Corporate Blog Tip #1 (improving the title tag)

While we're writing the book I'll post tips on how to make your corporate blog better. Just short things that'll help make your blog better.

Anyway, our publisher, Joe Wikert has started a blog. Shel linked to it the other night. And he made a common first mistake: he didn't think through his title very well.

Quick. Tell us what "The Average Joe" means to you?

It doesn't mean anything to us. It's like wheat flour. No shape. No meaning. If this were just a personal blog it'd be OK (although I argue that even a personal blog is better if you get more specific).

Now, think about someone searching Google. Why will someone want to read Joe's blog? Just cause Scoble said to? I don't think so.

Here's a better approach: own a niche.

Bad: my blog about something made with flour
Good: Scoble's blog about artisian bread made in Santa Cruz.

Go back to Google. Or MSN. Or Yahoo. They all work pretty much the same.

If we're looking for a book publisher, wouldn't we query on "book publisher blog?" Nah, no one knows what a blog is, so let's do some brainstorming. Here's some things we searched for to find a good book publisher:

Book publisher problem (or hate, or sucks, or avoid)
How do you get a book published?
Negotiating book publishing contracts
The best business book publisher
Highest sales business books
Author's favorite business book publisher
How to write a book
How to get a book author deal
Getting your book written

You can come up with some more on your own. Spend an hour doing some searches. There are actually some tools to help you come up with searches on your own. There are also tons of sites that'll help you brainstorm how people searching for information think. Search for "Danny Sullivan" or "John Battelle" and you'll find lots of search-engine optimization tricks.

Anyway, after doing a bunch of brainstorming I see that some words are common on that list: "publishing" "author" "writing" "book."

So, those are the words you want in your title tag. You also want your name in there as well.

How about: Joe Wikert's book authoring and publishing blog

Sounds boring, right? But here's why it's important.

Quick, go to Feedster.com. Enter in "publishing." And see what comes back.

Notice that the blog title is underneath each post. Now, what's the likelihood that you'll click on somebody with the name "joe's average blog?"

Compare that to how likely you'll be to click on something that says "Joe Wikert's book authoring and publishing blog."

And we can even improve that further. Joe already has something that most of us don't: authority. He's an executive at a book company that's hundreds of years old and sells a good percentage of the top 25 books in the world.

So, why not reflect that in the title tag?

Joe Wikert, Wiley's book publishing executive who will get you published

Now, I would CLICK on that!!!

How about you? What tips would you give for improving the title tag?

Comments

[Shannon Clark]

- Since Joe Wikert has a fairly notable title, I would suggest using it directly instead of "book executive"

- I'm not sure about the "who will get you published" line, sounds too much like a direct promise

Instead how about something like the following:

Joe Wikert, publisher at Wiley's inside look on how to publish a book

Since Wiley is perhaps best known for their "For Dummies" brand, perhaps that should be used in the title as well - something like

"A Dummies guide to publishing your book by Joe Wikert, publisher at Wiley"

(Since they presumeably own the copyright - why not use it to get immediate brand recognition, trust, and hits?)

Shannon

[Ellen Gerstein]

Funny thing, David and I (marketing folks at Wiley) are planning on starting our own blog in the next few days, and have been deeply thinking through what we should call it. So this post was good timing. We had a few ideas, but after reading this, I think we can make them even better.

[Joe Wikert]

Truth be told, I didn't really intend for this to become my "official" blog. I was just tinkering a bit with Typepad over the weekend, thought I'd experiment before launching something official, them poof!, Shel linked to me and we were live.

I'm completely open to giving the blog a better name. Let's see what additional suggestions pop up here.

[Jim Minatel]

But Robert, by these rules and logic ("Nah, no one knows what a blog is") doesn't your title "Microsoft Geek Blogger" fail the title test too? Especially if you go back 18 months (or has it been longer?) to when you first started this blog, you can really say only a handful of people even in tech knew what a blog was. Now, 18 months later, your title is perfect for your audience.

What I like about Joe's title: he didn't run it through PR, marketing, or a committee to approve it. So let's give him kudos for getting that part right.

