Words That Wow: Writing Titles That Demand Attention

I'll give you some insight to make it easy to attract more readers

A picture, like a title, can command attention. (Image by author— at Yerkes Observatory, Illinois)

Nearly all inexperienced writers (and some experienced ones) think clever word plays make the best titles. They're wrong. The best titles let readers know exactly what your story has to say. Cute but vague titles intended to create suspense will often inspire the reader to click to another story.

You can be the best storyteller on earth, and if your title doesn't say something completely direct, lucid, and seductive, hoards of readers move on before they read your lead.

The most successful titles let the reader know what to expect, make the takeaway crystal clear, offer a hook to reel us in, contain an effective keyword string, and reflect the tone of the story.

As an editor and publisher, I have read a significant number of books, articles, stories, and all manner of written material, keeping an eye on titles, subtitles, and headings so I could see what worked and what didn't.

Crafting titles that do their jobs

The biggest job a title takes on is to demonstrate that a reader’s time will not be wasted. If I don't understand what you want to tell me, I'm unlikely to commit time to reading you. Like everyone else, my life is filled with distractions, and my attention span is limited. (Thanks, Digital Age).

I'm drawn to non-vague titles. I want to know specifically what you have to tell me. It's effective to be a little wry or clever, but when that turns to obscure, readers wander.

As I look for reading material, I am drawn to topics that interest me. We all are. A good title uses key words and phrases that I might use in a search engine to find a good read.

I am attracted to titles that feel informative and direct. If a title goes on for half a paragraph, I'm pretty sure the story will drag, too. Write tight—a dozen words is about the limit. 

Impact words are punchy and create a reaction in me. I feel a slight emotional response, and I want more. Examples: imagine, believe, help, happiness, exciting, success, money, secret, mind-blowing, shocking, truth, reveal, power. Don't use only these or all of these. Think about words that compel.

I avoid click-baity stuff like the plague. People are on to them. Clickbait refers to making promises your story can't keep—it may draw in a reader, but they will never trust your work again. "Make Millions Selling Paper Hats Online."

It helps to test different titles. I always read my articles to someone and then ask them to choose the title version that drew them in the most.

Sometimes, I ask a question in a title or include a number. "How Can You Use Dialog like an Expert?" or "9 Ways to Increase Your Revenue Stream." Use the number thing judiciously—it has almost become a cliché.

Here's a pro tip: Adapt the title of a famous story, play, or book so that it matches your theme. Readers are drawn to the familiar. Example: "Quotes, Italics, and Bold, Oh My!" is a title I used successfully. It came, of course, from the line in The Wizard of Oz movie: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! —or— "Brave New Writing: How to Update Your Style" (a play on Brave New World).

Examples of titles good and bad

Successful

• You'll Never Get Hired if You Say This in a Job Interview

• No Publisher, No Problem! Discover Self-Publishing Success

• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

• The Sound and the Fury of Self-conscious Writing

Unsuccessful titles ( I pulled these right out of popular publications)

Investigation—no idea what it is about, I just clicked away.

The Greatest Thing on Earth—a story about an ICU patient who was a fortune teller. Alas, it could have been a viral story but for the dull title.

I've Still Got It—a former army watercraft specialist recovers from an illness and finds an exciting new role.

Howl—a stream of consciousness piece about resilience against tragedy (I think)

Tools for perfecting titles

Sharethrough Headline Analyzer

Write Better Headlines: Headline Analyzer From CoSchedule —I have used this one and found it effective for learning different ways to look at words. I don't use it every day, but I spent some time running title through it one day, and I learned a lot.

Title Case Converter – A Smart Title Capitalization Tool — how a title is formatted says something about the writer's skill level. This tool allows you to select different style guides and different cases. On Substack and Medium, title case is used most often, but few writers really know what that case looks like. I use this tool all the time.

ChatGPT and its ilk — I detest content churned out by AI generators, but I use AI to suggest a title when I'm stuck or to brainstorm topics for stories and articles. Most of these bots do a credible job of spitting out titles that check all the boxes. How to: Type in a prompt like "Give me a compelling title for a blog post (or article, or book, or story, poem, or play) about using metaphors." If you don't love the response, type "More." Choose one that sparks your interest and either tweak it or cut and paste.

There are lots of skilled writers around—you're probably one of them. However, you can totally tank your best writing if you settle on a lame or hazy title. Grab those readers by the collar and firmly pull them in.

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Bonus: Dissecting this story's title and subtitle

Words That Wow: Writing Titles That Demand Attention

I'll give you some insight to make it easy to attract more readers

Words that Wow — a catchy alliteration that brings writing to mind

Writing Titles — the story is about writing, and that's why you're here reading, isn't it? This is the keyword string, too.

that Demand Attention — demand and attention are power words that evoke a feeling of confidence and, well, power

The subtitle is the hook. I ALWAYS use a subtitle. I'll give you some insight to make it easy to attract more readers makes a promise of value, solves a problem all writers experience, and puts a personal spin that says, "We're all in this together." And we are.

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I’m always open to guest writers. If you have a strong idea for a post in Pen2Profit that offers readers a great solution to a specific writing problem, pitch me via mkpelland at gmail.com—If your story attracts a couple of paid subscriptions, I’ll pay you a small stipend.