New Media Operations: Can’t write a title? Use these 10 methods!

In an era where content is used to attract attention, having an attractive title is probably what many content creators hope to produce. Although PITCHINA has never advocated any methodological methods that may scare people, there are still many experiences and rules from predecessors that can be summarized on the road of creation.

So, today we have collected and summarized 10 directions for writing titles (of course, these methods are not only applicable to titles, but also to content). Perhaps, when you feel your mind is a little dry, you can use the following directions to stimulate your brain circuits.

1. Ask questions

The easiest method to think of is the first one we will talk about. Using questions to arouse readers' curiosity is an old way that can't be any older, but it has to be said that it is also a powerful tool for attracting attention. Everyone knows how to use questions to stimulate curiosity, but how to ask questions is also a science that requires careful analysis. Generally, when using a question as the title, you must give an answer in the content itself. Otherwise, the audience will easily think that it is a clickbait title and lose trust in the content you produce.

2. Highlight the benefits, not just the functions

If the purpose of producing content is to promote sales, there is one thing you need to pay special attention to. Most of the audience really don't care what ultra-high-tech technology you use, such as plasma, turbocharging, or xxx chips. Most people are result-oriented. They focus more on "what results will I get from the consumption decisions I make", and they don't pay much attention to the principle behind the "result" itself. Exposing too many professional terms or unfamiliar functional points may make the audience feel boring, while adding some interest points that can arouse emotions will increase the exposure of the content itself.

3. "To" and "Not to" / "Do" and "Not to"

Such a title can quickly convey to the audience a perception that under this title, the author will give advice in related fields. In an age when most people are craving "answers" and "results", the unique advice and perspectives of professionals or opinion leaders may be a panacea for the anxiety of this era.

4. Stir up emotions

Some of our "decisions" are based on "emotions". A title that can evoke emotions can often attract more attention. This principle is not only reflected in the "title". Your preference for a brand, whether you decide to click on a WeChat article, and whether you will place an order for shopping are often based on "emotional judgment". Even if we try very hard to consume "rationally", our "emotional nerves" are not easy to deal with after all. They will often appear on the road of rationality and bring you into their world. Especially in today's era of pursuing individuality and self-expression, "stirring up emotions" is an unavoidable direction.

5. Truth/Facts

In this era of information explosion, consumers are looking for more valuable content among garbage every day, and the characteristics of "seeking truth and being pragmatic" have become obvious in the public's screening of content. If the timing is right, producing some content/headlines that can reveal the truth will be the ultimate weapon to attract the attention of today's consumers. But the prerequisite is to ensure that the content produced is really informative. For example, "The truth about xxxx", "The story behind xxxxx", "What exactly does xxx mean that you keep talking about"...

6. Offer “Help”

"Useful" or "helpful" is a major foundation of content marketing. As mentioned earlier, most people in this era are looking for valuable information among massive amounts of content, and most of the information they look for is in the hope of solving certain problems or getting some answers by viewing the content. On this basis, "useful" and "helpful" have become unavoidable criteria for measuring high-quality content. Understand your target audience and understand the problems and difficulties they may face, then produce content that helps them address these difficulties. In addition to the content being "useful", your title should also indicate that "this content is very useful and will be helpful to you."

7. Keywords

Many times, when people decide whether to continue reading a piece of content, it depends on whether the title contains the "keywords" that the audience pays attention to on a daily basis. This has something in common with the issue of “chasing hot topics”. "Chasing hot topics" means that everyone is discussing a certain topic during a certain period of time, and during this period of time, any content related to the topic is likely to attract everyone's attention. But "keywords" are not limited to "hot spots", they can also be related to the content that the target audience pays attention to on a daily basis. Speaking of this, it can be related to the previous point, deeply insight into the target audience, and find keywords that can stimulate their attention, and then use it. It is recommended to establish a "keyword library" belonging to the brand/organization in daily work, accumulate more and use it flexibly.

8. Make good use of "misunderstandings"

The human psychology is very strange. On the one hand, we need positive energy to keep ourselves alive, but at the same time we are deeply fascinated by "negative information". Information that challenges inherent cognition is often popular with readers. For example: You may have some misunderstandings about xxx, several major misunderstandings about xxx, the xxx you have been seeing may be a fake xxx... This kind of content with reverse thinking signals will arouse people's desire to click and find out. After all, no one wants to live in a "misunderstanding" every day. However, when using this type of title or content direction, you must ensure that your content can successfully challenge the public's inherent cognition, otherwise, you may fall into a certain "misunderstanding".

9. Open the curiosity gap

Who, what, when, where, why, whether it is a question or a statement, these 5 Ws can make it more interesting and can also arouse the audience's curiosity gap. In the mid-1990s, George Lowenstein proposed a theory called "information-gap". The theory states that "when we feel that there is a gap between the information we want to know and the information we know, it will affect people's emotions. This emotional impact comes from the sense of loss caused by curiosity not being fully satisfied. After this sense of loss occurs, it will arouse people's curiosity and obtain information to reduce and eliminate this sense of loss."

10. Learn to use data

Citing results, time periods, metrics, or any other interesting or intriguing data in your headline can help you attract more attention. For example, xxx wrote a movie script in 3 days, xxx spent 20 years polishing xxx, and it reached 10,000,000 in 1 minute... In this era that focuses on KPIs and results, data is a sensitive information point for many people.

Sharing the direction and rules of writing titles does not mean that I hope everyone will simply become a title party. Ultimately, the audience's trust in content producers is still based on the content itself. An eye-catching title is important, but the content itself is even more important. The title brings people in, but whether it can retain their attention and continuously build attention and interaction still depends on the content itself.

Source: Big Creativity (ID: pitchina_)