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Have you ever read articles about success in online writing and seen guidelines like this: “Make sure you write a killer title,” or “A good title is really important.”? I have, and they really frustrate me. I mean, how do I know what a “killer title” is? Or what a good title is? I asked this of one unhelpful guy, and he said: “It’s something a reader just has to click on.” Okay, but again, how would I know that?
For the last year or so, I struggled with this. I simply forged ahead and did my best with titles. During that time, I published over 200 stories on Medium. That’s a decent number, so with the statistics on views, I thought we might try to learn something about effective titles. Some stories got ten times the views and readers that others received, and given that titles are the link through which people must go to read, those views must depend at least partly on the title. So, let’s take a look.
What Works Well in Titles and Why
For background, most of my work is about climate change, as you can see in the titles below. Here’s a little quiz: What do the titles below have in common?
Where Did We Get The Idea Veganism Can Solve Climate Change?
Who Needs Batteries? A New Way to Store Wind and Solar Energy
Degrowth Insanity is Ecological Suicide
Here’s why I ask. These three titles are among my most-read pieces on Medium. They are also the ones that made me the most money. That means the title somehow attracted readers, got them to click, and attracted even more readers when some people shared the links through Twitter or other social media. Each one had thousands of views, some over ten thousand views. They had many reads and many comments. But why these?
As I look at them, a couple of things stand out. First, each has in its title a reference to a specific aspect of a debate. Veganism, batteries, and degrowth, for example, are specific interest areas for certain readers with big commitments. It’s almost as if people have sacred cows in their value system that reside behind these words. If you live in a world that is affected by these specifics, you are likely to be intensely interested in them.
Second, the title pokes controversy at those sacred cows. The first one questions an assumption many vegans hold — that they are making a difference in climate change simply by being vegan. The question is veiled, but it is there. If you care, and many vegans do, you almost have to click.
Similarly, I and many writers have contributed long articles about the revolutionary new batteries being developed in the renewable energy space. It is a fascinating area, and it attracts avid technical readers. Get your technology wrong, and they will hang you out to dry. As a result, the question Who Needs Batteries? turns the whole thing on its head. It’s like one’s battery nerdiness is being challenged. Again, you are almost forced to click to find out what this is all about.
Degrowth as a response to climate change, and as a growing economic philosophy, is almost a religion to its adherents. It has deep roots going back at least to the 1972 book Limits to Growth and other classics of the simplicity/back-to-the-land movement. Today, it is somewhat beyond those roots, but its adherents are nearly rabid. So again, when the title suggests that one’s sacred cow (degrowth) is “insanity” and will produce the exact opposite outcome the philosophy aims for, the reader almost has to click to find out — and they’ll be ready to fight.
In other words, a good title hooks one’s emotions. It connects to something readers care about deeply, and it takes a controversial or challenging view of that subject. If I am right about that, then I would expect this article, published yesterday, to also achieve a big viewership and readership:
Capitalism Is Saving the World from Climate Change
Capitalism has the advantage of being both a bogeyman and an economic religion for those committed to it, depending on what your view is, so the title gains interest from both sides. This title claims it is doing the exact opposite of what most climate activists think. They blame capitalism for climate change, but this title claims the opposite. The title asserts that capitalism is saving the world from climate change. Again, you almost have to read it.
Titles That Do Not Work Well
For comparison, let’s look at three that did not do so well. Each of these titles had less than 150 views.
Focused on Carbon Footprint? You Might Be Part of the Problem
Since so many people talk about carbon footprint, I thought this title would attract attention. Carbon footprint is a central idea in the climate debate, and this title asserts that carbon footprint isn’t helping at all. Yet, I got very few views — only 123 at last check. My best guess as to why is that while carbon footprint is a central concept, it doesn’t evoke an emotional commitment the way veganism does, for example. Carbon is merely a measure of impact; it does not possess a religious adherence like veganism does. In other words, few people even cared.
Why the Climate Debate Keeps Getting Stymied
Titles beginning with the word “Why” seem to do poorly, especially if it is leading a statement and not a question. One possible reason is the implied arrogance. By stating “Why” something happens, the author sets himself up as an expert. The writer says: “I know, you don’t, so sit down and let me explain it to you.” The only emotional reaction that seems likely to elicit is a big “F You!” like an adolescent might say to their parent. No wonder no one clicked.
The Climate Change Two-Step: Electrify and Renew
My suspicion about this title is that is it just too cute and clever. The idea of a two-step dance doesn’t mesh well with climate action, and there is certainly no emotional hook. Then, after the clever part, it asserts instructions on what to do. Again, there is a certain arrogance of expertise here that tends to make one go, “ho-hum.” One hundred 145 clicks do not inspire.
My Checklist on Writing Good Titles
I am slowly creating a checklist for titles. What’s included? These are things I say to myself.
First, focus on something that some readers care passionately about.
Second, if you can give that passion a new angle they have not considered before, do so. Don’t be afraid of controversy, but don’t be gratuitous about it either. Challenges are good, but being a jerk is not.
Third, recognize that metrics are not passionate ideas. Check this one carefully.
Fourth, don’t cast yourself inadvertently as an expert. No one likes a know-it-all. Share your experience, but don’t act like God.
And finally, never settle for a boring title no matter what publication deadline you give yourself. I’ve done this too many times, and it never works.
Titles are a critical part of success on Medium. These are my new guidelines. Maybe they will work for you, too.
More For Writers!
Try a Personal Writer Retreat
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Let’s Talk Medium and Substack!
Another reader and myself would like to form a group to discuss tips, tricks, and best practices for writing on Medium and Substack. Interested? Drop me a line at sigwrite (a) gmail.com. We are aiming for early December!