Excuse me for a moment here.

You may be surprised with the harsh blog title today. However, it gets its job done very well. To have you read this blog in its entirety.

Now that you are here, I’d better have something good to say.

To continue our posts about how to craft great podcast show and episode titles, today’s topic is exactly what is on the headline.

In previous post, I have explained concisely why we should write titles that raise curiosity. In another post, I try to persuade you into creating not only simple but clear title for anything, including podcast titles.

Now, here is a scientific reason why you should not be clever in your title or headline. It’s stupidity.

About a year ago, American Institutes for Research reported a study about college literacy. Much to my surprise, 75 percent of students at 2-year colleges and more than 50 percent of students at 4-year colleges do not score at the proficient level of literacy.

The skills tested include complex literacy tasks, such as comparing credit card offers with different interest rates or summarizing the arguments of newspaper editorials.

Add to the fact that college students, on average are more literate than the average citizen.

It is another reason that to grab attention, you have to keep it simple — at least enough for them to understand when they scan.

Of course, this depends heavily on your target market. They might be sophisticated enough that simple words are assaults. However, in general circumstances, simplicity helps.

Worth reading: Podcast Promotion Tips.

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