How to Compose a Compelling Linkbait Title

There is a fine art to linkbait. You can’t just slap together a list-style article, submit the URL to Digg, and watch the links roll in. The best linkbait will always be quality, well-written, and well-researched articles. But it’s not enough to just have a quality piece of writing. You’ve also got to have a compelling title, a title so good it practically screams “Click me!”

How exactly do you go about doing that? I’m glad you asked. Here are the four simple steps to creating a solid linkbait title.

1. Character is King

Concise, succinct writing is the backbone for linkbait in general and linkbait titles in particular. You’ve gotta remember that you have a limited number of characters when submitting your title to sites like Digg…and that’s including spaces. If you can keep your title under 50 characters, you’re doing okay. Make it alluring in 40 characters or less, and that’s even better.

2. Make a List

People love lists. Even the people who say they are sick of seeing lists cluttering the front page of social sites love lists. They create controversy among readers, which leads to a flurry of comments, “Likes”, and links.

But a lot of people are sick of seeing “Top 5” and “Top 10” lists. If you want your content to stand out, consider writing a “Top 6” or “Top 13” article. The odd number draws the attention of the reader, and indicates that you put together a list based on merit, instead of trying to hit a round number like 10.

Another numbering system that works well for lists is to create an article that is an “ultimate” resource. Top 50, 100, or 1000 lists will draw readers looking for complete, masterful guides to a topic, or people who are just intrigued to see a list with so many entries.

3. Get Descriptive

Try and write a linkbait title without using any adjectives, and you’ll find it’s pretty hard to do. The adjective gives your reader the impetus for clicking through to read the article, and picking the right adjective can make or break your piece. You need to pick adjectives that are too interesting to ignore.

Compare these two headlines:

7 Famous Oscar Acceptance Speeches

vs.

7 Deranged Oscar Acceptance Speeches

Which article would you rather read?

4. Juxtapose!

In a previous blog post, I talked about how you can have opposing concepts play off each other to create compelling linkbait titles. Readers will never tire of reading content that surprises them, or frames what they already know in a novel way. Play up the opposites, and you will be creating a content hook that the majority of users will be powerless to resist.

Conclusion

Writing successful linkbait is hard work that takes training and experience. But if you pair quality content with a compelling title, you will greatly increase your chances for success.

Did I miss any of the finer points for titling linkbait? Tell me in the comments below!

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