10 Powerful Words/Shortcuts to Spice Up Your Titles
Upgrade Your Titles in An Instant to Generate More Views Quickly
American-British novelist Raymond Chandler once said:
“A Good Title Is The Title Of A Successful Book.”
And It’s Not Just With Books
Articles, Videos, Posts, Movies, you name it. Any type of content requires a powerful, attractive title to be successful.
If your title is boring, no one is going to even think about reading your content, regardless of how great it may be.
But even those who are aware of this fact tend to fail in writing the most effective title for their topic.
That costs them time, effort, and often a hell lot of cash. Quite frankly, it’s a waste of their content.
The Problem?
We underestimate the difficulty of writing a good title.
When I first started, I found title writing to be an easy process. I simply based off my title off of my experience of reading other titles.
Without much thought, I kept publishing my articles. Every day I would wake up and wonder why my article only made a few cents overnight, if any at all.
Frustration struck me. What had I been doing wrong? My topics were relevant. They were interesting.
They were based on personal learnings and experience. I put countless effort in my content to get barely any returns.
It was only until I began paying more attention to my titles before I started making more money. I found it was those little details in a title that make a difference.
A single word, a single number, a single symbol, or a simple change in wording can be so much more impactful.
The part where you are deciding those factors makes the whole process so difficult. What word should you use? How should you use them? Why should you use them?
Those are questions I have struggled to answer, but answer them I did.
10 Words to Change Everything
I have discovered several key words (or as I like to call them: Shortcuts) you can involve in your title that can drastically improve it.
The process becomes so much easier once I got hold of words thatcan boost my titles. It’s simple; I just try to fit as many of them as possible.
Of course, it is still important to keep things short, concise, and easy to understand.
Don’t try to fit all of the words. Find the balance between overusing them and using too little to optimize the quality of your title.
Quantity does not always mean quality.
1. You
Have you ever wondered why the phrase “Hey you!’ always gets your attention?
Why do you immediately look around to see who is calling you? Why do you care?
We humans are self-centered beings.
Sounds a bit ugly, but it’s true that we care a lot about ourselves. Therefore, when something is about us, we are immediately intrigued and want to learn more.
That’s why when someone addresses you, you immediately want to figure out what’s going on.
That’s why calling someone either by their name or by a direct word like “You” is best way to get someone’s attention.
And that’s exactly what you want for your title.
By addressing the audience with this simple word, your article becomes a lot more attention grabbing. Your title turns into a direct message that essentially says “Hey you!”
Variations of “You” such as “Your” can also have a similar effect.
Here’s How to Get 1000 Views Every Day.
Here’s How You Can Get 1000 Views Every Day.
Notice the difference? The second title speaks out to the audience; it makes it about them, it makes it personal, and it sends a personal message:
I know how to get 1000 views per day, and I’m going to show you how you can do it too.
Moreover, “you” is an extremely easy word that can virtually fit in any title with minor wording modifications.
2. Quick
Everyone likes the idea of being able to do things quickly.
We want to earn money quickly, get a job quickly, finish our work quickly, and get home quickly.
If you imply in your title that you can show them how to accomplish something fast, learn something fast, or do something fast, it’s going to look very attractive.
Synonyms of “Quick” or other variations like “Quickly” (basically anything related to the aspect of fast) also works great for the same reason.
How to Get A Six Pack
How You Can Get A Six Pack Quickly
Two words to make so much difference.
Note instead of “quickly” or its synonyms, you can actually specify the time they can do something.
How You Can Get A Six Pack In A Month
Even Better.
3. Easy
People like it when things are easy to accomplish. People like it when they save time and effort.
So tell your audience that you can show them how to do just that.
6 Ways to Make Passive Income
6 Easy Ways You Can Make Passive Income Quickly
Again, you can use any synonym of “easy” (there aren’t that many good ones). Just remember to keep it simple, and avoid synonyms like “feasible.”
4. Stop
“Stop” is a strong word that always gets your attention.
“Stop” is a command.
When readers see this word, it’s like reaching a stop sign; they are commanded to stop and check out what your article is about.
The Concept You Can’t Program Without
If You Can’t Do This, Stop Programming.
By changing the wording and adding dramatic words such as “Stop,” we create a significantly more impactful and attention grabbing title.
When someone commands you to do something, you will likely react most of the time. Incorporating this in your title will stimulate a reaction from readers, and successfully get their attention.
5. Solution
Everyone has their problems. And you know how problems are.
They’re frustrating, they’re annoying, and we want to be rid of them; but often we lack a proper solution.
Therefore, solutions are a great thing to offer. If that’s related to your article, then tell your audience that you have solutions to share with them in your title.
