In the last few days we’ve been talking about how to write good blog post titles here at ProBlogger.
We’ve talked about the theory of it – so now it’s time to get a little more practical.
In the next couple of days I’m going to launch a group writing project that picks up the topic of blog titles – but before that (and to help us ‘warm up’ for the project) I thought it might be interesting to workshop a few reader posts as a community.
I just asked my Twitter followers if they had any old blog posts that they feel had good content but poor titles that we could do a community workshop on.
Here are five of the posts submitted:
- My Sister Who Died at 10; Losing a Sibling
- 45 Ways to Exploit Bored Teens for Online Marketing Good
- Black Women and Preeclampsia
- Poorer Individuals Less Likely to Survive
- IM Charity & the Children’s Hospital
I had quite a few more posts submitted but decided to use these five randomly (although there are a few themes!) so that we could focus our energy on just five titles.
So what I’d like to invite you to do is to come up with alternate titles for these posts. Don’t just rush it – ‘craft’ the titles using some of the principles we discussed in the theory we discussed earlier. Feel free to come up with titles for each one or just one of them – but please say which one you’re reworking (use the numbers).
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Here are my entries:
1. Loosing a sibbling
2. Exploitation of Teen for online marketing
3. Preeclampsia and Black women
4. Get rich, be ready for survival
5. Charity for Children’s Hospital
Great idea, Darren! Here are my suggestions:
1. How to Cope when You Lose a Sister
2. 45 Ways to Grab Teen Attention on the Net
3. What Is Preeclamsia and Why Should You Care?
4. Poor People Live Shorter Lives
5. How Everyone Can Help Sick Children
I took a look at #4. It was actually a good article. I thought of this as a possible title:
Poverty Paralyzes Early Detection.
1. When Darkness Falls
2. Teen Marketing: The Miley Cyrus Way
3. Hypertension, Your Baby, and You
4. Poverty: The Silent Killer
5. Twitter For Change
1. The Pain of Loosing The Dearest Person
2. Not Earning Enough? Exploit Teens For Online Marketing
3. Black Women And The Life-threatening Disorder “Preeclampsia”
4. Survival Of The Richest- The Studdy
5.Be The Part Of The Noble Cause “Charity & The Children’s Hospital”
I have to put this one up before I forget it…
2. 45 child labour jobs that Nike didn’t think of
1. Losing A Sibling: My Story
2. 45 Ways to Enlist Teens for an Online Marketing Boost
3. Preeclampsia Among Black Women
4. Survival of the Richest
5. The Children’s Hospital IM Charity Party
I love to write, especially about marketing, so I’ll take a shot at these titles.
1. My Sister Who Died at 10; Losing a Sibling
How it Feels When Your Sister Dies
2. 45 Ways to Exploit Bored Teens for Online Marketing Good
Teens Switch from Being Bored to Doing Good
3. Black Women and Preeclampsia
A Disease that Black Women Need to Know About
4. Poorer Individuals Less Likely to Survive
The Poor Die Sooner
5. IM Charity & the Children’s Hospital
Children benefiting from this Hospital Charity
1. I lost a sister
2. 45 Ways to Exploit Bored Teens for Online Marketing Good (already have a good title)
3. (This link is not working for me)
4. Poorer Individuals Less Likely to Survive Breast cancer (just added ‘Breast Cancer’)
5. We are going to conduct an event for child health – ‘IM Charity Party’
mine:
1. Losing Someone Special: A Story
2. 45 Techniques to Let Bored Teens Do YOUR Online Marketing, So You Don’t Have To!
4.Poorer People More Susceptible to Dying of Cancer Than Richer Ones.
5. Make Children Happy by Supporting a Children’s Hospital, And Be Proud of It!
P.S: For some reason, the third post isn;t working :S
1.”Lost” Due to Loss
2. How to copy what Joe Camel isn’t allowed to do
3. Preeclampsia, and Predisposition of Black Women
4. No bank? more than likely your in the tank!
1. Tragedy at 10. When a sibling dies.
2. A minor advantage. Using teen labor to build your Web site traffic.
3. 3 reasons why pregnancy threatens the black community.
