How Do I Write Strong Blog Titles?

What have you found makes for an effective blog title? You know, the kind that attracts visitors and engages them in the brilliant content you have created... How do you go about writing those strong blog titles?

I'm interested from two perspectives.

1. What do you react to and respond to when you are exploring ideas?

2. What do others respond to when you publish your own content online?

From having done this for a while, I know that a blog title - as well as a web page title - needs to be succinct. It needs to communicate concisely what the thrust of the content you are publishing is about.

That means that a blog title should be no longer than 70 characters. [See SEOMoz Title Tag article.] And it had better contain terms that are relevant to what you have written and meaningful to the persona or prospect or visitor you are trying to connect with [i.e., keywords].

Once those bases are covered, it's a matter of figuring out how to capture the attention of potential visitors and readers...

You might

• Be controversial 
• Ask questions
• Use explanatory headlines says 8 Tips for Writing Effective Blog Post Titles.
• Include in your title a specific number - indicating that you have digested the information for your readers says 7 Proven Tactics for Effective Blog Titles.
• Refer to 'How to' in your title
• Include punchy words

As with many things, the perfect solution to writing strong blog titles depends on the circumstances and the topic. However, I bet there are successes you have encountered that would be valuable to those wanting to write effective blog titles.

Won't you share them?

Added 6/8/12: David Brazeal adds via Twitter "blog titles: Subject, Verb, Object, and don’t be cutesy, no matter how tempting!"