In the last couple of posts we've been discussing easy ways to come up with blog topics and web content.
One of the things you really want to do is create Link Bait, or more importantly these days: Share Bait.
What does that mean exactly? It means your content is so great (informative, shocking, funny, controversial, thought-provoking, etc) that people naturally link to it or share it with their friends and readers.
It's a great way to increase web traffic because your readers will do all the back-linking and social media sharing FOR you! Which means your content has the potential to go viral, increasing your reach exponentially. Not to mention this is exactly what you need to improve your search engine rankings. 😉
I'll explain the image above, and share one of my all time favorite (FREE) tools for coming up with great link bait ideas...
Link Bait Generator
About a year and a half ago I met this crazy guy online named Jon. He actually sent me a FINGER in the mail. LOL. Did that get my attention?? Um, you betcha!
And of course it landed him a feature in one of my videos and a permanent inbound link here on my blog. 🙂
Jon runs a free website called Link Bait Generator.
I used it in another post where I discussed the Best Email Subject Lines, even.
I get tons of stuff both in my PO Box and by email, but most of it is just plain junk and boring canned requests. Every once in awhile though, something really gets my attention - and that's exactly what Jon achieved!
Even more recently he responded to my personal video blog with a shocking but hilarious video, which I of course shared on my Facebook Page (lol, it was too funny NOT to share). And speaking of my vlog, that's where the image at the top left came from. Jon posted it on Facebook and tagged me, which of course got my attention!
And look... here I am blogging about him and his website again. 😉
Getting Creative With Your Link Bait Ideas
The website is really FUN to use! Just go to www.LinkBaitGenerator.com and sign up. It's totally free, and you'll get a whole list of post ideas by email when you do.
Once you sign up, you can generate as many fun ideas as you please. You simply type a word or phrase into the box and click "generate". Here's an example where I typed in my name:
Now that would be a fun post, don't you think? 😀 LOL...
I may just have to write that one!
Just for fun, I typed in the word "books" and came up with these titles:
8 reasons to love books
8 ways books can be used as a weapon
10 ways books can help you get a date
6 books that almost destroyed the world
Or how about "business"...
15 coolest business tricks ever
Why your business sucks
6 bits of business advice that will land you in prison
8 reasons to fear business
You can just type in anything you please, really...
5 BS facts about pets that everyone thinks are true
5 amazing things you probably didn't know about dogs
My most embarrassing low carb experience - ever!
10 ways parenting can help you get a date
6 Hollywood movies that make blogging look ridiculous
Why blogging sucks: myth vs. reality
15 coolest video blogging tricks ever
The geekiest collectibles of all time
7 bizarre ways you can die suddenly in the kitchen
5 life lessons learned from cooking
8 ways men try using technology to get laid
8 ways technology could help you survive a zombie outbreak
6 shockingly evil things about iPad apps
10 epic fails involving exercise
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Just imagine some of the humorous posts or videos you could create with these crazy title ideas!
Obviously, as I mentioned above, the key is in creating something so funny or outrageous or shocking or informative... that people just naturally WANT to share it with everyone they know!
Give it a whirl for yourself at Link Bait Generator.
Enjoy! 😀
Best,
About Lynn Terry
I had completely forgotten about this tool, so I'm glad you mentioned it! I just plugged in "cross stitch" and it suggests I should write about ... 6 shockingly evil things about cross stitch
That actually sounds fun 😉
Wow that's a really neat tool Lynn, thanks!
I've often found that after the few basic posts that everyone should write, you get more than a wee bit stuck, so I'm going to go and get cracking....
Ok, I'm back. I do a Michael Bublé tribute act, so posts for that have been a real challenge!
Here's what the linkkbaitgenerator came up with:
"10 ways Michael Bublé tribute can help you get a date"
"Michael Bublé tribute and the occult"
Haha these are brilliant, gonna go write some fresh posts now! Yay!
Thanks Lynn!
What an awesome tool Lynn. Thanks for sharing. I'll definitely be visiting there regularly for some headline and article inspiration 🙂
This is so amazing, such an easy method to get an attractive headline for the post which the most important part of an article. The better the headline, more the people being convinced to open and read the post. Thanks a lot for sharing such useful post here. I am getting it started right away.
This is really funny, I must go sign up immediately.
@ Lynn
You just reminded me...I used to have a link bait title generator on my site, but I deleted it.
I think I am going to re-install it.
Thanks for the great post...:)
Mark 🙂
I downloaded this and started playing with the tool and instantly came up with 2 great titles for blog posts next week- I already added ideas to the posts. This will help me a lot, thank you for sharing!
Linkbait Generator looks like a great tool, perfect for bloggers who are in a creative slump or don't have the time to think of any link bait ideas.
This looks to me like a good channel to pull over maximum audience towards the blogs I write. Usually when we decide to write upon a particular topic, choosing a correct headline becomes a bit difficult during this phase and so this generator looks like the best option to my worries.
I love this tool! This is a little inspiration starter kit. Since many of the returned ideas are a bit out there, my mind immediately wants to try to think of content to complete the thought. Thanks for this. Bookmarked and am writing a new article next.
LOL! I signed up for it this morning and it had me rolling on the floor laughing. Gave me some great ideas. Thanks.
I signed up after reading this article and I couldn't believe the titles that were coming off of it. In this day and age of the 5-millisecond attention span, this tool is an invaluable resource for any publisher who wants to get the most exposure for a well-written if poorly-titled content.