Four Strategies for Creating Titles That Jump Off the Page

Titles are a [female canine], pardon my French.

On second thought, as is all writing. For me, sound and style form as much an integral component of effective wordsmithing as does the imparting of substance. So not only do I ask myself, “Does this make sense, and does it get my point across?”, but just as important do I consider the question “How does it sound?” Unfortunately—or luckily?—this latter question does not lend itself to being broken down into a “follow these five steps” enumeration of tangible criteria.

E.B. White said it best in Chapter V of The Elements of Style:

Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind? Who knows why certain notes in music are capable of stirring the listner deeply, though the same notes slightly rearranged are impotent?

Words are like music, and if a particular succession of words has that certain something, it will stick in the reader’s mind like a catchy tune she can’t get out of her head all day. This is why Blue Like Jazz works like a charm, even though, at first blush, it doesn’t actually convey meaningful information, unlike FOUR STRATEGIES FOR CREATING TITLES THAT JUMP OFF THE PAGE, which summarizes what follows with spellbinding clarity but lacks zing almost as if all titular euphony had been surgically removed (which, actually, may be perfect for a Type-A “time is money” type audience averse to squandering precious nano-seconds of cognitive effort on admiring a title’s mellifluence or on pondering what exactly, judging from its headline, a particular article or blog post may be about).

If I were to choose between a snappy title that conveys no obvious information and one that tells me exactly what the ensuing material is all about but reads like a line from a corporate earnings report, I’d tentatively opt for the former. Ideally, of course, a title (as well as what follows) should contain both ingredients, i.e., music and meaning.

Felicitations on the Lesser of Two Feats is one of my favorites among my own blog post titles. Not only does it scan great and feature three attractive alliterations (two f’s as well as two l-and-s-combos—licit and lesser), but it also pithily sums up what the post is about without giving away its actual subject matter.

One popular title creation strategy is the subtle modification of well-known expressions, sayings, or titles of other works (The Bold Testament), although this technique must be used with caution, for it can get real lame real fast. Titles like To Plea or Not to Plea or From Russia With Glove tend to cause me to dig my nails into my palms rather than be impressed with the ingenuity of the authors. Overall, I find minor rephrasing a rather lazy approach to creation … but then again, I use it myself with some regularity, for it certainly bears the potential of producing nifty and hence justifiable results; in the end, it’s a judgment call.

For instance—referring to the aforementioned Bond flick—I titled a blog post on President Bush and his recent book tour From Crawford With Book—yes, still cribbed, but sufficiently removed from the original to be somewhat cute and creative in its own right. Another post, which discusses the second novel of a particular author (whom you may have heard of), I titled The Second Wiehl, obviously a take-off on the popular expression “the third wheel.” And a post on the negative perception by some of the police in general I titled Badged Apples, playing off on the oft-used “a few bad apples” metaphor.

The most important thing about the modification strategy, I think, is to make sure that the particular alteration one is about to employ hasn’t been used a gazillion times before. If I were to write a post on American men and came up with “U.S. Male,” or an article sharing insider information about another impending financial meltdown and were considering “Nobody Knows the Bubble I’ve Seen,” I’d make darn sure that googling these semi-brilliant creations returned less than ten results each, or else these titles wouldn’t be merely lazy, but lazy and overused, an especially deplorable combination.

My most ingenious recent title (based on the number of hits, and also because this particular post has garnered 33 comments so far, an astronomical number given the relative obscurity of my blog, even though, admittedly, approx. 50% of the total comments per post are usually my own replies to other people’s comments) is None of Your Business. Obviously, this title suggests to the reader that he is not supposed to read what follows, which, naturally, increases his desire to read it. So at first glance, the title looks like a fleetingly effective albeit rather tawdry gimmick to get people to read the post by telling them not to read it. What elevates it beyond mere gimmickry, however, is the fact that the post actually discusses the expression “none of your business” itself, hence the title tells exactly what the post is about.

One of my upcoming posts will be about gay marriage and the Equal Protection Clause. Rather than Gay Marriage and the Equal Protection Clause, however, I shall call it Equality for Ketchup, a product of the “huh?” strategy of title creation, as “huh?” is precisely the reaction this title is meant to evoke (and, yes, ketchup will be discussed, so it isn’t merely a random out-of-context reference just to get attention).

Summing up, my top three title creation strategies are:

1. Euphony (rhythm, scanning, alliteration, etc.)
2. Modification of well-known titles, quotes, etc. (USE WITH CAUTION!)
3. The “huh?” strategy

I bought the advertising headlines book a while back and just started reading it a few days ago. First few pages alone were extremely helpful in helping me to remember my ad agency days of identifying PAIN, DESIRE and SOLUTION when writing copy (and headlines more importantly).

One of the first things I look at are the recommendations. I usually look at title and author and then go straight to see who recommended the book. If it’s doesn’t have a name I know and trust I usually don’t go much farther.

I love to use a title that would catch me. Sometimes it is seasonal (“Looking For The Snow”), while at other times it may use a bit of Alaska (“Bears In The Living Room”). I don’t limit myself to a particular theme though. I try to study my subject and my intent. What do I want people to feel as they read the title? Pain? Joy? Curriosity? The title has to convey this.

This was a great question to ask us Mike. I hope I’m doing a good job…and getting better as well.

I was out at dinner last night and use the story about “blue like Jazz” by Donald Miller. I also linked it to your saying “good product is the new marketing”. My mate and I were talking about how we can try to be overly clever and sometime something just works.

Ok, so if I’d put the proper title – THE Lord of the Rings, it would have done better. How about the 200 million+ selling A Tale of Two Cities as an example then? 10.2% chance.

Hi, Michael.

Thanks for highlighting these strategies.

I’m a new blogger, and when I create post titles, I try to

- Make them short and snappy
- Use word play (although, you can overdo this)
- Make them intriguing or controversial (with a purpose, though; not just for the sake of it)
- Hint at the essense of the post, but not give it away.