Get Your Content Discovered: How to Optimize Your Titles for 2x Intrigue

0:0010 years ago, I made the decision to build my personal brand that was elevated, yet approachable, and reflected who I was, not just what I did. I created my website with ShowIt because it's true drag and drop freedom so you can easily build and update your site. Plus, their real human support team, game changer. Want to try it for yourself? Head to jasminestar.com forward slash show it for a 14-day free trial and first month free when you subscribe. Welcome to the Jasmine Starr Show, a place where we discuss business, marketing, strategy, mindset, and today, titling your thing. I love this episode.

0:34We're going to get so geeky on words. I have to tell you that when I hear beautiful language, I will bring up my phone and I will write it in my notes Sometimes i'll send a beautiful phrase to myself via email Like when somebody can describe something so beautifully or the way that they use the cadence of their words I'm, like that is so good when I see a good title when I see a good business name when I see a new offer name I am like props to you. I love it. I live for it So today we're going to talk about how we can build a framework on we doing it better Did I just say we doing it better how we can do it better?

1:06Now, whether it's the name of a new offer, a masterclass, community, a podcast episode, or a YouTube video, whatever the title is, it can make a big difference in the end result. But first, can we take a moment to read some kind words by somebody from the name of AJ Granholm? I see you, AJ, and the five-star review you left for the show. When you said, I love the transparency when it comes to all things online business, this podcast is a huge value add. Thank you, AJ. All right, y 'all, in this episode, I want you to get ready because you're gonna learn why titles are so important for marketing your business, tips and frameworks for creating them, and spoiler alert, if you stay until the end, I'm gonna personally workshop some titles with you in real time for podcast episodes so you could see how my brain works through the process.

1:51So why are titles such a big deal? I'm gonna give you two reasons. Number one, your title is what tells somebody whether they should consume your content or keep scrolling. So think about it this way. If it's an article, a video, a podcast episode, the title serves as the initial point of content, like that first impression between your content and your audience. Now, I wanna be very clear. I am still learning how to optimize my title. I am by no way a professional. I don't think I'm the best, but I wanna share a few things that we've done as a team to get better. So number one, what I really wanna focus on is I wanna put ourselves in the shoes of the consumer for the moment.

2:28Now, in fact, this is you. We're having a conversation with you. What prompts you to pause and click on a particular piece of content. More often than not, it's because the title, it intrigues you. Okay, but how? It addresses a specific need or interest and delivers a promise, or even better, a solution-based promise, of what you can expect from the content you're about to consume. Basically, it sets the stage for what's to come and it plays a really important role determining whether somebody engages with your content. Now, reason number two why titles are so important is because of searchability and discoverability.

3:03Wait, Jasmine, aren't those two of the same thing? Not quite. So I'm going to break this down. Remember, we're getting geeky about titling. Searchability refers to how easily content can be found in search engines like Google and YouTube. When somebody types in a question or a phrase into the search bar, the search engine will go through millions and millions of webpages to find the most relevant results. And guess what? Your title of your content plays a big role determining whether it shows up in those results. Now that's searchability. On the other hand is discoverability. This is more about, it's actually more than just search engines.

3:37It's how your content is found across various platforms and channels. So, you know, whether it's on social media, a podcast, or a blog, your title can make all the difference in getting your content discovered and seen by the right audience. Now, before we dive into these mini frameworks and our mini workshop session, I want to share with you some research I found preparing to record this episode. Now, the first interesting thing I found was from Wiley Communications, and they said that studies have shown that headlines with numbers tend to get more clicks than without. For example, a title like five tips for better podcast titles is likely to outperform a title like tips for better podcast titles.

4:16So when it makes sense, numbers might be a great thing to include in your title. The second thing I found was from CoSchedule and they mentioned that titles that ask questions can pick a listener's curiosity and encourage them to click on it. For example, can your podcast title increase your downloads? That's a question. That's going to be more likely to grab somebody's attention than a title like the importance of a good podcast title. Hmm, these are interesting, right? So I'm thinking about these things. So here's where some tips that I have personally learned throughout the years, and I have five hot and ready for you.

