❓Answering Common Questions: How do I get more Votes? - Part 2: Catching Eyes 👀
Headlines and thumbnail images are your biggest attention assets!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmVjut6XJCejjv9UwhovqG66aFFjUjb9BxpfjJFb6reJ3c/image.png)
What good is having great content if nobody opens your article?!?!?!
It's important to remember that when most people come across your post, it's in a huge list of other posts (in a feed, a steemit chat promotion room, a discord promotion room, etc.) Now think of yourself staring at a huge list of posts...which ones do YOU click on? Unless you happen to already know the author, this decision is heavily influenced by the headline and/or thumbnail image catching your attention!
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcqw18pJqu2Mf2BD4pML4XNhME6Jo1k3Wi8eoiwjwt3Uz/image.png)
Often there is that one post that seemed to 'pop' for you with many others seeming to have a rather lackluster response. Likely it will be that way for you for a while. But the goal for most of us in the end are to consistently improve our payouts and there are some strategies you can try to help move you towards this. So this guide covers choosing strong headlines and images for your thumbnail to entice more people to actually open your post, ideally bringing your greater success over time on Steemit!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: What makes a Headline catch someone's attention?
Think about what makes you click on things. Is there a certain word or topic that got you interested? Maybe it posed a question you wanted an answer for?
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeEpoD9LFDTAVBqnqYLivV6KTHLyc7uRw6kRr3vEvxkkY/image.png)
As an example...say you have a post showing off some pictures of flowers you took. Which headline grabs you more?
1. Some cool flowers
2. Overtaken by Nature's Beauty
Now I know this is kind of a cheesy example. But can you tell the difference? I'd guess that the second one got more of your attention...like you want to see what is being discussed. This is what you are shooting for! Using strong actions and descriptions go a LONG way. It's also important to remember that the first words in your post also show up in this list view under the headline and thumbnail image. You can use these to you're advantage too!
I know it's not always the easiest thing to come up with strong catchy headlines, but working on it over time will help you improve. If you find a post doesn't get much attention, try to think what you might have done to make it more appealing to click on (even though sometimes you might have just gotten unlucky and there wasn't much to improve on the headline.)
While I don't recommend relying on this...if you find yourself stuck, you can use a Title Generator to get some ideas. Most of them are rather lame, but often you'll find one that sticks out as something worth a try.
Lastly, try to pay attention to what headlines get your attention! Was it a certain word or phrase that drew you in? Maybe it was the thumbnail image they used?
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Q: What makes a Thumbnail image catch someone's attention?
We again want to remember that all our posts are first seen in a list view. So we need something that sticks out and makes somebody want to open the post for a better look. Let's jump right into an example...which of these two pictures grab your attention more?
This one:
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSdoDLXvv5VADNeAPmyDujw2RjjQ9jAyXsCy6V7bVytyv/image.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmVNnSTJ2wnWCahymFW39dQnKSGdvTdCRUBYeVbFw5G6bm/image.png)
[IMPORTANT: Your FIRST image in a post will be used for the thumbnail image! So choose it carefully.]
I made these pictures smaller so we can get a better idea of what they look like in a thumbnail image. I'd bet that every one of you were drawn to the second one, whether because of the brighter color, greater details or some other reason. The first one, while also a picture of a flower, just doesn't have the same appeal with the actual flower being so small and the grass around it being rather full.
I know we don't always have the pictures we want available from shots you took yourself. So don't be afraid to use a google image search with the usage rights set to "Labeled for reuse"...since we make money off our posts and want to respect copywrites. Some other sites with images you are safe to use include Pexels, Pixabay or Unsplash just to name a few.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
A Few Final Thoughts...
Finding a great headline and thumbnail image isn't always the easiest thing to do. So don't be afraid to just try different things, maybe even ask someone else for their opinion. This is something that has to be developed over time. But even for the best of us, things don't 'pop' as much as we though they would.
Keep your chin up...Keep posting...Keep improving!
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
Part 1 of this guide on getting more votes can be found HERE
Click HERE for a list of All my Guides!
Please Follow, Upvote and Resteem if you found this Guide Helpful.
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRnxxSrmCL9QjT6n38MRoJ3JYgeXMmn4jMs2YzzhL3Gtb/image.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png)
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgur.com/tCAIqAB.png)
Image Sources:
Kitty Meme
Newspaper
White Flower
Pink Flower
This was very educative and helpful. I'll definitely try out what I've got from this post.
Thanks for sharing.
Great post
Thanks for your tips @sykochica.
Also the point is not to overdo with post header making it "clickbaiting".
Oh exactly! It's walking that fine line of being 'catchy yet applicable' and just clickbait.
Great point :D
yea follow me am following you too @mrboy12
lol, I was drawn to the first thumbnail (green) because I couldn't see as clearly what the image was portraying and so was intrigued by it. ;)
I can understand that..lol. :)
great advice as always... the headlines are tough for me .. but I am working on it ..never give up
Thank you!
I have ones of my own that I look at an think...'how blah' it was. They can't all be home runs. :)
I have found that title generator helpful in the past to give me some ideas when I feel stuck though.
Really helpful post :) I Think its really hard to make an article an Eye-catcher but this tips will certainly help :) I will try them out :D
I am but a small little bitty sea horse amidst a gigantic ocean of Beluga whales... where my noobs at, am I right? Thanks for the info! Trying to get a grip on all this
Thank you for another amazing guide for beginners and maybe even for users that aren't new on Steemit.
keep it up!
Thank you for the tips @sykochica
I feel this line so much! I feel like that cat asking why? Hahaha. But seriously, with several posts by the minute the headline and thumbnail really matters. And it's the most difficult part for me.
Will the first lines/sentence of the post that appears on the feed be crucial as well? I see most people put in greeting first like "Hello Steemians..."
The first line/sentence isn't as important as the headline and thumbnail, but I'd do feel it can be helpful and have some positive effect. But I don't think it could really hurt you.
Definitely focus of the headline and image first.:-)
Thank you very much @sykochica Happy New Year :)
For an ongoing daily blog, my meditation posts for example, do you suggest using the same thumbnail each day or changing it up?
I've seen both work out for people. However personally I change up the thumbnail on each post.
Now it's been a while since I'd even tried using the same image for the thumbnail. But what I felt happened was that I lost out on votes I thought I might have gotten simply because the voter sees the headline being the same (i.e. Meditation and Minfulness), sees the thumbnail, and thinks that they had already voted (which they did on part 1, but didn't realize this one was part 2.
But again...I have seen it work out for users, so you can try thing out and see if it works for you. :)
Thanks!! Have I mentioned, you're the best? Appreciate it!
Since I’m still a beginner this post was really helpful! Not only are these tips helpful for Steem but really any time you are trying to market content online!