How do you choose a catchy title?

I really struggle with this aspect of review writing. How do you choose a catchy, yet meaningful title for your review?

Catchy titles are meaningless and aimed at fellow members.

It's best to try and get a title that will appeal more to search engines.

But to earn money you need to attrack member reads. So it WOULD be the membership who I would be aiming for.

If you're writing to 'please' other members, then review writing is the wrong game though IMO.

Arguably, you should be aiming at consumers, if anything, will your writing, no?

I doubt non-members see the title (or pay attention to it), but a good title will/might increase your review's visibility in search engines (coupled with Dooyoo or Ciao's own SEO).

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

If you're writing to 'please' other members, then review writing is the wrong game though IMO.

You can still write for the consumer and have an eye catching title! They aint mutually exclusive!

No, that's true, but bunging in some smut into your review title in the hope of attracting some members isn't adding a title for the consumer and I'd hazard a guess that the best titles for non-members are nothing more complicated than <Item Name>.

It's the same with those people that have their review titles all in capitals. Why? Surely if you're interested in the topic, you'll read it and if not, you'll read something else.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of some of my titles that aren't focussed at non-members at all. There's a member on Dooyoo who has some great titles that are head and shoulders above the content of their "reviews" (IMO) and I'm convinced they're nicked from somewhere.

Either way, it might be better if Dooyoo or Ciao went down the Helium route and just didn't have review titles. They could be automatically labelled "The Duke's review on Beer" if they're going to be labelled at all.

I find the smutty titles really annoying - although I have got one brewing for a book review that's fermenting in my brain at the moment. Over use does seem to dull the impact though.

I suspect that if you want a diamond, a good title is very important - and in that case, one that pushes the buttons on the search engines. I remember one travel review that was no better or worse than a zillion others, got hundreds of hits for mentioning a couple of celebrities in the title.

Hmm - maybe a 'Posh and Becks swear by this waste disposal unit' might draw in the punters. Maybe not.

I like to create a double meaning/play on words in a title...smutty or otherwise, usually not, but that is not for the non member benefit, more that I dont want a boring title to avoid the .."this hotel is ace you need to go..." sort of stuff..!

no denying that sex sells however....in non member hits at least, however how many actually read the review in question is debatable!

I personally don't care just as long as I get members clicking on the review.

Sex absolutely helps with non member reads. I used "my sexy samsung" for a phone, and "anyone for a threesome" for a printer (!) and they are my biggest non member hits (and one ended up a diamond)

Anything other than "Review of xxx" would be okay...

I see titles as an opportunity for word play, yeah - I laugh at my own titles.

That is the sort of thing I am going for but just never reach it! LOL I think titles are important to draw in readers and a chance to be a little funny!