How to Write a Gold Medal Blog Headline

      BLOG NEWS- With the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics in full swing in China, it's a great idea to compare the effort put into the games, both by the organizers and athletes, to make the games a success with your effort to put your blog at the top with a gold medal !!!  You don't need to be a world class swimmer, gymnist, beach volleyball player or an athlete at all, but you need practice, and repetition to get to the top of your post writing blogging game.  And, one of the best ways to capture your audience and get them to your blog is with sharp headlines!  To help, here are some key headline writing tips;

• “What will your reader get from this post?” The answer should be the baseline for the headline.  After that, change it to ensure it has easily understood and expressive words. Your reader wants to know “What’s in it for me?”--- tell them right away
• The KISS Rule -Keep It Short and Simple. If your headline is too long, the reader won't be able to stay with it to even bother to understand it.  Summarize the content in 10 words or less and make it your cornerstone.  Short and simple is key!.
• Be diverse and different.   I see many headlines that seem repetitive since use the same type words and phrases over & over. If you run low of ideas, use a thesaurus to help you find new words. Another way is to search for keywords in the content.
• Be believable but exciting. Headline that sound “too good to be true,” usually are and your readers know it's BS and will move on. Anything too “spammy” will get ignored.  But, give it some sizzle and hype to create urgencry.
• Emotional, but not too sappy.  Headlines that make a reader excited, scared, or curious will produce better results because they prompt action by the reader. Write in a manner to make your headlines urge people to take instant action.

Take a minute to review your past headlines and decide if they've been the best they could be.  And let us know if these tips help, comment below....