“Huh?” and “Oh!” Business Blog Post Titles

There are two types of titles, I realized, working my way through the latest copy of the Saturday Evening Post. The “Huh?s” need subtitles to make clear what the article is about; “Oh!’s” titles are self-explanatory.

Since an important purpose of SEO marketing blogs is attracting online shoppers, blog post titles are a crucial element in the process. Catchy and engaging as a title might be, it won’t serve the purpose if the words in it don’t match up with those searchers used.
 

What I call “Huh?s” are titles that startle and arouse curiosity.  The subtitle then clarifies what the focus of the piece will be.  Here are some Saturday Evening Post examples:

1.  “Notes from Scrooge
Why gift giving is a lousy way to demonstrate love – at least according to economists.”

2.  “Cookies For Good!
How three caring businesswomen baked up an idea to help with their town’s homeless”

3.   “Destination Nowhere
The cruise ship industry is booming.  But beneath the seemingly carefree luxury-hotel-on-the-water experience, lurk some very real dangers.”

We blog content writers, of course, don’t have the luxury of using such long subtitles.  Still, the beauty of the “Huh?” is that it’s a grabber.  Some of the explanatory material may have to go into the opening lines of the post itself.  Meanwhile, though, I advise blog writers to include category-based keyword phrases early in the subtitle.

If “Notes From Scrooge”, for example, were the title of a post promoting a mutual fund company, the subtitle might read “Gift-giving demonstrates love IF it’s to a child’s college fund account” (keyword phrase “child’s college fund”).

With “Oh!” titles, by contrast, the intent of the post is apparent.  The title makes a direct appeal to the “right people”, those already interested in what you have to sell or what you know how to do.  Readers self-select their way to your content.

Some Saturday Evening Post “Oh!” titles included:

1. "Dodging Diabetes"
2. "Top-Rated Holiday Gifts"
3. "The Healing Power of Peppermint"

With “Oh!’s”, as I instruct freelance blog writers, the trick is to insert the names of products or services:

The Power of Peppermint Prominent at Paul’s Pastry Shop
Hoosier Harry’s List of Top-Rated Holiday Gifts in Indiana
Dodging Diabetes Fun at Indiana Exercise Facility

Both “Huh?s” and “Oh!’s” can have a place in business blog post titles!