by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

I wanted to be clever, not practical. My goal in crafting blog post titles was to think of the snazziest title I could, even if it wasn’t search engine friendly. It took a few gentle suggestions from a blog editor for me to embrace a different way of crafting titles. 

In this series on starting an inspirational blog, let’s talk about blog post titles. We craft titles differently for online reading than we do for printed material. If you’d like to catch up on any posts in the series, here they are below: 

1. The purpose, topic, and scheduling of a blog – See Part 1
2. Blogging platforms, sidebars, and post length – See Part 2
3. An expandable outline for Bible-based blog posts – See Part 3
4. Ways to connect with other bloggers and support each other – See Part 4

3 Tips for Crafting Effective Blog Post Titles

Use words people search for online, and use a number if you can. 

My writer friend searched for Bible verses on strength and found one of my blog posts. Thrilled and grateful to hear that, I looked at the titles of the posts on strength to see why they would come up in an internet search. The key words must have done it—7 Bible Verses to Renew Your Strength. 

I could have picked a more poetic title, but it at least has a touch of “poetry” in it—renew your strength. I thought that phrase sounded inviting, and I included a number because people like lists on the internet. 

To craft your own blog post titles, look at the topic for each post, and summarize it in a word. For me, it was strength. I attached a verb to strength—renew—and added the number of verses. So if anyone searches for “Bible verses on strength,” I’d have a greater chance of the post coming up in search results. 

Use key words in your titles, and don’t be afraid of the title sounding too straightforward. Often, being upfront with what’s in a post can bring us more readers because they know exactly what they’ll find, and they’ll probably receive more than they expect. (Because we are writing with heart and pizazz.) 

Use words that hook the interest of your target audience. 

Who are you blogging to? Moms of young kids or women in retirement? Corporate businessmen or ranchers? Teens or pastors? Think about what wording would appeal to them, and include that in your post’s title.

Writing for Pursue Magazine, a Young Adult Christian magazine, was a stretching experience for me. I learned how to teach adults about the Bible by first teaching youth Sunday school. I learned to streamline my lessons for the teenage girls, and use everyday wording and application they would care about. When I started writing and blogging for Pursue, I needed to remember what would appeal to a teenager and twenty-something more than what would appeal to my normal audience of women in their forties, fifties, and sixties. 

When I blogged about young women treasuring the book of Psalms, I was careful to pick a title the girls would like. Instead of “Treasure Psalms for Life,” I chose “Make Psalms One of Your Best Friends.” I talked about getting to know the book by writing down its verses in a journal and running to its promises when their hearts needed cheering up. Personalize both your messages and your titles to appeal to those you’re seeking to reach. 

Paint a picture with your words.  

Our titles can paint a picture of what the reader will find in the post. Even when we have a numbered list like seven verses on strength, we can paint of picture of “renewing” and strength.

Here are some of the favorite titles I’ve posted on my blog. What pictures appear in your mind as you read them?

• “The Light in My Soul”
• “The Power of One”
• “What Is at the Heart of Your Faith?”
• “Hushing a Storm Within”
• “Grace for Every Downpour”

In each of those titles, I still have a key word that someone may use in an internet search. Soul, power, faith, storm, and grace. They may not search for “grace for every downpour,” but as my blog has more visits and the post receives more and more interaction, the chance grows that it could appear in a search. 

Regardless, subscribers can see the blog post title in their email inboxes, and “Grace for Every Downpour” may just entice them to open the blog’s newsletter. A visitor to the site may also see it and stop to read it. Draw people in with how you summarize your content in your blog post titles. Give them a taste of what’s to come. Let them picture the relief, the power, or the hope that you’re sharing in each post. 

Which tip do you like the best? Have you found a strategy you like for crafting blog post titles? Share them in the comments, and happy blogging! 

We have one more post in this series—how to use your blog to build your platform. See you then.

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. She recently started The Lighthouse Connection, a monthly writers’ newsletter including writing tips, inspiration to write, and news of submission opportunities.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, take acrylic painting classes online, and do yard work in the morning sun. Connect with her at her blog, Winning the Victory, and on Facebook and Twitter.