Below are the heuristics I apply when attempting to craft a title that will get the attention of potential readers:
#1: What would Donald Trump name this post? You don't have to be a fan of Donald Trump (I'm certainly not) to appreciate his ability to sell a product. He always keeps things short, sweet, and to the point. And he is always certain to emphasize precedents and superlatives ... which is actually heuristic number two:
#2: Have you emphasized precedents and superlatives which accurately describe your content? Take, for example, my video titled, "The FIRST Steemit MARTIAL ARTS Tutorial - The Most Powerful Kick (Thai Kickboxing)." Now I'm sure there is a troll out there who would be happy to call this clickbait, but that would ignore the fact that it didn't receive a single flag. That's because it really was "the first" (a precedent) and there actually is scientific evidence that the kick is "the most powerful." Obviously not MY kick, but the technique. Had it been flagged I would have gone back and dialed down the language a bit. But I am trying to push the envelope. Which brings us to...
#3: Are you being as sensational as possible without being clickbait? Maybe sensational isn't the right word. Maybe "compelling" is better. I don't get hung up on semantics. Language is imprecise. I want my title to sound as exciting as possible, without risking that the audience will leave the article disappointed. I view that as part of the content-creator's job to walk this line. Sometimes we will step over. I believe that the most you can ask of yourself is to be wary of this risk and eager to correct this mistake when it happens.
#4: Have I maximized the amount of original information contained within the post and minimized the amount of unoriginal information? Human beings are information processing nodes. We crave new information and abhor old, flawed, information. In other words, if I am telling my audience something they already know, I am wasting their time and mine.
Hope this helps :)
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