Day 8: #atozchallenge
Writing the headline for an article or blog post seems easy, but easy doesn’t always get you the response you want.
Headlines play a significant role in how your posts rank in search engines. Some will get more social shares and click-throughs than others. Why?
It’s all in the words you choose. Think keywords, common, uncommon, and power words.
Statistics reveal lists, and how-to headlines get better traction while emotional or positive headlines get shared more often. Having the right combination of words and the right length will make your headline stand out.
The free headline analyzer from Co-schedule will help you learn to write the best and most compelling headlines.
In addition to the analyzer, CoSchedule provides word lists that will help drive traffic to your blog. Download your copy here.
The headline for this post scored – 70 A+
What do you think? Do you think headlines make a difference? Do you think about your headline? I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.
I know I should put more time into thinking through what my headlines should be, but I don’t. I do put more time into it when I’m not writing them for the A to Z challenge, but even then, not enough. For the challenge , I usually just put the daily letter followed by my title to make it easier for people who stumble upon my blog. I saved the link for the headline helper you provided. I’ve also been scouring your entire blog. Call me a stalker, LOL. I’m looking for all of your other great tips.
Melissa Sugar
http://melissasugarwrites.com
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In this instance, stalking is okay. LOL. Stroll through the pasture (archives) and have a ball. Looking forward to reading your comments.
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Hi Sheila, this is an area I haven’t even thought of before. I must check out those resources. Thanks for highlighting this. Looks like your posts for the challenge we generating a lot of conversation!
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So far so good, thanks. Let me know how you like them. Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation.
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Good stuff to know. Thanks.
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Glad you found it helpful and thanks for stopping by.
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Have done some research in this area but still have much to learn when it comes to my blog headlines. It’s a work in progress. Thanks for the tips.
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My pleasure and thanks for stopping by the Cow Pasture.
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I definitely agree a headline helps when it comes to deciding what I’ll read. I’ve been lazy during the A-Z Challenge, though, and using just short phrases or words for headlines. Thanks for the reminder how useful those are!
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My pleasure and welcome to the fence jumpers. I look forward to reading your contributions to the Cow Pasture conversations.
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I’ve tried a few sites that analyze headlines and have found them useful. When I come up with a clickbait headline, I always have a moment of pride. LOL
~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
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Glad I could be of help and glad you’ve found some resources that work for you. Thanks for stopping by.
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
Here is a great post on writing noticeable headlines.
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Thanks so much, Don for the reblog. Much obliged. Glad you stopped by.
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You’re welcome
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Headlines definitely make a difference! I have never heard of Coschedule and will be checking them out. Thanks for sharing.
I’m visiting from the A to Z Challenge.
Shelly @ http://hangryfork.com
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You’re welcome. I’m glad you thought it was worth checking out. Thanks for dropping by the Cow Pasture. Hope you will visit again.
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I love the name of your website! I am surrounded by cow pastures (and vineyards) I love seeing all the new calves.
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Thank you. It sounds like you live in a beautiful place. Glad you stopped by the Cow Pasture.
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This is a really informative post. I’m glad I read it. I wasn’t aware there were tools to help write better headlines. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Glad you liked it. I find it very helpful. I hope you will too. Thanks again for stopping by.
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I often agonise over a headline. To come up with an attention grabber can take longer than composing the piece it’s needed for.
Visit Keith’s Ramblings and his obsolete words!
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You’re not alone. I hope this will help make it less agonizing for you. Thank you so much for stopping by the Cow Pasture and joining the conversation.
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Sheila, thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of Mash Stories. It looks great and I’ll delve a little deeper when A-Z is behind us.
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Good luck and thanks for stopping by the Cow Pasture.
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Good morning, Sheila! I tried the suggested headline analyzer with the title of next week’s post and found that there was room for improvement. Thank you for a very useful post!
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Glad you tried it Peter and thanks for letting me know. Keep me posted on how it works for you. Always glad to hear from you.
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Headlines are so important in search engines. I’m usually rushing through and don’t put the thought and time into my headlines. I too have co-schedule at work and it is awesome. Looking forward to adding it to my home blog. It’s great for sheduling a mini-strategy for promotion with social media also. I read several of your posts and really enjoyed them. Signed-up to receive your email.
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Great! Welcome to the fence jumpers. I love co-schedule, although I don’t use everything offered. Thank you for your kind comments and I look forward to hearing more from you.
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I’m in. Really liked the practical, pared down advice that will help me improve my writing process overall . . . and with this post particularly in reaching out to my audience. Very useful. Maybe a marketing hat wouldn’t hurt. Now adding key words to the hidden search box for Blogger also is supposed to help, but I often skip that step. Hemingway’s quote? One of my favorites. Takes me right back to the writing. Thank you!
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Thank you Beth, I’m so glad you are finding my posts helpful and welcome to the fence jumpers. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
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Again, you are a big help to me. I should say I am a writer and I live in a very non-English speaking environment, and I am isolated from writers with whom I can share and learn from on the English-speaking market. So I am lapping up the knowledge you’re sharing on your blog during the Challenge. I had never heard of Co-schedule but I did recognize the importance of having a good headline. I have downloaded their word lists and will utilize Co-schedule from now on.
Keep up the good work. You are doing an excellent job passing out pertinent need-to-know information to writers.
Have a great weekend.
Visiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge.
Shalom,
Patricia @ EverythingMustChange
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Thank you Patricia, wow living in a non-speaking environment ? That must be challenging. Glad you found the Cow Pasture. I always enjoy your feedback.
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