these, your own blog posts may put you to sleep.

If you are pushing yourself too hard to write your blog posts,
you will soon tire yourself and your readers.

How to Get Out of the Rut
How do you go about maintaining your enthusiasm to keep on writing? Well, the truth is that YOU DON'T HAVE TO! I believe that blogging should come naturally. If you are pushing yourself too hard to write your blog posts, you will soon tire yourself and your readers.

Anyway, we are all human! So, should you find yourself gasping for new content, here are 3 QUESTIONS you can ask yourself:

Your talent must dictate your niche

THE 3 QUESTIONS
Question #1: What is the Aim of My Blog?
If you are blogging aimlessly, and just for the heck of it, you will soon fall asleep on your laptop.

Here are some things that your blog (or your blog posts) can do;
- Inspire (I love to do this)
- Entertain (I use my cartoons to entertain)
- Educate
- Provide solutions
- Share what you have learned
- Earn an income (I believe that this is a bye product of blogging)

If you think you do not possess that gift,

you have not yet explored your inner self.

Question #2: What am I good at?
Your blog is a good platform to display your talents. Everyone has that unique gift that they can show to the world. Your talent must dictate your niche. If you think you do not possess that gift, you have not yet explored your inner self.

Here are some talents that your blog can reflect:
- Writing (that's my gift)
- Photography
- Blogging
- Marketing
- Cartooning (that's my gift)
- Parenting
- Educating (that's my gift and my main source of income)

(This list can go on...)

Note: I did not mention "making money" in the talent list. This is because if you are doing what you do best, you WILL make money.

Question #3: How Can I Benefit from Blogging?

Draw your zeal from the benefits of blogging. Realizing the benefits will keep you in a positive frame of mind and prevent you from snoozing over your blog posts.

Three main benefits for blogging are:

- Being able to express yourself (this definitely is a stress buster)

- Gaining online exposure to what you have to say or sell

- Building a community of like minded people from around the world

So gear up! Allow your readers to enjoy some lighter moments! Brighten up someone's day; give someone some answers; make someone smile! 

- ContentScoop

The Power of a Few Words- My Take on Microblogging and Micro URLs

Everything's going micro,
from handhelds to laptops,
and now blogs and URLs have joined the trend.

Microblogging

Just when I began to enjoy blogging on my blogger account, someone introduced me to microblogging. The world's getting faster, I tell you,...and smaller.

Everything's going micro, from handhelds to laptops, and now blogs and URLs have joined the trend.

(For those quick readers, it's fine to scroll down to the last few paragraphs of this article)

I'm a writer. I  love to write long and well organized blog posts. However, with microblogging, my words are restricted to just 140 to 150 characters.

"140 characters?" I thought to myself. What in the world can I write using just 140 characters! All my inhibitions faded away once I started using Twitter- the name that  has become synonymous with microblogging and social networking.

Just a few days into Twitter
and I figured out
the power of those 140 characters.

Micro Social Networking

Facebook allows you a lot of activity on its turf. You can be a part of as many "stories" as you like. Your posts are not very much restricted and you can write volumes on your "notes." You can upload your pictures directly from your camera onto the site, and you can comment on your friend's pictures. You can create your own group and invite all your friends to join it, or you can join another group. That's a lot of disk space allotted to you! However, you've got to be disciplined about whom you invite, and cannot add a "friend" unless they confirm you. This restricts the stray marketer and the intruding moneymaker.

Twitter does not make friendship conditional. You can "follow" anyone you like, unless they block you or "protect" their "tweets." At the same time anyone can be your "follower." It's an open platform for moneymakers and marketers alike, and the same goes for the one who is seeking friends and fans.

Just a few days into Twitter and  I figured out the power of those 140 characters. Almost every day I have "followers" pouring in without much action on my part. Yes, many of them are marketers and do not hesitate to say, "Hello."

