Readers and writers alike are familiar with the meaning of clickbait. Especially those articles with attention grabbing titles (normally found on social media like FaceBook), you click on it with the expectation that you will get the information related to the title and only to be frustrated and disappointed that it doesn’t match the title. Sometimes, not even remotely. Urgh!
Our guest poster, Swetha today shared her knowledge on how not to write an article with a clickbait title. Definitely a useful post for those who writes. If you like her post, pleas do check out her other works here.
For those who are wondering what a clickbait is then you must have seen various links titled as “click this and you can be a millionaire within few seconds” or even certain blogs or articles are titled like “read it and it will change your life” and when you actually click on it,most of the time it’s something so irrelevant to the topic having all false content that totally will waste your time and energy you are investing on reading it. Such articles are know as clickbait that are usually created to just attract readers.Now I know attracting readers with a unique title is not a bad thing but just imagine you in the place of the reader and you click a post and find out all false content which is opposite to title then how disappointed you will be? Once the readers get disappointed with your articles, they might never return to read any of your published articles again.
So wondering how can you avoid clickbait and still have attractive heading for your post?
1.My tip is to first complete writing the main content of your post and then go for the title.Now this will help you to find the keywords in your article and on the basis of those keywords develop an attractive title. For example- my whole content is based on two important keywords clickbait and attractive heading thus it’s a must that I should develop a title having these two words in it.
2.You must have heard people saying that your title should touch reader’s heart.Now it doesn’t mean that you should attack people’s emotions. It means to have a title that will show how useful your content is to the reader and make sure by reading your title itself the reader should know about your article that you have published and please avoid going for any cheesy title like “this article will bring colors in your life” which absolutely doesn’t make any sense.
3.As I said in my previous post too you can always have your title begin with how should______ ? or what should____? or things people should___ and so on. Try keeping your title as short as possible because if the title itself is huge people tend to get bored while reading your content and many would not even dare read your article if you have a complex and huge title.
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MiddleMe 
Hey Kally!!!
Thank you so much for the shout out and hope our journey goes on happily😀
Stay safe and happy blogging 😃❣️
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You’re most welcome. Keep on inspiring others!
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Thanks
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Thank you and welcome to MiddleMe!
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They seemed to have disappeared now, but there was a variety of clickbait title that was common a few years ago. Usually along the lines of “He Asked To See A Photo Of His Girlfriend’s Mother. What Happened Next Was Unbelievable.”
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I still see those clickbait titles in Daily Mail. I never learned my lesson, I feel cheated everytime.
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Great advice!
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Thank you so much, Ena. Have a great day!
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Thanks for this informative (especially about clickbait) post.
I do have a quibble with tip#1 because, in my opinion, it’s not a “one size fits all” tip. I’m primarily a humor/satire writer, and often I base a post on a witty or thought-provoking title which came to me before I knew what I was going to write (my most recent post is a relevant example). Admittedly, I sometimes have to tweak the title as I flesh out the post, but I wouldn’t have had the idea for the post in the first place if not for title.
Perhaps my “quibble” applies mainly to my type of writing. Nonetheless, I regard the tip as not “written in concrete,” but as something to consider (a possibly helpful tip).
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Thanks for pointing that out! I haven’t thought from that angle and it does make sense if it is a personal post but not so much if it is a news-related or a formal piece.
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Awesome contribution to society Kally and guest author…THANKS
OH! I missed the one to click HERE and win one MILLION Dollars (please forward it to me ASAP!); and Oh! I DO wonder what the worm….. DARN, I HATE IT when THAT happens…
God Be with us,
Patrick
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Same here. Not so much of the scammy titles but those with “Do You Know How To….” and ended up being an advertisement of a single product. Urgh!
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Good advice
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Glad you love this post and welcome to MiddleMe!
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Thank you 😊
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Great post! Often clickbait leads to sites with nefarious intent. Posts using clickbait should always be avoided.
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Thank you, DC Gilbert. And welcome to MiddleMe.
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Insightful post, really good topic to cover. Thank you for the tips. I agree, clickbaits are not fun. Some people really need the information they are looking for and the letdown is unnecessary!
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Thank you so much for your comment. I agree that letdown is unnecessary. Hope your new week is good!
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This is a good post, Kally. Sadly a lot of people engage in this and I believe it ends up with the reverse effect as they lose their viewers. Integrity and credibility are key in whatever we do!.
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Absolutely so true. I agree with you, Herry. Those with clickbait articles are usually tabloids. Not worth our time.
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Yes, Kally.
Sighs. I hope these sites get to do the right thing, soon
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I’m glad you’re sharing information to help honest bloggers avoid being confused with clickbait. I hate it when I click on an article expecting to get useful information and instead it’s vague or nowhere near what the title promised!
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Ahhh… you’re not alone, my good friend. It irks me like hell.
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Nice 😊
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Thank you so much.
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