The Quick and Easy Way to Write Winning Titles

By PChip | Category: Writing Tips |

In the previous articles of this series I dissected the ”How To” and the popular “List” title concepts, showing you why these formulas work. I offered examples of titles you might want to consider for your scrappy blogs. Please feel free to use them exactly as I wrote them or tweak them to meet your own needs. Yes, I’m giving you permission to “lift” the titles I’ve provided you in this series of articles about title writing.

When we see a scrapbook LO that appeals to us, we sometimes emulate what it is about that page we like. Maybe it’s how the photos are places on the page, or the color scheme used. Sometimes it’s the combination of embellishments or journaling style. When we flip through the photo albums of our friends and family we’re learning the history and walking down memory lane. While flipping through galleries and magazine pages looking at other peoples scrapbooks layouts it’s usually with a different mindset. Instead, we are looking for ideas and solutions to apply to our own scrapbooking activities. Sometimes we find that using a fellow scrappers ideas to help jump start our own pages, does truly save us time and makes our job easier. Follow this same train of thought when writing your blog article titles.

Stay within the Copyright Boundaries

Anyone who’s been around the scrapbooking arena for very long knows that while “lifting” is a common practice it’s also considered good scrap etiquette to credit the creator of the scrapbook page you’ve lifted. For digital scrappers there’s terms of use (TOU) policies in almost every piece of art we add to our stash. These policies usually include the copyright notice as well as a stated requirement for crediting the digi-artist who created the piece we’re using in our layouts. All blogs, whether it’s clearly stated or not, are copyright protected. So I want to make it understood here that while I’m giving you permission to use my titles word for word - that’s not what you should do with other titles you see on the web or you read elsewhere in print. To do so would be a direct violation of the copyright laws. In this article I’m not going to give you specifics about these laws. If you don’t already know them, then be sure to read through the many sources available that talk directly to these laws like those found at http://www.copyright.gov/.

Use Proven Formulas to Make Your Job Easier

I am however, telling you that one quick and easy way to write your own winning titles is to use the same formulas and formats that other successful writers have used. When you notice that a title caught your attention and caused you to read the article further, take a moment to consider what it was about that title that caused you to read on. Just like when you see a scrapbook page you like, you stop to consider what it was about the layout that worked for you.

Here are a few more winning title ideas for you to consider using. Take the formula’s presented here and quickly replace the main words of each with words of your own. Not only is it a time saver for generating titles, but this exercise is an easy way to come up with article ideas for your scrapbook business blogs too!

Ten More Title Solutions for you to Use:

1. The Secret of (fill in the blank)

The Secret of Getting Published
The Secret of Using Digital Overlays

2. The Quick, Easy, and Lazy Way to (accomplishment)

Three Quick Ways Crop Your Photos in CS3
Easy Steps for Changing Element Colors
The Lazy Way to Add a Drop Shadow

3. Who Else Wants (something wonderful)

Who Else Wants to Grab Our Spring Kits at a Discount Price?
Who Else Needs to Learn the Basics of Layering?

4. Little Known (ways or tricks) to (accomplishment)

Little Known Ways of Using Keystroke Shortcuts
Little Known Tricks to Photographing Children

5. Do (something) like (someone of regard)

Print a Scrapbook Like the Professionals
Use the Same Steps and Tools Graphic Designers Use

6. What (someone) Should Know About (something)

What Everyone Ought to Know About Our Snap-Easy Templates
What Great Digi-Scrappers Should Know About PPI Standards

7. Give me (something small) for (something big)

Give me 3 Minutes and I’ll Share with You 5 Journaling Ideas
Toss me One Dollar More - Get Three Extra Background Papers
Share Your Layouts in our Gallery and You Could Win My New Kit

8. You Don’t Have to (be, have, or do something desirable) to (be, have, or get something great)

You Don’t Have to Be Famous to Get your Layouts Noticed
You Don’t Have to Have Expensive Software to Be a Great Digi-Scrapper
You Don’t Have to Take the Best Pictures to Have the Best Scrapbook

9. Do You (something not so good, or something desirable)

Do You Make These Mistakes When Printing Your Layouts?
Do You Use These Must-Have Tools?
Do You Remember to Back Up your Digi-Scrap Projects?

10. Get Rid of (something not wanted) or Finally Get (something wanted)

Get Rid of those Jagged Edges Once and For All
Finally Get the Answers to Your Journaling Dilemmas

Write Your Title First

An extra little piece of advice I picked up recently was to write my promising title first. If you’ve written well, it will clearly state the benefit you will deliver to the reader in exchange for their valuable time. Having this stated in your mind and in your title before you begin writing, will help you stay focused on meeting the promise you’ve made to your audience. Your title will serve as a compass to keep you on track while writing your article. After your article is finished, go back and refine that title if it needs a little something extra to encourage your blog visitor to read further AND revisit your site again!

A Challenge for my Scrappy Friends:

With these new goodies for your writing toolbox, you should have plenty of ideas for writing a few new titles. So my challenge to you is to use the examples offered throughout this series and create 3 new titles to use in some of your blog postings this week. Then share your titles in a comment here, along with a link back to your article. I’m sure you’ll pick up a new reader or two from the link back. I’d love to see your titles and read your articles too!