Last year, I wrote a LinkedIn post:
“How to save eight hours every week”
I thought “That’s a good title. A bit clickbait-y, maybe. But it should attract people’s attention. And the advice will help lots of people.”
That didn’t happen.
We only had 2,000 views.
So I re-posted it. I kept the article word-for-word the same. But I changed the title to:
“How to stop working Fridays”
This time: 520,000+ views.
A ridiculous difference – and I’d only changed the title.
Which is a great reminder of something we all know – even if we sometimes forget:
Titles are our communications’ First Impression. So they MUST impress!
And the simplest way to do this:
- Ask yourself “What’s my reader/audience’s #1 priority about this topic?”
- Include that #1 in your title and/or subtitle
Examples:
- Presenting a ‘Monthly Update’? Add the subtitle ‘Our best successes, learnings… and our priorities for next month’
- Instead of ‘Our proposal’, title it ‘How you’ll win £50million new sales in the next three months’
- Emailing, to ask about a meeting’s content? Don’t call it ‘Meeting’ (sounds boring). Instead, in the subject line: ‘Our next meeting – a quick question to ask…’
- Training ‘Excel Intermediate’? Add the subtitle ‘How to save two hours every week’ – sounds much better now!
By way of a test, I’ve split my Tuesday Tip distribution list into three, and given each group this same tip, but with a different title. The titles are:
- How one tiny change helped 500,000+ extra people
- The Golden Rule of Titles
- Grab attention early – without trying!
Which do you think will have the highest opening rate?
(I’ll tell you the winner next week)
Action Point
Next communication, use a good title and/or subtitle! And then, keep doing it. And then, click here.