A huge thank you to our fabulous host committee!

Julie & Jon Cohen, Jeri & Jim Gill, Sally & Steve Gordon, Kathryn & MIchael Havens
Sabine Hirsohn, Melinda & Ralph Mendelson, Nancy Rose, Sally Seymour & Jim McIntosh, Becky & Ron Stradiotto, Faith & Steve Ventrello, Joanne & George Wakerlin, and Kristine Waldenburg.

There are many strategies that successful bloggers use to draw attention to their posts with titles. There is no real right or wrong and as with many aspects of blogging what is a ‘good title’ is a little subjective. Having said this – you might want to consider these six factors in writing titles for your blog posts:

Keep it Simple – Most research I’ve seen into titles seems to argue that the most effective titles are short, simple and easy to understand. While breaking these rules can help grab attention (see below) they can also confuse, frustrate and put a glazed look in the eyes of potential readers. Shorter titles are also good for Search Engines – keep it under 40 or so characters and you’ll ensure the whole title appears in search results.

Grab Attention – Good titles set your posts apart from the clutter around them and then draw readers into your post. Grabbing attention might happen using tactics of ‘shock’, ‘big claims’, ‘controversy’ or even ‘confusion’. While these tactics do work at getting people in – it should also be said that they can do more damage than good if the rest of your post doesn’t live up to the promises your title makes. By all means try to grab attention – just just ‘trick’ your readers into thinking you’ll provide them with something you can’t give them.

Meet a Need – An effective title draws people into reading more because they feel you’ve got something to say that they NEED to hear. Indexes like del.icio.us illustrate just how effective this is. Quite often the articles that get to the top of the list are ‘how to…’ or ‘tutorial’ type articles that show readers that they will learn how to solve a problem or need that they might have.

Describe – Some readers will be drawn into a post by a cryptic title that doesn’t tell them much about what they’ll be reading – but the majority of readers need to know something about what they’ll find if they read further. Titles should describe (in a word or few) what readers will get in the main post.

Use Key Words – As I mentioned above – titles are a powerful part of SEO. If you want to maximize their power you need to consider using the keywords that you want your post to be found with in your title in some way. This of course is challenging when you are attempting to ‘keep it simple’ and to also ‘grab attention and intrigue’ – but it can be done. Words at the start of titles are thought to be more powerful than words at the end when it comes to SEO.

One last tip on titles – Take your time with your titles. Many bloggers pour a lot of effort into writing engaging and interesting posts – but then just slap any old title onto it without realizing that in doing so they might be ensuring that their post is never read.

Mercado Global’s gorgeous jewelry was featured in L.A. Times yesterday. Here is an excerpt:

“When was the last time someone told you all you had to do was to shop to make the world a better place?

Buying goods made in developing countries can help the artisans there, stimulate local economies, and be a creative way to fill out your holiday shopping list.”

Join me on Saturday from 1 – 5!

Site and Caterer:  Auberge du Soleil

Coordinator:  Layla Azimi

Hair and Make up:  Jenn at Details with Dixie

Flower:  Susan Carr, Artiste Fleuriste

DJ:  Will, AMS Entertainment

Kelly and Najib were referred to me by a couple I adore, Chris and Kristina.  (Who, by the way, have a new baby.)  By coincidence, these East Coasters and friends both happened to be attracted to Napa Valley for their weddings.   With weddings two years apart, they both chose Auberge du Soleil.

Not surprising, Kelly and Najib are also sweeties.  Their friends and family came to Napa from all over the world to celebrate this wonderful event.  Loved the soccer women.  The men had great senses of humor.

Kelly gave pashminas to all the women in attendance.  I’ve posted those photos in a separate entry to show what a bit of twirling encouragement can produce.