Is that Paris Hilton jammin’ with a PS3 while calling George W. Bush a fascist?

Headline writing used to be an art.  A well-crafted headline enticed the reader into your body copy.  It was the appetizer, hinting at what was to come and on rare occasion, if it was tasty enough, it could actually satiate an appetite without another word or morsel. 

But it seems of late, everything I read is about writing headlines to trick people to visit your blog, even though they have no interest in what you’re actually writing about.  Using names of the infamous, "hot" topics and other elements of bait and switch, all for the intent of rankings, rankling, being dugg, ditched and double-dipped.  It’s like having a puppet on a string, right?  You tug and they jump.

Good short-term gain? Maybe. More clicks?  Probably.  But at what cost?  How about losing the very audience that actually gives a rip about your topic?  Or you.

Hype, over-promising or out and out manipulation can’t be hidden forever. People hate being made the fool.  Don’t let your headlines, online or off, put them in that position.