Steal.
Okay, I don’t mean go out and steal someone else’s title. What I mean is to emulate the format used by some of the smartest sales minds in the world – - people who design magazine covers.
(read to the end of this post for my own technique to laser focus titles for a target audience)
Click the Yoga cover to enlarge it, and you’ll see that everything on that cover is action-oriented: *10 poses to do at home; *build arm and core strength; *come into your power, etc.
Get off the computer and hit your local Barnes and Noble or Borders and spend an hour jotting down titles on magazine covers; these guys really know how to sell a magazine by the cover blurbs . . . so learn from the masters 
Check out Men’s Health
One of my guy-pals told me to check out covers of Men’s Health; according to Terry there was rarely an issue that didn’t have a cover blurb about improving your abs or your sex life. Sure enough – I just popped over to their website and what do you think two of the cover blurbs were:
- Lose your gut
- 30 Red Hot Sex Secrets
If you’re a 20 or 30-something guy, would these titles pull you into the magazine?
How About Wired?
- Lo-Fi Tech (when good enough is pretty great)
- How to Disappear Without a Trace
- Folding the Perfect Paper Airplane
Think about it. Why would these titles appeal to Wired readers?
AARP?
- 13 Cool Ways You Can Make a Difference
- Best Places to Live
- How to Boost Your Social Security Check
It’s a no-brainer to see how these titles fit the AARP demographic, yes?
And what do you think about the blurbs over at Wild West?
- Ten Myths of the Little Bighorn
- 100 Greatest Western Movies
- How Railroads Took the “Wild” Out of the West
and the beat goes on.
My Stealth Technique for Blog Post Titles that Reel in Readers
So what’s my Stealth Technique – and the one I help my clients develop for their businesses – simple (as long as you know your demographic)
Get to the bookstore and pull out the magazines that YOUR demographic reads:
- If they’re history nuts, check out the Civil War Times, American History, or Wild West
- If they’re into hard-core business, pull out Forbes and other expensive lifestyle issues, like high-end travel or cigar mags.
- What about the wanna be entrepreneurs: Entrepreneur, Home Business, Work at Home Moms (online)
- Health seekers? Women’s Health, Prevention, Shape, Weight Watchers, Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, etc, etc!
Don’t know what your demographic reads? If this is a field you’re passionate about – what do YOU read? Your reading tastes should closely mirror what your target audience is reading.
Leave a comment if you’re stumped and would like some suggestions . . . it doesn’t take much to get me to the bookstore
Blatant commercial pitch: Need an hour’s brainstorming to kick your business into high gear? E-mail me and let’s talk about how I can help. I do as little as one (1) coaching session – - sometimes that’s all it takes.
