Titles of articles are almost as important as the article itself. A poorly titled article might never get read. A mistitled article will frustrate the reader. A vague title will never get found in the mountain of information that is the Internet.
5 Great Titles
One of the best titles is the “list”. For example:
- 5 Reasons to Love Carlyle District
- 7 Things You Should Know About Alexandria, VA
- 9 Ways To Walk Backwards
Below you’ll find 5 more ways to title your article.
Tantalize and titillate.
Another strategy is to create titles that people really want to click on. Think about what the evening news, or morning shows say just before a break and turn that into a headline. Examples:
- Things you might be surprised to learn about West End Alexandria — People love surprises.
- Secrets of Burke — People love secrets.
- Shocking news about Vienna home sales — You’d better deliver a shock if you promise one.
- Hidden benefits about Mclean — Sort like the secrets above
People like “easy”, “fast and free”, secrets, surprises. You’d be surprised how fast and easy these titles can be.
Educate and Inform.
Rather than promising secrets and surprises your title can promise to inform or educate. For example:
- Valuable information about Arlington Ridge
- A primer to Falls Church
- Learn more about the Bromptons
Just ask.
Sometimes all you have to do is just ask:
- Why Old Town?
- What is the Beltway?
- Where is Williamsburg in Arlington VA?
- Why not Centreville?
- How to buy a house in Crystal City.
Questions are a great way to title an article. Just make sure the article actually answers the question you ask.
Guess the Google.
Bing, Google and Yahoo have spoiled us rotten. We’ve come to expect that any inane thing that pops in our heads is only a few keystrokes away thanks to search engines. Fortunately, our site spidered regularly by multiple search engines. But search engines need help. So one of the best ways to title an article is to anticipates something very specific that someone might actually type into Google.
For example someone might type, “What is like at Belmont Bay in Woodbridge?” or they might type “Townhouses (at) Belmont Bay.” People search for weird and unexpected things and I have the search logs to prove it.
General information is easy to find on the Internet. Specific information is more difficult to find and is more valuable. Try to provide your reader with very specific information about very specific little things.
What can I buy in PLACE for $XXX?
Select a new listing and write an article about that “type” of home. Not the property itself, but the type of property.
- What can I buy in Belle View for less than $200k?
- How much is a 2 bedroom townhouse in 22307?
2 pings
[…] It’s not helpful for our readers or desirable for our writers to start at “top level” locations like Alexandria or Arlington. We prefer more localized searches like Old Town (which is in Alexandria) or Wooster Mercer Lofts (which are in Rosslyn which is in Arlington). So use the Territory and Sitemap to drill down to a very specific neighborhood or condominium. Once you’ve picked a target, get an address from a listing at the target location. Title your article creatively as shown here. […]
[…] “community post” is a post about a community. Every community post starts with a good title as described here. Always avoid opinions in community posts. A community post is nothing but an […]