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The one tip for writing titles I got from my mentor yesterday that I will not forget until I die!

by Digital Deepak
31 replies
I got this tip from my mentor yesterday.

I was confused about what words to use in my titles. (blog post, book titles etc.)

And my mentor simply said: Use the words which people use most. Because that would establish the connection with the least resistance.

How to find the words which people use most?

Google!

In one of my titles, I had a confusion of whether to use "get customers" or "acquire customers".

The former is simple but the later looks more sophisticated.

Google Search Says:

"acquire customers" 283,000 results
"get customers" 1,500,000 results!

So now the choice is obvious. I don't want to look spohisticated. I just want to CONNECT with the readers with the right titles.

Update: I am not using the Google keyword tool. Just the search. Search for the keyword or phrase with quotes to find out which has more occurrences.
#die #forget #mentor #miss #tip #title #titles #words #writing #yesterday
  • Profile picture of the author Nate Harding
    Cool tip Deepak.

    Along those lines let me add to what you said, as a copywriter for over 10 years.

    Write as conversational as possible. Write like you would talk, and that's how you connect.

    You've given a great way to make sure when you're not so sure.
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    • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
      Originally Posted by Nate Harding View Post

      Cool tip Deepak.

      Along those lines let me add to what you said, as a copywriter for over 10 years.

      Write as conversational as possible. Write like you would talk, and that's how you connect.

      You've given a great way to make sure when you're not so sure.
      Agreed. I have been trying to use contractions more in my writing lately.

      Agreed. I've been trying to use contractions more in my writing lately.
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      • Profile picture of the author Walter Parrish
        your mentors are right on the money with their suggestion.

        to take things even further to the next level you would choose niches that are in demand. sortof piggy backing off of the things that are already profitable.

        take facebook, twitter, etc.

        those social networks are popular, however they yield little in the way of paying customers. real marketers are already aware of this fact, however since most people like those social networks new marketers will gravitate towards any product that mentions those social networks, so they get paid for creating products based around those two based on the popularity.
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        • Profile picture of the author Sharon Hayes
          Originally Posted by Walter Parrish View Post

          your mentors are right on the money with their suggestion.

          to take things even further to the next level you would choose niches that are in demand. sortof piggy backing off of the things that are already profitable.

          take facebook, twitter, etc.

          those social networks are popular, however they yield little in the way of paying customers. real marketers are already aware of this fact, however since most people like those social networks new marketers will gravitate towards any product that mentions those social networks, so they get paid for creating products based around those two based on the popularity.
          I absolutely disagree with you on this - especially 'real marketers.' The problem is that most people do not know how to use social media effectively to generate paid business.
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          • Profile picture of the author Walter Parrish
            Originally Posted by Sharon Hayes View Post

            I absolutely disagree with you on this - especially 'real marketers.' The problem is that most people do not know how to use social media effectively to generate paid business.
            don't disagree.
            just show me the stats and tell me the niche.

            other than that it's all just talk.

            oh & btw I don't want to hear any 1 to 3 percent either lolol
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          • Profile picture of the author Pilotben
            Thank you for this post Deepak,

            I am at this moment starting a blog where I will discuss my journey day by day improving all the millions of problems I have with myself, and in my mind the only way ordinary people will take any interest in what I have to say, is when I write like I would talk to a buddy, plain conversational street English, as English is indeed my second language, it will be easier for me, but appeal to a wide audience. If I can bring my message across the best way to resonate with them and push one of the"I can so relate to this" buttons, I'll be very happy.

            If I read any post on a blog, and the English is too formal, I don't trust top much what is said, waiting for a sales pitch.

            Anyway, I love this post.
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  • Profile picture of the author smlover
    wow using google kw tools for title, that some good insight
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    • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
      Originally Posted by smlover View Post

      wow using google kw tools for title, that some good insight
      Its not the keyword tool. Just the search.
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

        Its not the keyword tool. Just the search.
        This is one area where I might go with the keyword tool, which measures what people type in the search box.

        Using the search results just gives you the number of pages containing the phrase. For example, the results for "get customers" would include pages with things like "how do I get customers to leave me alone" or "where do I get customers to park", along with pages about acquiring customers.
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        • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          This is one area where I might go with the keyword tool, which measures what people type in the search box.

          Using the search results just gives you the number of pages containing the phrase. For example, the results for "get customers" would include pages with things like "how do I get customers to leave me alone" or "where do I get customers to park", along with pages about acquiring customers.
          Now you got me thinking :rolleyes:

          Will you be my new mentor?
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        • Profile picture of the author atshy21saraf
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          This is one area where I might go with the keyword tool, which measures what people type in the search box.

          Using the search results just gives you the number of pages containing the phrase. For example, the results for "get customers" would include pages with things like "how do I get customers to leave me alone" or "where do I get customers to park", along with pages about acquiring customers.
          JohnMcCabe,

          I agrre wid u..!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Deepak, thanks for sharing something so simple, yet so powerful.
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  • Profile picture of the author newmobilekid
    Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

    I got this tip from my mentor yesterday.

    I was confused about what words to use in my titles. (blog post, book titles etc.)

