The Title of Your Post Matters

I now have several hundred feed subscriptions in my RSS reader, and I'm not the only one. Obviously, I don't read every post, everyday. But there are four things that have helped me determine which posts I'm more likely to read on any given day.

• Make your title count. Be specific and let me know what I am going to be reading. If it is vague and my expectations aren't met, I'm more likely to skip over the next post. Your title also needs to set up the first paragraph to get me hooked. Don't forsake the first few lines of your post.
  
  
• Change your setting to show the entire post in a reader. At one time it may have been thought that only showing a portion of your post would bring people to your blog or Web site to learn more, but in my case - it doesn't. I usually skip to the next entry in my reader and when/if I remember, I'll go back and look at the blogs that only gave me a teaser.
  
  
• Keep your post short. If it looks like I have to take more than 5 minutes to read it, I won't. I have hundreds of other feeds to look at. If it does have to be long, then review the first bullet point again.
  
  
• Recent Comments. I almost always take notice of anyone's blog when the author recently commented on my blog.
  

This post wasn't for you. It was for me.