5 Easy Steps for the Best Big Sleuth Title
Need to create a great title for your Big Sleuth idea? Follow these simple guidelines to create an engaging title that’s sure to inspire!
It’s said that brevity is the soul of wit. That’s the enduring appeal of Twitter: 280 characters is scant space to say what you need. There’s plenty of data on visitor “bounce rates” (people who land on a page and immediately leave). If you want more insight into bounce rates, you can even defy blogger Farhad Manjoo by reading his article to the end.
I bring up bounce rates because I don’t want you to leave. And I don’t want visitors to leave your idea without getting excited about it. So let’s craft the best copy for your idea title.
1. Keep it Short.
Keep it between six and ten words.
In the crowdfunding world, product-based projects skew to the shorter side of the title spectrum. The most successful Kickstarter project so far was called “Pebble Time — Awesome Smartwatch, No Compromises.” Six words were all they needed. And a great product, I suppose.
Cause-based fundraisers tend to be a little longer. Including context for the project and who it will benefit requires more words. It’s okay if your title is longer than six words, but it’s still a good idea to cap it at ten. People may find it on Google, so ensuring the entire title shows up in a search is crucial.
I’m an innovation coach specialized in makerspaces, so I imagine a STEM-focused campaign could be fun (science, technology, engineering, & mathematics). Something like, “help prepare students for STEM careers.”
You don’t need to say everything right away. The goal is getting them to read the next sentence. Which words inspire readers to keep going?
2. Use Action Words.
Inspire your readers!
Use strong verbs that describe what your project is all about. Are you rallying support for a classroom? Don’t focus on what you’ll buy, focus on the outcome. If you’re purchasing computers for a classroom, show what students will be able to do: “Launch students into STEM careers.”
Your potential idea backer is launching students toward the 21st century workforce. How will they do that? With new computers, but they’ll need to read the next sentence to learn the specifics.
Focus on the action of your project. Keep your visitors interested. How can you immediately hook them to your campaign?
3. Shout Out the Team.
Every Big Sleuth idea is a human story, so focus on the humans.
A strong title is a blend of copy, teaching, and emotional appeal. You can target a reader’s emotions by educating them on how your product will change their life. Because they’re human. Or you can showcase the people your idea will help.
Whatever your focus, feature the human impact of your campaign. This brings context to your title. It will conjure images of the impact of a contribution. This in turn brings about a positive emotional response.
In our students in STEM careers example, we can showcase the specific kids we’re helping: “Launch WBLAS High School Students into STEM Careers.”
So have a short title with a call to action for a specific group of students. How do we introduce a sense of urgency?
4. Aim for the Goal.
You’re on a time table. But do your readers know that?
Providing a deadline for the campaign motivates your network. If there’s no deadline, it’s harder to imagine the future where your idea is advanced. And calling them to action is always the goal. If your project isn’t time sensitive, consider finding some kind of tangible goal to shoot for (but don’t lie).
An authentic push toward that date will show through your campaign activities. And it will feel great for your idea backers. They’ll know that in just a short while your idea will make a real difference.
Knowing that we have a goal in mind, we can introduce time into the title: “Launch WBLAS Students Into STEM Careers in 2019 Robotics League.” This looks good, and we’re still under the ten word limit.
This is a nice title, but it’s still missing something. How can you make it stand out?
5. Set the Tone.
Throw some personality into your title!
Is your idea geared toward a tech-savvy audience? You can consider some industry-specific language in the title. The feel of the title should match the campaign page or description.
There should be no noticeable change between the title and the rest of the idea. Keep a conversational tone throughout the whole thing. If you’re confident in the title, keep a strong point of view in the body.
For our idea, we can reference the school mascot and change one punctuation mark. Now we’ve got, “Launch WBLAS Bears into STEM Careers in 2019 Robotics League!”
Our new title is short, actionable, team-focused, and time-bound. When our audience keeps reading, they’ll see that we set the tone the right way. We’ve got a fun, tech-savvy school project!
When you’ve got a great title, you’re on your way to a successful Big Sleuth idea. So get your team together and create a great submission!
Do you have a great idea to improve our schools? Submit it to The Big Sleuth!
