I write about matters of faith that matter. Many of the ideas for my posts are birthed by content on blogs I frequent on a regular basis or ones that are recommended by some of my many friends in ministry on Twitter. Over the last few weeks I have encountered a number of misleading blog post titles. While some creativity is essential in crafting titles, it should not extend so far that the title has no real link to the topic(s) addressed.
So What?
As a result of my recent observations, I will:
- Devote more time to creating post titles and ensuring they reflect my content
- Look for some degree of resonance between title and content as I read blogs written by others
- When possible, privately alert authors of any overt or recurring deficiencies
I suspect my past experiences with churches that advertise one thing and deliver something entirely different makes me more sensitive to this issue than I would otherwise be. Nonetheless, I think titles matter and know that if my first experience of a blog is negative I am unlikely to return. Have you encountered many titles that were clearly written to attract readers and did not match the content of the post? When you encounter one, what is your typical response?