When I wrote my “Magical Headlines” post on For Bloggers, By Bloggers this week, people started asking questions in the comments. (I love it when that happens.)

“What exactly makes people click through from the headline only?”

“Shouldn’t the title be all about SEO?”

And, the interesting question that inspired this post:

“Which do you write first—the title or the post?”

Now there has been much discussion in the blogosphere about whether you should write your title or your post first.

Copyblogger’s Brian Clark says, “Always write your headline first.”

He says that you need to know what you are promising your reader (that’s your headline) before you can fulfill that promise (that would be your post).

James Chartrand of Men with Pens says, “Always write your headline last.”

She (Yes, James is a pen name. She’s really a girl, but then that’s old news.) claims that first you need to know your audience, what you want them to do as a result of your post and (probably most important) what you are going to be giving them content-wise.

I don’t do it either way.  I write my headline first and last.

(I’ve always had problems making decisions.)

How I create my blog post headlines

I’ll say this upfront. I don’t like to write titles that are just a heaping serving of keyword soup. I use the alt title feature in the back end of WordPress for that boring (but keyword-rich) title that Google picks up.

That leaves me free to write for humans, which I’d much rather do. Here is how I do it:

1. Identify the topic of my post.

I start with a general topic. I like the wiggle room it allows me as I write, as new thoughts occur to me. Because sometimes the original topic takes an interesting side trip and I end up writing about something completely different.

2. Write a working title.

This is similar to a book or screenplay’s first title. It will have something to do with what I think my topic is before I write the post. I might even get clever and write something creative with a high CQ (Curiosity Quotient)—if an idea comes to me.

But, still, I know this is just the working title. Something to play with later.

3. Outline and write my post.

I am not a slave to the outline. It may be as simple as five short phrases, which make up the five points in my post.

Sometimes, my outline lets me fill in the paragraphs after each point in a flash. (Love it when I get that lucky.)

But most times, I rearrange the sequence of the points, dropping some, adding others and even throwing them all out and going with my new inspiration. But they are there to guide me if I need them.

And so I write my post.

4. Go back to my working title and brainstorm alternative titles.

This is where the real work begins. If the working title no longer promises what my post delivered, out it goes.

I start writing headlines. The first ones that come out are always crappy: lame, full of clichés, boring. I get those out first.

With more thought, the better ones come along. Questions that make my readers curious, a confession or secret I promise to tell, a bold statement or hint at an unusual solution to a common problem.

I try to write at least six different headlines—often it’s many more that that.

I narrow the titles down to the two best. Sometimes I combine the most powerful pieces of each and write one new headline. Other times I choose the most appealing one and focus on making it better.

5. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

This last step is where the “good enough” headline becomes the just right one.

I change words around, substitute, delete, add, change a statement headline to a question. Just play with them until one jumps out at me.

Even now, after three years of blogging, I’m learning new things about headline writing—what makes one bomb and another soar to great heights, even make my post go viral.

What about you?

When do you write your headlines: before you write your post or after?

Are you discovering what works and what doesn’t?

News flash: If you’re looking for help with headlines and other blogging issues, you’ll want to reserve your seat for my March 15 webinar: 30 Design and Content Secrets to Skyrocket Your Blog.

I asked you what you wanted to know to improve your blog and then designed this live online workshop to give you exactly what you said you needed.

More good news: As of this moment, I still have 9 seats left in the batch of the first 30 registrants. These are the people who will get a mini-review of their blog’s home page with our advice on how to make it better.

Find out if this webinar is right for you. If it’s a good fit, I’d love to see you on March 15.