4:51Tip number one, keep the titles benefit-driven. Here's why. Benefit-driven titles will appeal to more of your audience. A lot of your audience, they're looking for a solution. They're looking for something that's going to benefit them. So let them know that your content is going to do just that. So instead of describing, oh, this is what my content's about, focus on highlighting the benefits of what your audience will gain. Let's break this down by example. Instead of, quote, 10 tips for better time management, you could use, quote, find more hours in your day, 10 time management secrets. Okay.

5:24This instantly communicates the value of your content to your audience. So if you want more examples, let's break this in even more. I just pulled up some benefit-driven titles from my podcast. Now, I'm going to link them in the show notes just in case this title is so good and you're like, wait, I want to listen more to it. That way you can put two and two together. The title and how we use them to really push benefit-driven. So here are three simple titles that I pulled. You can find them in the show notes. The best AI strategies to grow your business with Chris Winfield. how to price your offer and increase sales, and business lessons that will make you a better entrepreneur.

6:00Do you see what we did there? All value-driven. They're preparing a listener or a viewer what's to come, what they can expect. So tip number two, use keywords. But I don't want you to like stuff your title with keywords. Like this is like a hack and it just doesn't work. It just sounds unnatural and they seem over jargony, which totally turns your audience off because they can totally sense it. So what do I mean by overly jargony? Let me give you an example. Quote, ultimate SEO title optimization techniques and hacks, crafting compelling headlines to dominate search engine results and explode your click through rates.

6:33That has way too many keywords, which can actually hurt rankings because algorithms don't like to be manipulated. Instead, you can use keywords that strategically work. Things like, quote, SEO title secrets, creating click worthy headlines that rank and get views. Okay. It sounds way more like natural. It sounds like a human. It's not as repetitive and jargony as the first one. So tip number three, this is something that I've personally noticed on my own personal podcast episodes. And I want to share with you just so that you're aware. And then you could start seeing if this helps you too. Now I'm going to pause here and I'm going to remind you that this episode is not about titling podcast episodes.

7:12It's not about titling videos. It's not about titling blog posts. It's not about titling an offer. It's not about titling a course. It's about titling, period. Now you're going to see a lot of these common themes. And so when I'm sharing these tips, these are tips that yes, I'm using my podcast and yes, I'm using on YouTube and yes, I'm using when it comes to offers and yes, I'm using when it comes to blog posts. So you're going to start seeing how it's strung through all of the titling principles. And so even if you don't have a podcast or a YouTube channel, I want to start thinking, how can I title things?

7:42Even titling your newsletters as you send them a week, that is your subject line. Your subject line is a title. I want you to start keeping these things in mind. And so now that leads us like coming back to that third tip and to speak in the positive. So what do I mean by that? Well, it's going to be similar to keeping them benefit driven. You want to frame your titles in a positive light. Instead of focusing on what your audience should avoid or problems they might face, I want you to emphasize positive outcomes or solutions they can achieve by consuming your content. Let's break this down by an example.

8:12Instead of saying avoid these common mistakes in marketing, you could use master marketing, 10 strategies for success. Now, not only does this sound more inviting and optimistic, but it also will likely resonate with your audience aspirations and goals. Now, I wanna share just a few of my episode titles from over a year ago and like what I would do differently now. Now, remember, I said I started really focusing this about like in this last year. So I made a ton of mistakes. So what are we gonna do now? We're gonna go through my mistakes so you don't repeat them. Okay, here's a title that, oh, I look at it and I'm like, we need to go back and redo this.

8:44One episode is called 10 Ways to Avoid Getting Stuck in Business. To frame it positive, I could call it 10 powerful strategies to propel your business forward and up-level your business. Or 10 actual tips for unstoppable progress. Okay, let's go through another bad example. Another episode title that we had was how not to get business. Oh my God. Which was a lot about, you know, building trust and brand reputation. And like, I just think like, Jasmine, what were you doing? So let's now reframe it positively. I could call it building trust with every business owner needs to hear for sustainable growth That sounds a heck of a lot better than how not to get business Or here's a different title reputation and trust a huge lesson.

