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Apr 16, 2014

Blogging 101, Day Two: Say Your Name

Today’s assignment: edit your title and tagline. Make your readers’ first impression a good one!

Welcome to Blogging U! This course isn't currently active, but you can learn more about what we offer and register for upcoming courses on the BU home page.

Looking for Blogging 201? Click here.

You set your blog’s address when you registered at WordPress.com, but your blog’s title — what readers see on your site when they visit — can be changed at any time. Today, let’s make sure you love yours.

Today’s assignment: edit your title and tagline.

Why?

  • Because the title is the first thing most readers will see.
  • Because your title and tagline work together with things like your address and theme to give visitors context and help them decide whether to stick around.

Your title doesn’t need to be the same as your blog’s URL — there’s no need to call it “maryjanesmith922.” Your title should reflect you.

A title is typically only a few words, so consider adding a tagline — a phrase that appears under your title and helps flesh it out. Think “Burger King: Have It Your Way,” or The Daily Post: The Art and Craft of Blogging.” Look at the post your wrote yesterday. Why are you here? Let us know in your tagline.

Here are the details on editing your title and tagline, along with some accumulated wisdom from other WordPress bloggers. Here’s one of our favorite nuggets of advice:

Try listing adjectives that describe your personality, and play around with the words until you can tweak them into a name that’s catchy but uniquely “you.” Puns always work well. Start with certain common phrases, songs, and literary titles, and then mix the words up. Or use your own name in a clever way.
She’s a Maineiac

If you’re already thrilled with your title or you want to do more, feel free to publish a post, too! Let readers know what inspired your title and tagline, or, If you need some writing inspiration, take a look at today’s prompt (LINK).

Need more feedback? Head to The Commons.

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    3. Hey Sass, love your title design! Very appropriate for what you want your blog to be about 🙂

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  2. Funny, I just decided on my tagline this morning. Would love opinions! I’m a painter, as is implied in the title/tagline, and also it’s a metaphor for the intent of my blog – to show that we are all a WiP for His purpose.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Haha not true at all! I think yours looks minimalistic – very chic 🙂 also, I love your writing style – and I can definitely relate to your comfort zone post!

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      1. Thank you Crystal 🙂 I used GIMP which is a free photo editing software (I can’t afford photoshop haha). Hope this helps!

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  5. What a great assignment today! I spent a lot of time last year working on the tagline for my studio, but I never updated my blog with the new line. Thanks for redirecting my attention to something so basic that I had overlooked, but that really makes a difference.

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    1. Hi there, I really like your blog and the tagline! I read your post about weasels and I thought it was very interesting and enlightening! I’ve always been a huge Harry Potter buff and the weasel thing completely made me think of the Weasleys! I’m so glad you painted the weasel in such a cool light! Good luck with the rest of the challenge 🙂

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      1. Thanks Liz! By the way, I stopped by your blog and loved the passive income post. We (Hubby and I) started building passive income a couple of years ago and it’s made all the difference. Wishing you all the success on both your blog and your passive income!

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    1. Hi Shalama! I really like your blog and the tagline, it seems very appropriate! You seem like you are an advanced blogger – maybe you should check out 201 if you have not already. I don’t know how long you have been running it but you are doing awesome with the affiliates and brand sponsors/ads. You really are getting an online business out of your blog, which is my eventual goal as well. Good share!

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  9. Hello! I decided on Artfully Aspiring as my blog’s title because it describes my personal experiences, and I feel it might also characterize the current situation of many bloggers here. My tagline is “Creating ourselves one chapter at a time,” because it illustrates the process I’ve been experiencing as a writer. As I continue to write and edit my novels, I notice not only the story changing but aspects of myself changing as well. I sought to make my blog both personal and relatable at the same time because I wish to connect with and support other writers! Please take a look and let me know what you think!
    artfullyaspiring.wordpress.com

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      1. Thanks so much for stopping by and for the wonderful comment. I really love your name (it’s so welcoming) and your tagline is a wonderful philosophy. Your blog has a very positive energy!

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      1. Thank you so much for visiting and for the lovely feedback. I actually had your blog open on a different tab and was in the process of reading it until work got in the way. So far, what I’ve read is great. Your header beautifully coordinates with your theme, and it is very eye-catching! Great job!

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      1. Thanks for giving it a look and leaving your personal thoughts! It’s funny how sometimes we don’t recognize the different phases of our lives (chapters) until we look back at them! I love your blog’s layout with a very gorgeous header. “From Paradise to Eden” is a beautiful title that I find very intriguing. The deep contemplation behind your writing is reflected in your tagline as well. I can’t wait to read more of your writing!

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      1. Thank you so much, Christi, for your wonderful words and for following me. It’s weird because I honestly thought I was following you as well until I just checked. Well, I righted that wrong now! ❤

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    1. I really like MicroGalactic. I’m not sure where the name came from but if you are playing off of the galaxy or universe, a tagline suggestion could be “MicroGalactic: Views of the Universe Through My Eyes” or “MicroGalactic: Views of the Universe Through One Girl’s Eyes”. Something like that. Just a thought. Good luck!