That said, I agree with 99% of your feedback on Joe's title, right up to almost the end with the "who will get you published." At that point it sounds like an infomercial.

I'd go for something like "Joe Wikert, Wiley publisher's insider book author success tips"

[Robert Scoble]

Good points, everyone.

Joe: welcome to the world of blogs where you can get discovered long before you're ready.

Jim: I chose my title tag very carefully. I wanted to have the top spot when you search Google for "Microsoft Geek" or "Microsoft blog."

But, yeah, I probably could come up with a better title for my blog as well.

[Robert Scoble]

A few more points:

1) Keep it short.
2) You can break the rules, just know you are doing that. This blog is titled "The Red Couch," for instance.
3) Your title tag will be reused all sorts of places. In blogrolls, in Technorati, Feedster, and Google.

I was suprised no one called us on our own title tag. What does "the Red Couch" mean to you?

[Jim Minatel]

I was giving you a free pass on "Red Couch" because you follow it with the useful "Shel Israel's and Robert Scoble's business blogging book is being built here." But you know I'd love to see others comment on "Red Couch."

[Ellen Gerstein]

I always assumed Red Couch was related to Purple Cow...

[Robert Scoble]

Ellen: nah, although I probably was influenced a bit by that. I just noticed that I kept having interesting conversations with people on my red couch at home (and I do a lot of my weblogging there).

[/pd]

actually Robert, TRC for me --seems to be insight from your home to my home. albiet blog2blog , blogger2blogger, business2business,person2person converstations that take place with zero intravention from corporate mandates.. Thus sustaining the tip point on the long trail.. Did I make sense ??Does this make sense to you ??

[Bud Gibson]

I thought I would respond to your comment on my trackback here. You said:

"[stuff you have already said in the above comments plus the following:]

You can make your name into a brand if it's unique. Joe is not."

Here's how I commented back:

"Fair enough. It's not quite like some advice I hear which is to base your blog name entirely on keyword research. At root, I think you are really suggesting a niche strategy for people breaking into blogging now. Odd how blogging has become a cross between self-marketing and pursuing your passion.

I think you have to have some commercial element because of the time commitment. You have to have passion to make you spend the time. The immediate money payoff is just not there yet for most people or even companies, so you need passion to sustain you.

I bring up the self-branding idea because I think creating an identity is what it is all about. I think your brand is pretty broad by the way. You are a Microsoft Geek Blogger, but you are also co-author of "Blog or Die" and browser of various links on Scoble link. You could say those are sub-brands, but they do all seem to meet in Scobleizer."

[Ryan Mahoski]

"The Red Couch" is catchy enough, but it fails to explain your content. Only readers of Robert's blog would grasp the meaning, while others might find the title evokes images of pr0n and intimate events. Red suggests $ex, blood, and the former Soviet Union. A couch is normally associated with television and is otherwise known as a "love seat." To maximize your audience, consider making your subject matter obvious.

"Blog or Die" is a confident, straightforward title. It underscores an important theme: Businesses must embrace blogs in order to succeed. It implies rebellion and it's catchy (even non-skaters remember "Skate or Die" from the '80s). If brevity is the soul of wit, "Blog or Die" ought to be a bookshelf beacon. You might even talk with the owner of BlogOrDie.com--he's using Kubrick out-of-the-box, so may be willing to part with that domain.

Best wishes. Shel, I enjoyed meeting you in Scottsdale though I regret not reading your Fortune article first (I broke every pitching rule). Robert, sorry I hung up on you.

I look forward to reading Chapter 1.

[Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate]

The = specificity, announcement, introduction, exclusivity.

Red = revolution, passion, excitement, action, intensity.

Couch = therapy, depth analysis, casual attitude, relaxation.

"Blog or Die" = threat, intimidation, hyperbole, hospice.

...but I've made these assertions before.

Call it whatever you want.

"Scobleizer" is a little challenging to spell, but I like the sound of it a lot. Like "vasperization".

[matt]

Honestly, I came in search of independent book publishing info, and I wound up on your site. I didn't know what the name meant, I thought your tag line was weak and I almost left until I saw the name Scoble. Just being honest with my first impression.

saying "..is being built here" is like a hyperlink that says "you can find it here"

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