9:27I learned by scaling All right, y 'all now what I want to do now is like let's get into some frameworks. So You know, we're all about action. I want you to grab your favorite pen If you're driving you can like come back and you can listen to this and take notes. Okay First, let's talk about titling. Let's say you're in a title a master class, right? Let's see her in a teach something. It's tempting to make a title class like cute and catchy, but it's way more important to have your title be clear and concise. But how do you still get attention without sacrificing clarity? Well, if you're asking how, I want you to try this formula.

9:58I'm gonna pause because my good friend, industry peer, her name is Danielle Canty, and I was going through titling and she's like, oh, but Jasmine, haven't you ever heard of this formula? And I was like, what are you talking about? She's like, how to get X in Y without Z. And I was like, okay, Danielle, we got to break this down. So how to get X in Y without Z. X is the desired result. Y is a timeframe. And Z is what people want to avoid. So here's the thing I'm going to say. The Y in this equation, like that timeframe, it could be optional. But if you can, I think it makes a huge difference telling people how much time they should expect.

10:37So what does this look like? So we're going to pause and I'm going to break this down into a formula. So remember, how to get X in Y without Z. Here is an exact title we used using that formula for masterclass. How to transform your finances in 30 days without sacrificing your lifestyle. Here's another one. How to boost your productivity in one week without burning out. How to build your dream business in six months without quitting your day job. How to achieve your fitness goals in 90 days without spending hours at the gym. I'm going to pause. I said that those were titles that we used. Those are examples.

11:16Here is a title right now that we just used in a recent launch. How to scale your business in eight weeks without a stressful launch. We use that exact formula. So by using this formula, you're not just providing a clear promise of what your attendees are going to get, but you're also going to address personal obstacles, concerns, and objections they might have. Now, this creates massive interest and positions in your masterclass as the solution to their challenges. And so then it makes it more enticing and more compelling. And then they're like, I have to register. Now, one more thing about masterclass titles before we move on to like titling things as examples like YouTube or podcast episodes, test your titles.

12:00Choose a couple of titles and pull your audience to see which one they would prefer and would be most likely to register for. Plus, this gives them some stake in the masterclass or workshop or whatever it is that you're naming. They feel like they have a say in shaping it. And when they have a say in shaping it, it's going to increase the investment and engagement. So it is a win-win. You get valuable feedback. They feel more connected and they feel involved in the process. So don't be afraid to ask for input and test different titles to find one that resonates best with your audience. Now, before we move on, I have to tell you, at the time of this recording, I put out a poll yesterday on Instagram.

12:39Now, I am working on creating a promotional reel and I said, so I'm going to be creating a promotional reel and the promise, like what I'm going to say, how I'm going to entice, the reason I want somebody signing up and I'm like, can I teach you how I got 10 ,000 followers in less than two months on Instagram? And then somebody on the team says, okay, but do people think that two months is less or 60 days is less? And I had an opinion about it, but I'm like, who cares my opinion? I should actually go to the people I'm trying to talk to. So I went on Instagram and I put out a poll. What is more enticing to you?

13:1360 days or two months? And then the poll legitimately spoke to us. So when it comes to actually getting into the nuances, is forget getting in your head, ask people by way of a poll. This is so helpful when it comes to titling. So when you move on, like adding a different layer to like maybe podcast or YouTube or blog post, I want to focus on something specifically. There are three components that I think matter most when it comes to these types of titling. Keywords or phrases, value proposition, and length. So let's talk about keywords and key phrases first. By starting with a title with the keyword phrases that accurately represents your content in your video, you're immediately signaling to viewers and the algorithm that your video, like it's about this one thing.

13:57Now this could be a specific topic, a question, a key term related to your video, and it increases the likelihood of your video appearing in search results and in recommended videos. So take time to research and choose the right keywords that align with your video's content and the target audience. So how do you do this? I'm so glad you asked. Well, you start by using YouTube search bar to see what people are searching for in your niche. Even if you're not making a YouTube video, the YouTube search bar is so powerful. And if you're not about the YouTube search bar, you can also use tools like Google Keyword Planner, TubeBuddy.

