Don’t Worry About Overusing Clickbait Titles, there’s Plenty of Desperate Morons on the Interwebs
Earnest literary snobs here on Medium and across the web preach that content creators — including you—should avoid using clickbait titles at all costs. They tell us that we should be “earnest” with our titles, that our headlines should be “beacons of truth” in an abundantly deceitful sea of digital manipulation and chaos. Thankfully, you shouldn’t trust everything you read on the internet.
This is poor advice.
Contrary to the consensus, the dark side of title baiting is so much more fun, exciting, exhilarating — rewarding. Do you think Mr. Beast became a chart-topping social media oligarch by being “earnest?” Do you think the billionaires of yesterday, today, and tomorrow built their generational wealth upon foundations of honesty?
Bullshit.
They exploited the fudge out of you and I with clever propaganda and mediocre value propositions.
So what if you use a clickbait title? If the cents become bucks and your Medium partner earnings start to trend upwards, is it better to live an honest life or to put a dent on the demand of today’s skyrocketing cost of living?
Let your greed flourish dear writer of the interwebs; there’s an audience out there gullible and large enough to keep you earning more.
Disclaimer:
I don’t know whose opinions these are. I don’t think they’re my own but I can’t tell. I have no idea what I’m doing but I’m generally a good person. Although truth-be-told you should take what you read on the interwebs with a hearty grain of salt and sarcasm.
