Enticing blog titles: deliver on your promises

Titles for blogs can be quite a bit livelier than news headlines, but they also need to be reasonable descriptive so your readers can decide whether or not to bother.

So whilst you might want to be lively and impactful in your title bear in mind that it should still give readers some idea of what the blog is about. Don't be too obscure or off the wall. Think about the payoff for the reader and make sure you deliver what you promise.

It has been fashionable for some time to go for titles of the type - 'Ten things to remember when…' or 'Ten things not to do...' Titles like this have been a bit overdone in recent years but they can have their merits as they help the writer to structure their copy and the reader does get a clear idea of the content.

Getting back to basics is a current theme in many areas of life and simple, quick solutions – such as 'life hacks' - are very much in vogue. So if you are starting out on blogging you might want to think about stripping your ideas back to the simple building blocks of what you do and just telling people about what has worked for you.

If you are feeling more confident, another good approach is to ask a question (that you will answer) or say something provocative, such as: 'Why reading most blogs is a waste of time.'

A good way to come up with enticing blog titles is to think about some blogs you have read recently and what made you read them. Was the title quirky or straightforward? If the blog was from someone you like and follow regularly, you might not even have paid much attention to the title. Earning that trust and interest from a new reader is a bit harder - so when starting out you should focus on sincerity and make sure you give people what you promise, rather than making them laugh.

And remember, once you have written your copy - read back over it and make sure you have delivered on the title. If you have gone off at a tangent - change your title or rewrite your blog - I just did!