14:32They give you really great insights into the keywords that people are using. Now, once you've got your keywords, sprinkle them naturally. Remember, we're not going to overstuff them. You want to sprinkle them naturally into your title to improve your video's visibility and attract viewers that are searching for that type of content. Okay, so now we're going to move on to the second component when titling YouTube videos, podcasts, and that's the value proposition. This ties into what we talked about earlier, keeping your titles benefit-driven. It's really important to get people to stop what they're doing and press play on a video.

15:04So you want to clearly communicate the value or the benefit that the viewers will gain from watching your video. Remember, your videos are all about them. They are not about what it is you do. They're not about you. They're all about them. So what problem will the video solve or the podcast solve? What will they learn? How is this video going to make them happier, make them more productive, make them richer, make them healthier, whatever it is. We have to tell them why they should watch because it's a benefit to them. All right. So we talked about keywords and value proposition. Now I want to get into length.

15:34I would recommend to keep your titles as concise as possible. I want to get them right to the point. Why? Well, YouTube truncates, it kind of makes the titles smaller in search results. So aiming for 60 characters to ensure that the entire title is visible. Now that's on YouTube, but when you're talking about titling podcast episodes or blog posts, now even if you don't have a podcast, I want you to keep listening because we're about to workshop some titles together. Now you can connect the dots. I believe you can for whatever it is you're offering in titling. So when it comes to podcast episode titles, there are also a few things you might want to consider.

16:07First and foremost, The first three words of your podcast are prime real estate. Now, this is something that Alex Sanfilippo, now he is the owner of Podmatch and I just appreciate him. He's so smart. He's so bright. And I want him to get him on the podcast. Alex, this is my call out to you. Come on the podcast and talk to us about podcasting. He told me that this makes a huge difference when it comes to titling our episodes. Now, I'm going to link to his website in the show notes for you to go and check out. He's like a great resource. So how do you leverage your prime real estate? Well, you need to be strategic and concise.

16:40The first three words should be engaging and give a clear idea of what the episode is about. So think of them as like a hook. You want to hook them and grab that listener's or watcher's attention. Now, I just read Black Link SEO study and their analysis of 11.8 million Google searches and their results. And they were highlighting the importance of having keywords at the beginning of titles for better SEO search engine optimization performance. Now, hold on. I know I sound super geeky, but I am a marketing strategist. I know go-to-market strategy. I know how to get attention. I know how to build awareness.

17:21And people will say, oh, Jasmine, that's just a natural skill. And I'm thinking to myself, it's not. I'm obsessed with marketing. I'm obsessed with getting attention on what it is your offer is all about. I firmly believe that your offer and your business is destined to succeed. But the biggest linchpin is getting people to know about it, getting people to be aware about it, getting people to care about it. So if I am sitting here and I'm like, how do I get people to know? How do I get them to care? How do I get them to invest? Well, then I need to understand the psychology about it. I need to understand the geeky things about what works.

17:56The geeky things are like, if somebody has a problem and they want a solution and they are searching for it, you must show up. Period. The end. Now, if you're already showing up, congratulations, that's half the battle. How are we going to optimize how people are finding you? Now, I'm gonna link to the research in the show notes for you to check out so that you can geek out further. But another important thing for podcast episodes is clarity and relevance. Now, just like YouTube videos, just like blog posts, it's important that your podcast episode titles clearly communicate what the episode is about.

18:29This is about subject lines to newsletters. I'm gonna say it again. This is about blog posts. This is about an offer. this is about your sales page, whatever that title is. But I want to be very clear, you don't have to clickbait it. When people feel like you're just trying to clickbait it, they immediately lose trust. And then that listener probably is not going to come back. They're not going to listen to an episode. They're not going to read another blog post. They're not going to open another newsletter. I want you to remember that your title is a promise and you don't want to break your promise because your listeners should be able to understand the topic or the theme of your episode just by glancing at it.

