Even as a professional, some things need to be said!
This week, I learned that while my content was good, my titles SUCK!
Your content titles suck is the most startling thing to ever read.
I have been hard at work, writing, researching and posting. Doing my normal thing to keep my dreams alive and I didn’t think anything of it. I received a notification from a reader with some wonderful insight. The commenter said, “Your titles SUCK. You need to work on that!”
I cannot tell you how stunned I was at first and then how tickled I became. This is the BEST COMMENT EVER! And no, that is not an invitation to leave nasty comments and questionable feedback on my site because it does not work that way for me.
Let Me Tell You Something
Yes, being told the titles of my content sucked was a great thing. It was a great thing for several reasons but some are not important. One of the reasons is that it makes me practice what I preach! I have always told people that it is important to receive constructive criticism as a compliment and an opportunity. It may be hard to do and hear but even the “experts” need to get feedback for things they are doing. That comment forced me to swallow that pill and I think I handled it with grace.
As I sat back and thought, I have to admit some of my titles do SUCK. They really do. Why do they suck? Well, there are several things that stand out and I’m a little ashamed to admit it. One of the biggest things I realized is that my commenter was right. The second is that I have to do something about it.
And Now the Changes Begin
I will never tell anyone I’m the perfect writer. There are times I make mistakes. There are times I do not get it quite right on the first try. What I will never say is that I give up and refuse to try again when I’ve made a mistake.
Because of honest feedback and critique, I have begun to try harder. I am now looking at the way I structure my titles and making an effort to make them eye catching and honest. I wrote the boring titles because I wanted them to describe the content. While the titles were accurate, they became really boring.
What am I going to do now? Now I’m going to start being creative when accurately writing the titles of my content. Will it be easy? Probably not. Will I like it in the beginning? Nope. I am stuck in my ways when it comes to writing for myself. Am I going to give it a try anyway? Yes, I am still going to try to write titles that are more creative.
How can this happen? Why should the opinion of one person make a difference? It matters to me for several reasons.
- It shows me that I have room for real improvement.
- This is something that comes directly from my readers so it must be glaringly obvious to someone.
- As a business person, I have to listen to what my audience has to say and respond accordingly.
It may not make sense to some but it is perfectly reasonable to me. So thank you! Thank you for your feedback and thoughts.