    And my mentor simply said: Use the words which people use most. Because that would establish the connection with the least resistance.

    How to find the words which people use most?

    Google!

    In one of my titles, I had a confusion of whether to use "get customers" or "acquire customers".

    The former is simple but the later looks more sophisticated.

    Google Says:

    "acquire customers" 283,000 results
    "get customers" 1,500,000 results!

    so now the choice is obvious. I don't want to look spohisticated. I just want to CONNECT with the readers with the right titles.
    just keep it simple, why reinvent the wheel?

    Thanks for reminding us the obvious.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mac Wheeler
    I'm with John on this, the most popular is not necessarily the best.

    You are also overlooking the value of a title as a hook, an attention grabber, a click me now to read more magnet. Bland search terms are unlikely to have as much visual impact as carefully crafted titles.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sharon Hayes
    I've done extensive testing on this specific area. Neither "get customers" nor "acquire customers" produced the best conversion. What did was "attract customers" - and consistently.

    FYI - even by the suggested criteria of checking for the # of instances this phrase appears in Google search, it is the hands down winner.
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  • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
    I think this an important thing to remember for writing in general. I used to think that it was best to use more complex, interesting words. But, I came to realize that good writing means that you communicate in the easiest, most natural way possible. It's different from if you were writing a novel. For me, the take away is that it's usually best to keep the language simple and direct as possible, to make sure it can be easily read.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    I think the advantage to using less common language might be to attract a certain audience to a site.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mousumi
    Thanks for the post Deepak!
    I also usually avoid too literary phrases...I do not mind if people complain of using plain and simple English on my blog. I know that a great majority of readers come from the non-English speaking countries.
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    • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
      Originally Posted by Mousumi View Post

      Thanks for the post Deepak!
      I also usually avoid too literary phrases...I do not mind if people complain of using plain and simple English on my blog. I know that a great majority of readers come from the non-English speaking countries.
      That is a good point. When writing in simple english, we can have audiences from almost all the english speaking countries and also from countries where english is a second language.

      BTW, nice to see another warrior member from India.
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  • Profile picture of the author twinkenterprises
    Thats a good idea. I guess you can be too professional sounding and even if you have the best "Aquireing Customers" book in the world, you won't be found by customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author PatrickBrianONeill
    Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

    Use the words which people use most. Because that would establish the connection with the least resistance.
    This article really drives home the point of being rewarded by writing on roughly a 6th grade level.

    Great in-depth study.

    Low-Literacy Users: Writing for a Broad Consumer Audience (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)
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  • Profile picture of the author Cali16
    Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post

    Use the words which people use most. Because that would establish the connection with the least resistance.
    Deepak, that's a great tip. I would change one thing, though: use the words that your target audience would use, not necessarily people in general. Those subtle differences in word usage from one group to the next can be very powerful.
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    • Profile picture of the author Pilotben
      Originally Posted by Cali16 View Post

      Deepak, that's a great tip. I would change one thing, though: use the words that your target audience would use, not necessarily people in general. Those subtle differences in word usage from one group to the next can be very powerful.
      Another great tip, thank you Cali
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    • Profile picture of the author Deepak Media
      Originally Posted by Cali16 View Post

      Deepak, that's a great tip. I would change one thing, though: use the words that your target audience would use, not necessarily people in general. Those subtle differences in word usage from one group to the next can be very powerful.
      Yes, that would be even more powerful.

      A tip: To know what words your target audience use, read what they write. For example if your niche is about weight loss, go and read the reviews of weight loss books in amazon.com. If you read around 100-150 reviews from target customers, you can soon start speaking their language in your marketing.
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      • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
        Great tip Deepak - I have had problems in the past coming up with good catchy titles for articles that I have written. I will never again now thanks to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author CalinDan
    Wow ...never thought of it like that.
    Cool mentor you've got there.

    Thanks for the great tip, have a great day mate!

    Regards,
    Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    That is a great tip. Doing market research indeed in order to connect with them makes sense especially in the title since that is the first chance to establish a connection. =-)

    Thanks for sharing.

    - Will
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  • Profile picture of the author March Meadow
    Write as you speak in conversational English (or French or German or whatever). Many people are intimidated by the "proper" use of language, and struggle to maintain interest, particularly if the language used is not their native one.
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  • Profile picture of the author amabaie
    Originally Posted by Deepak Media View Post


    In one of my titles, I had a confusion of whether to use "get customers" or "acquire customers".

    The former is simple but the later looks more sophisticated.

    Google Search Says:

    "acquire customers" 283,000 results
    "get customers" 1,500,000 results!
    In this case, no need to even search Google. Unless you have reason to believe that you would lose customers by not sounding sophisticated (a product that requires a very sophisticated image to be credible), speak simple. Even if your audience is nuclear physicists, use the simplest language appropriate.

    How many times do ads use the word purchase" instead of "buy"? Who are these copywriters who do this?
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  • Profile picture of the author Des Lau
    Only in IM where 'get' and 'got' are acceptable and encouraged..

    lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author gpwilson
    Yes. Your mentor is absolutely right. When you are writing article then you need to keep it mind that you are writing article for your customers or potential customers not for yourself.
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