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    2. I have to agree with you. If there were some way to actually put your title and tag line in the picture itself, that would be awesome. But as it is, I definitely think your title and tag are too small. I didn’t see them right away and had to scan the page to find it.

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  12. Hey all! I’m a day behind on the challenge (planning to catch up today) but I do have a title and tag line. Since I’m not really sure what direction I’d like to go in on my blog I’d love some feedback on what it should be. I’m a 20-something married girl, who’s full time job is a nanny, and I was born and raised in the north and now live in the deep south. That’s a short summary of me. Here’s the link to my blog. Thanks!
    http://fnttslisa.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hello! I like the blog title and the tagline very much, I think you already have a good concept going. I loved the story about you husband proposing, it was incredibly sweet of him. The one suggestion I have for you would be to maybe choose a larger font size for your posts – they were a little hard to read because of the small size of the typeface. Other than that the layout is nice, but the green got little overwhelming with all the menus being green too. Of course, that is strictly an opinion so keep doing your thing!

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  14. I’m pretty happy with my title and tagline, but would love to hear what others think. My blog is simplymadebyangie.wordpress.com, and the title is SimplyMade by Angie, which is the name of my little hobby business. Everything I blog about it handmade, with simple natural ingredients, hence the name SimplyMade.

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  16. I kept my title as is. What I did change is my tagline. All I originally had for a tagline was my name. I figured that’s probably not necessary seeing how you can access my name in my about me page.
    So instead, I changed it to “Life perspectives portrayed through poetry and short stories.” I think this better describes my blog to readers.

    What do ya think?

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    1. I really like your tagline 🙂
      I’m less taken by your title as it’s quite a mouthful to say. As I read your “About me” page I found the word “soyvivor” very catchy and thought it would make a good title.

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      1. Thank you! I had originally called it “soy allergy survivor” in hopes that it might make my blog more “searchable” to folks with soy allergies, but I am questioning if it’s really the tags in my posts that are going to show up in search results instead of the title. I love the “Soyvivor” idea! Does anyone know if the tag/title has anything to do with search results?

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    2. well the title is apt but what you can do is to tag your post appropriately to make it more searchable. rest is all good

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    3. Hello, I think your tag is a little cumbersome. I think it should be something that’s catchy example; the soy free lifestyle, live soy free and thrive.

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  19. I’ve been quite happy with my title and tagline, but going back to them I’m wondering if I should edit my tagline slightly. I’m thinking of replacing the word “writing” by “photography”.
    I would love if someone could take a quick look at my blog and let me know if I should change the word.
    The address is: http://besteglatisant.wordpress.com/

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    1. I like “photography” and maybe even a descriptive word that describes the theme of the images. Great blog!

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      1. Thanks a lot for your feedback.
        I never though of using a descriptive word of the images in the tagline, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I think that’s something that could work. I’ll definitely work on that 🙂

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    3. I really like either, ‘writing’ or ‘photography’… I love your view of the world, very similar to mine in “seeing the little things” 🙂 And love your outlook of “microadventures”… nice blog!

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      1. Thanks a lot for your comment 🙂
        I think I’m going to change it to ‘photography’. A few people like it and I think it reflects more of what people see on the blog.
        I’ve always enjoyed the little things. I find they make everything more memorable and are too often overlooked.

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  20. I’m happy with both my title and tag, especially since it’s what I use on my website as well. But I did agonize over it when I was first setting things up so this is a helpful article to have. Off to check out some of these new titles and tags everyone is posting!

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    1. Hi, I like the title and tagline of your blog a lot – and especially enjoy the picture for your avatar! You have a wonderful creative spirit. Enjoy the challenge 🙂

      Like

  21. When Masala & Blarney was over on Blogger the tagline was “What happens when an Irish Girl falls in Love with an Indian Boy” and the blog mostly focused on our lives leading up to the birth of our son and then it went dormant.

    The blog was not all that versatile – the topic was pretty focused.

    When I moved here to Word Press I kept my background story pieces and title – but my new tag line allows for more versatility I think: Masala & Blarney|Tall Tales & Adventures in love, cooking and parenting.

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      1. Thanks, it is a fine balance because I don’t want to be offensive to anyone from India – but some of the stuff to a non-Indian is just too funny not to talk about. And parenting stuff is _always_ funny when you are in the trenches it keeps me sane.

        I loved your comment on your site about being the person who used to be “Brussels sprouts before chocolate”

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  22. I did this a couple of days back, so instead i’ll elaborate on my choice – Oblique. I find the definition of the word is a good description of myself at times – ‘Not expressed or done in a direct way’; ‘neither parallel nor perpendicular’. The tagline is more of a personal reference. Feel free to have a look.

    Like

  24. Hi there! for some reason – I am not getting mails about the new daily challenges. I am coming over to the home page here to check out. Is there a setting that I am missing on?

    Like

  26. This is a great assignment. It makes me really think whether to edit my blog name and tagline.
    It kinda sucks that I only have a day to sleep on it. Tough decision to make!

    Liked by 1 person

  29. Hi! I am brand new to blogging as well and would truly appreciate any tips to help this journey.
    My title/tagline is the title of an upcoming book. Here’s my blog page if you have a moment – I surely would appreciate any feedback – thank you! nldadance.wordpress.com

    Like