My single largest frustration here on ActiveRain is the lack of relevance that headlines tend to have with their attached post. I admit, I'm guilty of it as well, but I'm working on it, really I am. Shoddy headlines are a bad habit, like chewing your nails, or singing bad opera in the shower. Wait, I would NEVER do that. My wife would laugh at me, and I'd hate to shatter what my perception of her perception of me is. (confused yet? Me too!)

See, there I go.... It's easy to do. Those creative juices start flowing, My mind starts wandering, and the next thing you know a post about bad headlines turns into commentary about me singing "The Marriage of Figaro" during my 2nd rinse.

Back to the point (Just think of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.... "Stay on Target...."), I've noticed that bloggers (Myself included) can risk losing sight of what they're writing about, and I've determined through strictly "scientific research" (scientific meaning that a six pack may have been involved) that there are 4 Steps to Headline Hell that bloggers like us should watch out for!

Step 1 I Can't Choose A Headline!

Step 2 My Post Has Mutated!

Step 3 My Audience Doesn't Understand Me! (A.K.A., Nobody reads my post!)

Step 4 Stay on Target?!? I Can't Even SEE The *%&! Target!

I Can't Choose A Headline!

When I write a post, I start with the headline. I start there because it's the first box I'm supposed to type stuff into right? So I decide I want to write a post about how to take good photos, I might start with a headline like:

"How To Take Good Photos" Hmm.... That's just sooo boring....

"All My Photos Stink!" Why would anyone want to read that?

"All My Photos Turn Out Great!" Great.... Another Generic, Self Important Realtor Blog Post.....

"Is Your Camera Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" There We Go, Amusing.... Catchy.... I Like It!

My Post Has Mutated!

So I've managed to grow my headline into something that people might actually WANT to open and skim..... YAY!!! Now what? I write a cute post about taking good photos, but somewhere along the line I get side tracked and start talking about god knows what (I assure you it will have nothing to do with photography, however), and by the time I'm done my post isn't about taking photos (the original topic), or how smart my camera is (my revised topic), but instead I may be talking about what sort of editing program I use to augment my artistic shortcomings.

My Audience Doesn't Understand Me! (A.K.A., Nobody reads my blog!)

See, it doesn't matter how brilliant my post is if I can't (say it with me!) "Stay On Target"! If people read my post to find out how to take a photo, there's a good chance that my Photoshop tricks suggestions are too big of a jump for them, and they lose interest because they don't understand the finer points of some expensive software that they don't own.

Not only that, but the people skimming blogs that do have an interest in Photoshop won't read it, either, because the idea of learning HOW to take a good photo is well worn territory. They're looking to find out how to EDIT, not SHOOT. Congratulations to me, I know have to reassess the title, the content, or both!

Stay on Target?!? I Can't Even SEE The *%&! Target!

This is where it really PAYS to go back, read the post (prior to making it public!) and see if it makes sense with the headline! You may have completely missed your mark, but chances are you've got something written that is very workable, and perhaps a change of direction in the headline is needed rather than a complete re-write.

What's important here is to say what you mean, and mean what you say. As long as the content and the headline are accurate to each other, nobody is going to care if that was not your originally intended topic. Chalk it up to a better idea presenting itself, make the post public, and try to write on your previous topic at a later time. Think of it this way: Now you have a nifty little companion post that you can link back to!

And In Conclusion.....

I can't say that these are the only problematic concerns with post headlines, but they're without a doubt the ones that trouble me the most. Hopefully my bit of rambling today can help you to avoid making the same mistakes!

Good Luck and Happy Blogging!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com