There is an unethical business practice called “bait and switch” where a store advertises 80% off something on a product that they know will be sold out quickly, yet leave the sign up to draw people in to buy something else. Bait them with the sale, convince them that you sold out SO quickly, and switch it so that they end up buying something else that gives you a great profit margin.
Unfortunately, across the Internet, SO MANY bloggers are doing that very practice with blog titles.
It may be as blatant as having a title say “This Blog Article Will Change Your Life Forever,” only to have the first sentence say “Okay, maybe not change your life…” Other times, Christian bloggers will have posts titled “5 Ways To Save Your Marriage,” yet we know that each marriage is unique and a 700 word article probably won’t save it.
I am all for writing the best blog title you can and think that you need to actually spend more than five seconds writing it, but bold lies or being excessive for the sake of driving traffic is wrong. In fact, it may actually backfire on you by losing potential, dedicated fans of your blog, all because you wanted five more views on a single day. Not worth it.
Here are a list of things to consider when writing a title to get the most out of it, but not breaking the line.
- Let the content speak for itself. A title should simply describe the whole.
- Use key words for search engines, but do not be dramatic for traffic’s sake.
- Avoid lying.
- Evaluate your motivation when writing the title. You can “not lie” and still do a bait and switch.
What are some of the worst titles that you have read that do this?
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Joanna says
I think the same reminder goes for other forms of ministry. It isn’t uncommon to see excessive hyperbole about lifechange ect. in marketing for books, conferences and events.
Jeremy Smith says
No doubt! I have seen them too and actually that is a reason to not go to that session or read that book… absolutes are annoying. “We will fix everything…” no you won’t…
Gangai Victor says
Having seen too many Christian blog post titles that claim to give me tips on “how to change the world…”, I totally agree!!
Jeremy Smith says
They are the worst… I’d unsubscribe in a split-second
Chad Gleaves says
But that title could have been more effective just by sticking to truth. For example: How I changed my marriage using these seven steps!” Blog titles need to be amazing bring in readers and truthful to keep them. Really can’t have one without the other.
Jeremy Smith says
You’d think so… but people go for the shock factor… boo