Learning how to write professional content is becoming a part of our communication, but do you give much thought to the title or heading?
Two-hundred-and-thirty-six billion letters were sent in 2000, roughly the year I was in middle school, according to Statistic Brain. I remember learning how to address an envelope that year. The senders name and mailing address went in the middle, your return address went to the upper left, and a stamp in the upper right corner. Now, instead of sending letters, students are learning how to improve their digital communication — and that includes how to title their content.
Have you ever started to write something and you weren’t quite sure how to get started?
There are steps that you can take to make sure you are picking the best title or heading for your content and your audience. Your title is the front runner of your digital communication. It is important to be spot on.
Samples For Starters
Writing a heading or title can be hard. When writing a great title you need to consider your audience. Are they going to be more accepting to a fun title, a simple title, or a straight forward title? You may not be able to awnser that question yet. Let's consider sending a Ving about an upcoming 5K. Here are 6 different versions of the same title to show how you can customize your next title.
1. Engaging - We need you!
2. Fun - Get off the couch for a good cause.
3. Simple - Volunteer - 5K for Cancer
4. Straight Forward - Looking for Volunteers
5. Solve a Problem - Find plans for this Saturday inside.
6. Ask a Question - Looking for weekend plans?
Over time you will begin to know what your audience responds best to.
It Comes Down to Time
Two more tips for your digital communication is all about timing. Timing sometimes can make a world of a difference. The prime days of the week are really Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Monday we are all still trying to get back into the groove of work, find our outdated tasks, and dive back in. Friday, sometimes we check out a little early. It is safe to say that this can be somewhat universal.
Our final tip, relating to time, is the time of day.
If you are sending digital communication with a next step, your peak time is 11am - 2pm. This is the middle of the day and you're catching people around their lunch break. It is the time in the day when we all have time to read a few extra messages or blogs.
If you're sending a communication without a next step. Maybe it is about an upcoming event, or a follow up meeting. These types of communication are best to happen first thing in the morning or right before the end of the day. Many of us, our morning routine includes checking emails. As well, many of us don't want to dive into a huge project at the end of the day.
This blog was originally posted on 4/22/15 and has been updated for accuracy and freshness.
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