19:01So what does this mean? Avoid being too vague or cryptic. Instead, I want you to opt for titles that accurately reflect the content that will resonate with your ideal client that shows value. So going back to my episode titled How Not to Get Business, remember that terrible one? How Not to Get Business. I'm glad that we tested it. It might've sparked curiosity, but it lacked the clarity about the episode's true content. In fact, the episode that aired two days before or the How Not to Get Business episode, the one that aired before that got an extra 3 ,000 listens. And the one that aired five days after the How Not to Get Business got 3 ,000 more listens.

19:43Okay, so what does this tell me? That that episode, just by the title alone, listeners skipped it. They were assuming, oh, that's irrelevant. How Not to Get Business. I don't, I want to learn how to get business. And they just weren't sure that it was something that they were interested in. Ooh, lesson learned. The third thing when it comes to titling a podcast is intrigue. We want to make sure that it feels irresistible. So how do you make sure that your episodes, your videos, your newsletters, your offers, how do you make them intriguing? How do you make them clear? How do you also make them relevant?

20:15Well, I'm going to walk you through a formula that will help you when you feel stuck because it's helped me when I feel stuck. Now, we use the same formula at times when titling podcast episodes. Intrigue plus colon plus clarity. Okay, like this little equation, three pluses. Let me explain. Think of it like this. Intrigue is what grabs their attention. A statistic, a fact, a burning question, or juicy benefit they're going to get from listening. Then the colon separates it and adds a bit of anticipation or curiosity. And then after the colon, you add the clarity piece. This explains exactly what the episode is about without giving it away.

20:53Now, I love this formula because it makes sure that your first three words are preserved in that prime real estate for podcasting, for SEO, for YouTube without compromising the clarity of the title. So at the beginning of the show, I told you we're gonna workshop some titles at the end of the episode. So here we are, end of episode. Do you guys want to name this episode together? Do you wanna know what like the podcast producer and I, like we were working on this and I'm like, well, why don't we just use this as a real example? Great. So the tentative title, this is when we were working with the producer, she tentatively titled the episode, how to come up with the most clear, compelling, and SEO-driven titles.

21:32Okay, that was like the first step. But what's wrong with this? Well, let's run it through the checklist that we went through today. Let's put it through our formula to work and workshop the title for this episode together. First, let's consider our keywords or phrases. We want to make sure that our title accurately represents the content in this episode and includes the terms that are like, oh, our target audience. They might be searching for this. Now, given that we're discussing titling strategies and SEO, we can include terms like title creation, SEO driven and compelling titles. These are a few ideas.

22:06OK, now let's put what we know together in the formula. Intrigue plus colon plus clarity. So what if we did something like this? Quote, increase your discoverability, colon, how to create clear and SEO driven titles. Now, I think that that would check all of the boxes. But we can judge it up. If I was feeling stuck or I wanted some feedback, I'd test the following title too. Quote, get your content discovered, colon, how to optimize your titles for 2X intrigue. I mean, which one do we like? I actually might just put that on a poll. Recording this now, I might just put this out on social media.

22:44We did cover a lot of information today. So I'm going to recap what we talked about. We covered why titles matter. Wait, wait, wait. Before we get into the recap, yep, I'm going to remind you that I, yeah, I'm a self-proclaimed nerd. I'm a big marketing geek, but I do this because I firmly believe that marketing is the engine to your ship. I believe in your ship. You have a great business. You have a great offer, but if people don't know what it is you're selling, who you are, why it's important, why it benefits them, you're going to have a very hard time selling it. It is not because the offer.

23:16It is not because of you as an entrepreneur. You have to master marketing. This is why I got super nitty gritty in this episode all about titles. And you're like, this was not my cup of tea. Honey, drink the tea. Drink the tea so you could spill the tea when you a success. Oh, that just came to me. That wasn't even in my notes. Okay. So we covered why titles matter and we shared practical tips for in creating engaging ones. We went over the formula for titling things like masterclasses. Remember how to get X in Y without Z. We discussed the importance of the first three words, clarity and relevance in titles.