5 Ways to Earn Money and Make a Living
5 Easy Solutions to All Your Money Problems
Think. Is your article about doing something? Does it offer solutions? If it’s about weight loss, does it discuss ways to lose weight?
Make sure that the word “solution” is fitting for your article. Don’t use it for the sake of getting views; that’s just the clickbait we all have come to despise. The same goes with any other word on the list.
6. Simple
We all want simplicity. Simple means easy, and easy means that we have more time to be lazy and do the things we love.
That’s why the word “simple” is powerful in garnering attention; it’s something the audience wants.
It suggests that your article will be easy to understand, and that the simple act of reading your article can reap benefits and value.
7 Ways to Improve SEO Scores
7 Simple Ways to Improve Your SEO Scores
“Simple” further incentivizes readers to read your article.
Instead of thinking “I can improve my SEO Scores with these methods,” as in the first title, they think “I can easily improve my SEO Scores by doing this simple thing?”
You can also add other previous adjectives in your title paired with “simple.” Just make sure to keep things short and concise, and refrain from adding more than one.
7 Simple & Easy Ways to Improve Your SEO Scores
7. Give Up
Give Up is another version of “stop,” except that it is stronger. Generally, you can use this interchangeably unless it sounds a bit weird.
For example:
Give Up Doing This
Stop Doing This (Better)
However, in most other cases, “give up” is a much more powerful alternative. After all, we have all grown up to perceive the action of giving up with pure negativity.
Everyone tells you: “Don’t give up! Keep going!” By saying the opposite in the title, readers will be intrigued and be prepared to hear your reasoning in your article.
5 Signs to Give Up Your Startup
Moreover, “give up” isn’t used commonly, so it may help your title stand out.
8. Powerful
The word “powerful” suggests that your article will have extremely effective methods in doing something, be impactful, and have great value.
It makes you sound confident and stand out from other titles, subsequently drawing readers in.
12 Great Methods to Build Your Audience
12 Powerful Methods to Build Your Audience
Both are viable titles, but if I were to choose, I would click on the latter. I don’t just want something great, I want something powerful, influential, and effective.
Powerful > Great > Good
9. Shortcut
People like to take shortcuts, even if they come with consequences. But why?
Because it saves time and effort. It’s just like how people like the easy and simple way; a shortcut is a combination of all those things.
Thus, it is a great thing to offer in your article and your title.
5 Ways to Become A Millionaire
5 Shortcuts to How You Can Become A Millionaire
When someone hears “5 Ways to Become A Millionaire,” they become skeptical of how long it’s going to take.
Getting a good job at a company and rising through the ranks is a way to become a millionaire, but that’s not interesting.
However, once they see the word “shortcut,” they start asking questions.
There’s a short way to get rich? How can I do this? I want to save time and effort!
This word can successfully grab the attention of more skeptical readers, and more people will definitely want to hear what you have to say.
10. Proven
When we learn something new, whether it be a fact, a concept, or a method to do something, we want to know that it works.
It’s why we look for reliable statistics, personal experience of the author, or logical reasoning and proof.
There it is, the key word. Proof.
We want things to be proven correct, and when we get the idea that what we are reading is going to be reliable, we see much more value and become more certain that we’re not just falling for clickbait.
Here Are 6 Ways You Can Become A Millionaire in 1 Hour
Sounds attractive, right? But considering the amount of fake business gurus nowadays, and the sheer unrealistic possibility of the claim in the title, it sounds like clickbait. And clickbait is a waste of my time.
Here Are 6 Proven Methods You Can Become A Millionaire in An Hour
Now this adds a lot more credibility as a first impression. Sure, you can argue that people will still think it's clickbait, but the point is the difference that single word makes.
If your title is more realistic, then you will definitely attract willing readers who want to hear you out.
The Next Step
Regardless of this entire “titles are important” discussion, the truth is, the success and effectiveness of a title still heavily depends on the topic.
Typically, an article about building your audience online will triumph one about historical thinking concepts.
Some topics simply attract more than others.
Every writer has their own subjects they like to write about. Some may want to write about multiple fields, others may want to focus on a single one.
But in spite of your topic, adding the words on this list are virtually universal methods to improve your titles.
3 Rules to Remember
1. Don’t overuse the words
2. Use them when applicable to your article
3. Use any potentially better synonyms to words on the list to keep things concise (note that some items on this list are better than others)
There are a variety of places where you can apply these words, not just in titles.
There was never any indicated speciality or restriction saying that “These words are great… but only for titles.”
The words on this list share the same aspect: an attention grabbing element. This means you can use them for literally anything you want the reader to notice.
Put them in Subtitles, Images, Headings, Subheadings, Thumbnails, or simply throughout your article.
By keeping the rules in mind and using the words wisely and efficiently, your content will be taken to another level.
As I said, often it’s the small details that really make a difference.
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