Top 5 phrases to make your title stick

So you have a post with some great content. Content that is so unique and could be helpful to so many people but all those people are not even aware that got a new post..why is that?

First of all, yes you might have written a new post and you probably tweeted about it, and still no result, no comments from your fellow readers?
Probably the first mistake you made is is the first line - yes- your HEADING!

You only get 140 digits to make people want to click on your post! You have to have a title/heading that people would want to click on and read more...

So lets take a look at some heading which at first might seem like old stuff to you, but trust me they work!

• Top (number) phrases/methods to do/make ( blank)

Using the word Top or Best shows people that you have already tested a number of methods and you have chosen the top something to share with them...

• The Secret of (blank)

We all want to know secrets, especially if that secret makes you rich (lol). So if you have ideas or methods to do something, intrigue people by making them feel special by sharing your secret with them!

• Here is a quick way to (blank)

Another great start, people tend to be in a hurry and don't have the time to deal with things so if you are giving them a quick way to deal with their problem or answer their question you are one step closer to getting their attention!

• Include the word like in your heading - ex: Become a top blogger like ProBlogger

This is my personal point of view here, we all tend to compare ourselves to higher standards. If someone achieved something we tend to say a business like Bill Gates got, a blogger like Darren Rowse, sing like Madonna...and you can go on..

• Solve a problem in your heading or show that you have an answers/solution to a question.

What do you think? Have you used these methods before? If yes - did they work?

Top 5 methods to increase traffic to your blog

Back in May I did a post on how I managed to increase my traffic, now its time for a follow up and some bits n pieces into how I did it - with proof that it works!

First of all a quick copy/paste of my statistics on visitors back in April '09, just from the graph it seems like the results are impressive enough ( look pretty good to me considering I was getting 2-3 clicks a day at the start of the year!) .

Back in Nov '08 was the time I started experimenting with different blog directories ( you can find a list of the directories I used HERE). Feedback was immediate. I started getting over a hundred visitors a month.

At the end of Dec '08 I didn't do much more for a couple of months and just let things flow and continued to get an ok traffic report. Sometime back in April '09 having some more time on my hands I decided to do something more than just registering on different directories.

Here are my top 5 methods to increase traffic to your blog!

1. Register on Twitter - not to promote your blog but to make connections

• Don't just follow people to have them follow you back - get to know their interested, what they are writing about.
• Don't brag about yourself too much, people should want to know more about you rather than wanting to hear less of you
• Share things you found interesting with fellow tweeters

2. Join Forums - to give useful suggestion on topics you are good at

• If you are good at something - share it!
  
• meet new people with same interests

3. Start Commenting on other blogs - comments are a great source of inspiration

• once again sharing your opinion on something you just came across is a great way of interaction
• showing your interest in the subject the reader is writing about
• having something to add to what the reader has to say
• don't just leave a one word comment like thank you, be a little more in depth by saying why you wrote that thank you. :)
• don't leave rude/offensive comments and don't spam
  

4. Optimize your blog - make it easier for search directories to find your blog

• use proper key words, do prior research
• make it easy for your readers to share what they just read, make all the buttons (digg, tweet,delicious,etc) available to them right then and there
  
• load time of your blog is very important, no one is going to wait 10 min for your page to open

5. Interact with the reader - get to know your reader

• I feel that it is important to ask for feedback from your readers on what you can improve or suggestions on what they would like to see on your blog
• see what your readers write about
  

For me the above played an important role, especially Twitter. After having joined I started tweeting continuously about my new posts, also I started reading other tweets and re-tweeting important information that I found useful. I feel that in twitter you have to make connections, get to know the people you are following and not just add them so they follow you back.

Now for the results, I copied my latest statistics to show
that today I'm getting around 500 visitors and more a
month and over 700 page views a month. This is a little post to encourage start up bloggers that if you keep at it you will eventually find your readers!

Why change can be good for your blog

I have finally gotten around changing the layout of my blog and going a little in a different direction than usual. I have now decided to subdivide my blog into categories, where I have my personal posts in one place and my bits n pieces on blogging in another place. I think this it's easier to navigate on the blog as you can go directly to the part you are more interested in. That is either wanting to know more about me as a person or getting more specific information on other subjects such as blogging, social media and etc..

Feed free to share your comments and make suggestions, as only with critiques from other can one make something better...