Subject lines are so important. Titles are so important. That’s what draws readers in. That’s why HEADLINES for news stories draw readers in.

Here is the link to my excerpt on the hot naked Highlanders! I’d post it here, but WordPress doesn’t allow for the code to be embedded for security reasons.

https://www.bublish.com/author/view/5924

Anyway, I’ve been experimenting with Bublish and so I’ve tried different books, different Titles to lead into the story. This one was the winner: Not One! But Several Hot Naked Highlanders in a Loch!

Now, of course, some could resist peeking. But I did have a much higher view rate than when I posted about my Dragon Fae or Taming the Wild Cougar. Not because those books are less interesting, but it all has to do with titles. Well, and hot Highlanders helps too. 🙂

The bottom line is that even though I had a record amount of views in one day–150, I had no click on book buy sites and my sales continued to be the same as before. Which means? Doesn’t work for me. Maybe some day the site will help sales, but for me at least, no.

On the subject of titles. You write this fantastic blog, work really hard on it, but no one clicks on it to read it. So yes, subject lines really help.

Oh, and I swear the naked Highlanders were in the loch, but by the time I got to this point in the blog and took pictures, they were halfway dressed.

Which comes to another point of the blog–your title should be relevant. How many have looked at a sensational title on an Internet search to see the picture of–Lion and Donkey have offspring! Okay, so maybe it was a Lion and Tiger, or something like that. But, you want to see a picture of the cute little beast. And there is none.

So like in a story, or a blog post, if you post about naked Highlanders in a loch, you should really not tease about it. 🙂  I did share the link, couldn’t embed it in this post like I wanted to.

The same goes for titles if you’re trying to sell your story too. I submit a story to an agent or editor, entitling a story: Jenny

I put that title in the subject line in an email to an editor or agent and it probably isn’t going to get much of a response. Okay so I want to come up with a Title that gets attention. It doesn’t mean that the title will stay like that either, though. Editors have changed some of my well-meaning titles to something that means nothing at all in the guise that it will sell more books, and it doesn’t. Reviewers will even say that they expected something else from the title. So titles can help gain attention in anything you do. Blogging,  writing short stories, novels, even emails to friends. And emails to editors and agents. Make that subject line really catch their attention!

So you write an email to a friend: Hey, how are you doing? Then in the gist of your letter, you tell how you had one of those worst days ever.

Friend is busy, will eventually get to the email. If you put this in your subject line–You Would Not Believe What Happened to Me

Your friend will make time to read your email.

Sometimes I do this with personal messages on Facebook. Something will happen, and I can’t type it right that second. I just leave an OMG! And take off to take care of it. Like, puppies have done something they shouldn’t. Well, not them. They’re perfect little angels. If I write that, I get lots of responses. What? ????? All kinds of responses. Then silence as my friend waits with baited breath to hear what disaster just befell me.

Try it sometime. But make sure it’s a disaster first, or it’s like Crying Wolf.

It’s a cliff hanger! Sometimes I’ll do that, and then begin typing what just happened. But it’s that initial subject line: OMG! that grabs the readers attention.

Okay, I’m up to 6500 words on Covert Cougar Christmas and hope to get to 10,000 today. 🙂 Today is Monday, btw. At least I keep thinking it is. And that’s a good thing. Since it’s Sunday, I have more time to write. 🙂

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”

Connect with Terry Spear:

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