This post was originally posted on my personal blog at jwbaldwin.com

Writing a good blog title is an art. Here are some tips I use personally, that will help make your blogs stand out from the rest. We'll use the blog title below as a starting point, and see how we can make it something that might actually get clicked on.

Our starting blog title for our awesome blog:

Generating websites with Elixir and Phoenix

1. How To's and Listicles

These are the most common forms of blogs, and for good reason. They easily describe the contents of the artciles and pique people's interest. Don't be afraid to use this tried and true method!

Instead of: Generating backends with Elixir and Phoenix Framework

Rephrase it just a bit to be: How to generate a backend in a couple minutes with Elixir and Phoenix

This small shift allows you to tell your reader that you're going to teach them something useful, and it's catchy while not being false.

2. Provide value

This is the #1 THING

Blog titles should be all about communicating what value you provide to the reader as fast as possible. Keep it short and punchy with a clear value statement.

Instead of: How to generate a backend in a couple minutes with Elixir and Phoenix

Show the value with: How to create your backend in 5 minutes with Elixir and Phoenix

3. Keep it Short

People don't have time to read your long blog title. They will just gloss right over it.

Instead of: How to create your backend in 5 minutes with Elixir and Phoenix

Drop the implied words: Create your backend in 5 minutes with Elixir and Phoenix

4. Conclusion

Basically, catch peoples attention with the what and why.

What are they clicking on.

Why should they read it.

If you put each blog title through these filters, and make sure it answers those questions, you're well on your way to a great blog title!

I hope this helps! Reach out to me with questions or comments :)