How To Get A Second Chance For A Published Blog Post Title

There are a lot of factors that go into creating a great blog post that people love, but more importantly, post that people find. Much of the material on Marketing Tips For Authors deals with ways to drive traffic to your sites, and ultimately to your book. One factor that I want to discuss with you today is the blog post title. Today, I am not going to deal with how to create a great title. There is ample info on that topic online now (though I am sure I will add my two cents to the body of knowledge sometime). Rather, I want to discuss how you can get a "second chance" at creating blog titles that may out-pull traffic compared to the original title you chose when you published the post.

There are some tried and true title formats that have proven to be winners that you can use:

1. Lists- People love lists. Read the magazine covers nect time you are in the grocery store and you will see that they do the same thing. Here are some "list-title" examples: 3 Ways To Use Scarcity To Sell Books or 8 Tips on Creating An Army Of People To Market Your Book.
   
   
2. Questions/How-To's- Having a post title ask a question or pose a "How-To" title can also be a great way to draw traffic to your post. If you hit on the right one--the one where the answer is exactly what the reader is trying to find a solution for, then you have a winner. Here are some "question-title" examples: How To Link Your Book's Cover Pic To Your Shopping Cart and How should YOU market?- by Jeremy Robinson.
   
   
3. Name Dropping- In the last example, I use a title with one of the top thriller authors, Jeremy Robinson, in the title. No doubt it drew more traffic that had I not used his name in the title. Consider these titles as well: Create Relationships On The Internet With Key Websites- John Kremer and Tips For Using Twitter: Penny Sansevieri.
   

Now, this is a small list of items that make for great titles, but it's enough for my point today. Suppose you create a blog title and publish your post. For whatever reason, you are not getting the hits to your article that you normally get. After some initial investigation, you determine that your title really stinks. And if you have a smelly title attached to a stellar article, chances are that you will miss the chance to get that article in front of many people. With all the info flying through the net and via e-mails, people do judge a post by its title. What can you do? Here are some ideas on how you can get a "second chance" with your blog post title.

1. Change the actual title- I hesitate to bring this up here, because I am not going into my personal ideas on when it's good and when it's not good to change your actual title post. However, it is a possible solution to having a sub par title to begin with. Before opting for this strategy, do your research.
   
   
2. Use Twitter, Facebook and other social sites for new titles- This is actually one of my favorites. It's clean, easy and involves no messing with your actual post. It works by simply sending out various new titles/descriptions for your posts and seeing which draws the biggest crowd. Does, "6 Ways To Triple Your Blog Traffic Overnight" do the trick or does "How To Fix Low-Traffic Generating Posts?" By using these variations, and others, to your social media network, you can get a feel for what is actually putting the finger on the pulse of readers. A poor title does not have to be the end of the post's life.
   
   
3. Rewrite a similar post with a new title- If you have been blogging for a while, then you know that you never speak just once on a topic. Sometimes you can take a new slant on an old post and tie it up with a new title. You may have a chance to guest contribute on another blog with the topic. When you do, you have a chance to re-evaluate the title and give it one with fresh eyes.
   

Think about your title before you slap it on a post. It's much too important a factor to add a title with no thought. But if you find yourself wishing you had gone with a new title, or just wondering if another one would have been better, don't lose heart. There are some simple things you can do which gives you a "second change" at creating a great blog post title.

Tony Eldidge