4. Does poverty = death?
5. Can social networking save a child’s life?
Great exercise! What fun.
1. Coping with the Loss of a Sibling
2. 45 Online Marketing Secrets
3. Preeclampsia in Black Women: Facts, Fiction, and Advice
4. Does an Empty Wallet Mean Early Death?
5. Share the Love with Children’s Hospital IM Charity
1. Coping with the Death of a Sibling
2. 45 Ways to Engage Teens and Do Good
3. The Truth about Black Women and Preclampsia
4. How Building Wealth Can Increase Your Lifespan
5. Celebrate & Support Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and The Children’s Hospital.
Ok, I admit it, I love this game…
1. A Child Surviving Loss
1. When a child dies
2. 45 time-outs for teens
2. How to keep your grounded teen from sneaking out
3. Preeclampsia in Black Pregnancies
4. The Poverty-Cancer link
4. Are you poor? You might have cancer.
5. How to double your money for charity
5. The biggest match of the season
(Um -the post for number 3 is missing.)
1. Life and Loss of Life
I chose this title after reading the post.
4. Does Lower Income Mean Higher Fatality Rate?
1. Sibling Greif: Tribute to My Sister
2. Teens4Hire: 45 Online Marketing Services
3. Preeclampsia, Black Women & Pregnancy Health Concerns
4. Breast Cancer Facts: Why the Poor Struggle to Survive
5. Charity for Children. It’s an Internet Marketing Party!
This was a great excercise! Thanks Darren.
I need all the practice I can get :)
1. Lose a loved one? How I coped …
2. 45 Summer Teen Jobs to Boost your Marketing Efforts
3. –
4. Another strike against poor people
5. “2 Martinis for the Children’s Hospital please”
5) Im Charity At Children’s Hospital Possible?(Question)
4) Poor Individuals Die Fast (Controversial)
3) Preeclampsia and Black women: What Do You Know? (The Word You)
2) Online Marketing – Eploitation Of A Teen (Keyword: Online Marketing)
1) My Stunning News – My Sister Died At 10 (Power Word Stunning).
5. Children’s Hospital Saved My Kids Lives
1. Dealing With Personal Loss
2. Retaining Your Teen Internet Audience
3. Hypertension and Pregnancy
4. Surviving Cancer and the Shoestring Budget
5. Donate to Worthy Children’s Causes
1. My Sister Who Died at 10; Losing a Sibling
1. Losing a Sibling
2. 45 Ways to Exploit Bored Teens for Online Marketing Good
2. Exploiting Teens, Good For Marketing?
3. Black Women and Preeclampsia
3. Preeclampsia
[Blog is already about black women]
4. Poorer Individuals Less Likely to Survive
4. Get Rich or Die Sooner
5. IM Charity & the Children’s Hospital
5. Party for Charity!
[More of what the article is about]
My shot at the post titles:
1. When a Sister Dies
2. Teens Can Help Your Online Marketing Advantage
3. Pregnant Sistah, Check Your Blood Pressure
4. Poor Women Die Earlier From Breast Cancer
5. IM Party Benefits Two Children’s Charities
OK. I will give it a try.
1. Gone to Soon: Coping with the loss of a sibling.
2. 45 Surefire Ways to Market to Teens online
3. What Black Women should know about Preeclampsia
1.) Discover the tragedy of losing a sibling. Immediate cures!
2.) Danger, guide your bored teenagers, from destructive activities. Discover how!
3.) Bad news, for pregnant moms! Preeclampsia and YOU, what can be done?
4.) Surviving poverty, are you part of the problem or solution? Find out!
5.) Family Tragedy. Charity & Children’s Hospital, think of others!
Hey Darren, great idea for your blog. For blogging and living in an online world, headlines make all the difference.