Now, there are also ways to add a 100 followers a day; however, I'm still a bit slow at blogging (oops...microblogging), and would not like to delve into that at full steam. I'm not a full time blogger; so whether it is blogs or microblogs, you will see a little activity on my part every now and then.

Note: You may soon see third party contextual ads on Twitter, just like the ones you see on Facebook.

Microblogging has created another need:
the need to shorten URLs.

Micro URLs

Microblogging has created another need: the need to shorten URLs. Most tweeters would like to save on character space, and this is where URL shorteners come in.

Tinyurl has been in business for many years now, helping one to shorten URLs mainly for masking the actual URL. Bit.ly and tr.im have gone a few steps further by shortening the URLs even more. That's not all; you can even post your URLs directly to Twitter with just the click of a mouse. Furthermore, you can get detailed statistics as to how many people have clicked on your newly shortened URL and how it is  performing throughout.

Lessons from Microblogging

That 140 word restriction can teach you a lot:

- to be concise

- to write to the point and not ramble around

- to get the maximum impact from minimum words

- to be restrained in your phraseology and get cracking with business

  

Here's the bottom line:

Twitter has fewer features as compared to facebook, and yet the impact it has been having proves that if you've got to make a point, words need not be many.

So, don't waste your words! There is power in a few words!

-ContentScoop
September 10, 2009

How I Added the "Tweet this!" Button

Just joined Twitter! Better late than never!

Still learning the ropes :-)

Well, I thought one thing that would be cool is to give my readers an opportunity to add my blog posts to their twitter page. So I decided to add this cute little "tweet this!" button below my posts. It's kind of tiny and sits at the bottom without interfering with my posts. So it does not steal the show.

The very first thing I did
was to take a backup of my template

I contacted one of my blogger expert friends, and he helped me to get it done.


How I did it:

Step #1

I went to my Blogger Dashboard>Layout>Edit HTML.

The very first thing I did was to take a backup of my template, just in case I did something wrong and all the cute little tweaks I managed on my template would disappear. I would no way be able to get my blog to look the same again.  

Step #2

Next, I checked the "Expand Widget Templates" Box and then began my tinkering.

I searched for this code:

Note: The above code appears only after checking the "Expand Widget Templates" Box. 

Step #3 

Once I located the above code, i pasted the following code below it:

Step #4

Before saving my newly tweaked template, I clicked on "Preview." This step is just to check for errors. If you see the preview of your blog, your code is correct. If you do not see the preview, something is wrong with the code and your new template will not be saved.

Note: You will not see your "tweet this!" button in the preview. So don't be disheartened.

Step #5

Next, click on "Save Template" and then on "View Blog."

Voila!

The button looks like this:

If you cannot see it at the bottom of my post, click on the post header or title and you will see it. Got some fine tuning to do...

So dear friends, countrymen, readers,...! Please click on the button if you find my posts worth the time spent on my blog. If not, I look forward to learning from you.

-ContentScoop
August 29, 2009

What Happened to My Nav Bar?

Well, nothing happened; I removed it!

Honestly, the only relevant word in that piece of HTML code
that I understand
is "navbar."

Now, although I am not a programmer, and my knowledge of HTML is almost zilch, I somehow managed to get it done. Ask me how I did it, and wouldn't be explain matters more than a child could explain how the toys were all scattered. I somehow managed to do it!

Now all you blogging geeks would laugh at me. That's OK! After all, I learned this from one of you.

How I did it:

I went to my blogger dashboard>Layout>Edit HTML and just inserted the following piece of HTML code in my blogger template between the head-head tags:

#navbar-iframe {
   display: none !important;

Don't I sound like an expert? Honestly, the only relevant word in that piece of HTML code that I understand is "navbar."

One of you expert bloggers told me that there is nothing explicitly mentioned in the Google terms against hiding the Nav Bar. Should you point out to me that Google would get angry, I'll put the Nav Bar back on right away. After all, no one wants to be on the wrong side of the terms framed by the mighty search engine giant Google.

-ContentScoop
August 27, 2009