Be Mindful of How You Create Titles

To begin with, why is it important to be particular about your titles?

It is because in order to get your article to the reader, you need to capture their interest using only the title and the header image.

Most people who visit note arrive from social media or web search results. Only a small amount of information is displayed on social media timelines or web search result screens. To reach the people you want to read your article, you need to get them to click by making them think, "I want to read this," using only those few elements.

What kind of title makes readers think, "I want to read this"?

So, what kind of titles are more likely to be read? We recommend "titles that convey the content of the article."

For example, if you compare the two titles below, don't you feel more like clicking on the second one?

The latter includes the conclusion in the title, making it easier to imagine the content.
The internet is overflowing with information. Make an effort to get people to stop and think, "This is the content I want to read," based on the title alone.

Besides that, here are some other ways to write titles that make it easy to convey the content.

Of course, there is no absolute right answer for these titles. A title that conveys what you want to say more accurately and without misunderstanding is more likely to be read. Please think about a title that fits the theme of your article, your purpose, and the people you want to read it.

Things to try when you want to create a good title

When you want to create a good title, try doing things like this, for example.

1. Include names of people or things
If you include proper nouns, names of people, numbers, or questions in your title, it becomes easier to imagine the content.

2. It's okay if the title is long
It doesn't matter if the title is long. Even if the title consists of two sentences, people will still read it.

3. Put important keywords at the beginning
When making a title long, try to put the most important keywords at the beginning of the sentence as much as possible. There is a character limit on social media and search result display screens. If you include the words you want to convey within this character count, it will be easier to reach the people you want to read it.

4. Clearly state that it is a novel or manga
If you want to emphasize the atmosphere of a work, such as a novel or manga, you can prioritize artistry in the title and write [Novel] or [Manga] in brackets at the end to make your intent easier for readers to understand.

5. Make series articles easy to read on their own
When posting a series of articles, adding "Part 1," "Part 2," or "Vol. 1," "Vol. 2" can sometimes raise the hurdle for reading the subsequent parts. It is recommended to make titles for series articles such that people will want to read each one individually.

6. Don't make the title create too much expectation
It is recommended to be mindful of whether the expectation when seeing the title and the satisfaction after reading are too different. If you raise expectations too much with just the title, people might not read your other articles, or they might not become interested in you as a writer. It might be a good idea to look back at your title after you have written it.

When you have time, it might be interesting to compile a list of "titles of articles you felt like clicking on" to see if you can find any trends. Whether they contain proper nouns, whether the sentences are split into two, whether there are many questions—there are surely trends in "titles that make you want to click." Please take a look at other people's titles and use them as a reference!

For other specific techniques, please see this article.

It's easy to use "Everyone's Photo Gallery" for header images

Make sure to include a header image (eyecatch) that matches the content of your article. You can use photos you have taken yourself, or if you don't have any images on hand, please try using Everyone's Photo Gallery.

Also, adding text or diagrams to your images is highly recommended. It allows you to supplement information that you couldn't fully convey in the title.

This article summarizes examples of great header images, so please use it as a reference.

For corporate accounts, put extra effort into creating images and headings.

In the case of corporations, it is necessary to make an effort to ensure readers think, "This article is relevant to me and contains useful information." You should put extra effort into creating the three elements: the title, the image, and the headings.

Make titles objectively easy to understand
The author knows the content of the article better than anyone else. When creating a title, it is recommended to take a breath and ask yourself, "If someone who knows nothing sees this, will they understand what is written based on this title?" It might also be good to have a third party create the title for you. By having someone else do it, you can sometimes create a title that is easier for first-time readers to understand.

Always include a header image
Also, the header image is very important.

Please be sure to set a header image for every article. When it is difficult to prepare an image, it is of course fine to use one from "Everyone's Photo Gallery." And for important articles, it might be good to create an original image with text to make it stand out.

It is also good to use different header images depending on the purpose. For example, there are ways to categorize them like the following.

【How-to articles with a lot of information】
To get readers interested, add text to the header image to convey the key points of the article.

【Internal newsletters】
To convey the atmosphere of the company directly, use photos with a good vibe from "Everyone's Photo Gallery" or photos you have taken yourselves that hold memories.

Get straight to the point from the start
Furthermore, if you want more people to read your article, be mindful of how you start your writing. Instead of including greetings like "Hello" at the beginning, enter the main topic from the first sentence. Getting into the theme immediately makes it easier for busy readers to engage with the article. It also makes the content easier to see when shared on social media.

Finally

On note, in many cases, individual articles reach the reader's eyes before their profile. You could say that the entrance to note is "each individual article." When creating a title, think of it as your very first point of contact with the reader!

And above all, please enjoy creating your titles.