5 Reasons Clickbait Titles Are Terrible — Number 4 Will Literally Kill You
This headline tricked you already, this post isn’t even a list.
Buzzfeed and many clone websites have perfected the art of writing a headline. My Facebook feed is cluttered with links that will “blow me away” or tell me the “5 things you need to do each morning to become a millionaire.” I get it, Buzzfeed needs to make money and more clicks equals more ad-revenue. So it made me do a double-take when I saw these same clickbait strategies used by… Forbes? Forbes was telling me the “Top 20 cities to live in, you won’t believe number 14.” I’m not sure why number 14 was so hard to believe, it was Minneapolis. Now if they told me Detroit was one of the best cities I might be a little surprised.
How did it happen that a respected business magazine has resorted to using clickbait? At best Forbes will see a bump in web traffic, at worst they will have a decrease in credibility.
Clickbait and You
What about your website? If your website is ad based and you’re willing to try anything to get a few extra page views then go for it. Create the best clickbait headlines you can possibly think of, it really is an art and takes skill. However if your website makes money through some other means or relies on your brand’s reputation then you should avoid the temptation to use clickbait.
You can be very successful using clickbait but you should make the decision for moral reasons, not financial reasons. Value your customers, their time, and value your reputation.
If you’re tricking your audience are they really your demographic? You should try to build a following by produce quality content people would want to read regardless of the headline. Only then should you feel content knowing people are interested in you or your product and not just some marketing gimmick.
You can still make a headline enticing, just don’t be misleading.
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