I indulged in a spot of clickbaiting at the weekend. I simply couldn’t resist it. Mainly because I was looking forward to the comments from people utterly incensed that I would dare use the word “sex” in a video title (disappointingly few, I must say – I obviously have viewers with a good sense of humour) but also as a little experiment.
Clickbaiting, for those unfamiliar with the term, is the practice of using a really sensationalist, cheap-shot title to get people to click through to your video or news article. It’s something that gets them curious enough to watch or read but then usually leaves everyone feeling a bit cross and deflated when they realise that the feature or video in question is an unexciting piece of clap-trap. I’m not saying that my vlog is an unexciting piece of clap-trap – it has me in it, hello! – but I have most certainly bunged a bit of misleading wordery onto the end of my title. Hot Days, No Work and Sex in a Lay-By.
What a hoot! You have to get your kicks somewhere, and trying to give my vlogs interesting titles is a detestable task that makes me want to remove my own brain with a set of greasy barbeque tongs. I rather like my jazzed (sexed) up title and, in case you’re interested in the results of my little experiment, the video had twice the usual views. I may try and make up more and more ridiculous vlog titles, just to test people’s breaking point.
“My Dog Married an...