In 1994 I was privileged to begin writing a weekly mental health column for our local newspaper.

Three other therapists had the weekly column gig before me. What bugged me the most about these authors were the "snooze level" titles that they would put on their articles.

Goodnight, it's time to sleep titles

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

What is Bipolar Disorder?

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Puts you right to sleep, doesn't it?

I gotta read that titles

Using the same subject matter, try out these titles:

Tired of Riding an Emotional Roller Coaster? Here are 7 Steps to Getting Off and Living

When 100 Times is Not Enough: How to Stop Destructive Repetitive Behaviors

See and feel the difference?

The ultimate goal of any title

Your title is your headline. Lose the reader here, and you have lost the reader for good.

When country music star Toby Keith asked country music legend Willie Nelson to sing part of a song on Keith's new CD, Nelson blew him off with "Send my people a demo tape and we'll see."

As he turned to leave, Willie Nelson asked Toby Keith for the title of the song.

Toby Keith said: "Whiskey for My Men, Beer for My Horses."

Willie Nelson said: "I'm in."

That's the effect you want your titles to have:

I'm in!

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