Today I was reminded that amateur writers will start with the content and that I should put way more effort into my headlines and titling. I’m reading Nicolas Cole’s book on online writing, and he framed it as if you can’t explain the entire article in your title, the topic sucks. Or there are too many ideas for a single article.
The title of your article is a promise. It tells people what they will get. You are trying to make your content look as pretty as possible without crossing the line into lies. When people feel the title of your piece does not reflect its content, we call it clickbait. The impact of clickbait is a sad feeling and people no longer trust you.
This reminded me of people’s experiences on Tinder. When someone, who really had a chance, shows up looking nothing like their picture, it’s a big red flag. The Tinder pic and article title both share the goal of igniting a lust spark that leads to seduction. Both acquiring nookie and readers share the common ground of expectation management and promises.
Content creators & businesses use their creative assets to seduce patrons
I got back the design for the cover art of my next song release. This artwork has the same job as the title of this article. Both are designed to catch your attention and make you want to know more.
When thinking on album art, you need to consider how this artwork will complement the song. In this case, I made sure there is a flower on the cover because of my main hook, “it’s probably good to take the hours to smell some flowers”. The overall themes of the song connect to the artwork chosen. The artwork and song title need to work together to seduce a person into a click.
When they do click you want them to find a song that fits the general theme you put out. You do not want them confused by your cover.
If the artwork does its job and the emotions are in a good place, maybe they will buy your merch. Like with a dating profile pic, the deliverance on a promise establishes a deeper level of trust with the brand increasing your chance of success.
The title/artwork you present to the world will likely be the first time people see it. Based on that information they will make a snap decision if they are interested. They are swiping left or right in real time with every piece of content.
When you are trying to seduce romantic partners you tend to use your best pictures. These days people notoriously edit pictures to a point where they no longer look like themselves. The honest version of it all still allows for a bit of photoshop to touch up a picture. You are trying to put your best foot forward to capture that attention.
Seduction can only happen when people are interested in the first place.
Understand who you are selling to so you don’t accidentally sellout
Data rules everything in the game of optimization. As you create more articles, release more music, etc., you’ll find that certain pieces perform better than others. Certain creators will perform better than others.
It becomes easy to start copying what other people do in the pursuit of growth. You do want to copy the right people but if you don’t understand your audience, you may copy the wrong things.
This is comparable to flipping up your identity to impress a person. Your crush may like a certain celebrity, so you copy their aesthetic. That person smells how disingenuous you are and your seduction efforts fail.
If you want to increase your chances with seduction you should do the three following things:
Know what you are looking for an express it honestly
Develop your confidence based on pride in who you are
Stay humble enough to listen to what others want
Doing these three things will help you attract more prospective mates without crossing the threshold into bad behaviour. This approach avoids manipulation and focuses on flying your flag high. It also forces you to pay attention to what other people want so that you can make sure it aligns with what you bring to the table. If you aren’t finding what you are looking for you can either adapt for the room or find a better room for you.
When creating content you should have an audience in mind. While optimizing, pay attention to what those people respond to. Consider how to take the best practices of your chosen genre and adapt them so that they become part of what you bring to the table. Remember if people feel you are deceiving them for a click, they aren’t going to want to stick around to see more.
Follow the norms without lying about who you are. You’ll inevitably find your own style and flair. The same way that you’ll dress in certain clothes to signal your lifestyle choices. Be authentic and bold with it.
Titles and other assets signal who you are to others
A good title will tell a reader who the article is for. Album art is often used to communicate the same. Social media advertisements are built to attract particular audiences. When you head out trying to mate, your clothing choices and destination are windows into your personality.
As you get to know who your audience is, pay attention to the other people they follow. See how they title things and what art they use. Pay attention to what content performs better on their page. Don’t rely on your feelings, look at what the data says.
Before you publish your work, try and prepare several titles (this is something I will be testing soon). If you find one title doesn’t perform well, swap it with another. Test out the variants until you find the magical one that gets people to click. Do the same thing with thumbnail art.
For something like an album cover, you can test variants with your audience ahead of time. With advertising, run some A/B tests and see what happens. Your goal is to take your message and have it resonate with other people. The only way to reliably learn what works and doesn’t is to experiment. Become a scientist.
When you can title your articles just right, they let the audience know you are the one they should be reading. You will seduce them away from anyone else they would have trusted to inform them on the topic. The presentation of your packaging matters as much as the content itself.
The art of seduction lies in patiently showing others you care. Do the same thing with your content and your audience will grow.
Live Long and Prosper Everyone