If you’ve looked at many marketing blogs recently, you will notice post titles that have numbers in them.
- “The Top 3 SEO Mistakes”
- “5 Tips for Lead Generation and
- “6 Ways to Improve Your Handwriting.”
I counted “8” of these on my iGoogle marketing page this morning and got to wondering about this trend. Admittedly, we don’t have a lot of time, so the idea of three or four quick bullets seems enticing. These post titles are designed to peak our interest in a business area in which we might have a problem. They promise or hint at a solution and are geared to get readers or prospects in the top of the lead generation funnel.
But I wonder if the real message they are conveying is: “Japanese food – you will only be slightly satisfied, and then you will need to order more.” I’m not saying I don’t like Japanese food, or even indulge in using numbers in my blog. But I wonder at the subliminal message.
Does it say?
- We’re just trying to entice you*
- You’re not going to get the full story… you’ll have to ask us for more
- Your problem may not be so important that it can’t be solved with three quick tips
Are we ever really satisfied with fast food? Is your issue so trivial that it needs to be solved with three quick portions of a happy meal? Apparently we are, given the obesity epidemic in this country. But balancing the enticement against the level of content is a marketer’s challenge now days.
Maybe we should just give them a full meal. Or at least generate full content over time so propsects become regular readers and know what to expect. The “numbers” title is focused on generating “numbers” of hits or eyeballs. Isn’t the issue really getting sustained and satisfied readers or prospects? Numbers are fine, but would you rather have 100 prospects and 1 sale, or 10 really good prospects and 5 sales?
*PS: Yes. I tend toward over-the-top post titles. But that is part of my brand. More on this soon.