I think that is what makes twitter such a great tool, you have 140 characters to make your point. Every time you use twitter you are getting head line writing practice.
Steven Barchetti
Your Digital Coach
http://www.KingOfSocialMedia.com
My attempt…
1. What it was like to lose my 10 year old sister
2. 45 tedious online tasks your bored teen can do for you
3. The story didn’t open for me on this one?
4. Research claims poor people die young
5. Why I’m supporting The Children’s Hospital and how you can help
1. Dark Days: Losing a Sibling
2. Got Your Attention?: Exploitation of Teens in Online Marketing
3. Know the Symptoms: Preeclampsia
4. Less Money, More Problems
5. No Hoax — Instant Message for Charity
I just love these reworkings of my headlines. Thank you so much. But my favorite, the one that made me laugh until I was sick, was “45 child labour jobs that Nike didn’t think of,” by L-Jay. Makes me feel like some rich capitalistic pig. oink oink.
1. Life: After my sister died
2. 45 ways to improve online marketing with bored teens in mind
4. Health Risks for being poor
5. How to help a children’s hospital through IM Charity
#3 there was no article
2- 45 ways to help teens succeed in online marketing
2. Cheap Labour: 45 Tedious Website Tasks You Can Source Out To Bored Teens
Sorry, that should be
2. Cheap Labour — 45 Tedious Website Tasks You Can Outsource To Bored Teens
Apologies if these sound cruel or humorous, but these titles would DOMINATE digg.
1. Would You Rather: Lose a Sibling or iPhone?
2. 45 Laser Quick Ways to Rip Off An Idiot
3. (article not active, so no idea)
4. Buying Yourself a Longer Life
5. How To Avoid Hell and Help Kids Along the Way
4. Why don’t many poor people get screened for cancer?
4. Discover the Link Between Poverty and Breast Cancer Survival Rate.
Any reason why they’re all pretty morbid topics?
4. Socioeconomic Status Factor in Breast Cancer Mortality
Neil…I think maybe they are all morbid topics cause morbid topics are probably the hardest ones to write titles for
I vote for Shanel Yang’s suggestions.
1. Death of a sibling can be tough
2. 45 Ways to Exploit Bored Teens for Online Marketing Good
3. Effects of Preeclampsia on Black Women
4. People in the lower class are Less Likely to Survive
5. Help the kids hospital
#1 – How I Coped after loosing a loved one – “Secrets Revealed”
My attempt:
1. GOD clicked the ‘DELETE’ button of my sister
2. Do you know the ways of pulling teens into online
marketing ?
3. Preeclampsia ripping off Black Moms-to be
4. Poverty – Gun with a silencer
5. Its Party for the sweeties – Are you not joining??
Hi Darren,
Love this series, and your ProBlogger posts in general.
I can’t be certain, but I think you may have listed this wonderful tool in an earlier post of yours.
I use it all the time to really good effect – I’m now gaining good regular exposure through BlogBurst – and now I’m passing it on!
Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer
http://tinyurl.com/caqb5
Enjoy!
3. Toxemia & Pre-eclampsia Swells Black Woman by 35lb in 1 week
I attempted to read the first one about the sister who died by found the text difficult to read on that black background and so did not bother. So a good headline would be a waste from my point of view.
1. She was 10; I was 7. Honoring her death
2. Got teen? 45 Ways they can help your online marketing
3. The swift and silent killer of pregnant women
4. Money can’t buy time? It can if you’re sick
5. Raise a Glass with us to the kids
Here are my title suggestions:
1. Make billions but dont lose a sister
2. Viral, Kinky and Sexy: Teens Exploitation
3. Racial Blacks: Preeclaampsia
4. Bill Gates retired but the poor did not
5. Give but do not take: Charity and Hospital
If one of my titles are chosen, please visit me at: http://www.resourcesandmoney.blogspot.com
5. Party with us – guilt free! Do it for the children….
4.Cancer:The silent killer of the less fortunate.