Crafting Bylines That Make Your Readers Click

Written by Kristy Pruitt

byline-click Creating content for others’ websites is a great way to get traffic to your own. But it only works if you generate a healthy amount of interest. Writing an intriguing or helpful article is a good start, but if you don’t have a great byline, chances are good that readers won’t bother seeing what your website has to offer.

A byline is a short bio that is included at the end of your article and links back to your website. It can say just about anything you want it to. You could tell readers about your favorite hobbies, or your cute little Pomeranian, or your views on the environment. But if you want to use your byline to its fullest potential, it must be well thought out.

There are certain characteristics that can make a byline stand out. Here are some ideas to incorporate into your bylines to make readers want to know more about you, and click through to your site.

Think short and sweet. A long byline allows you to provide more information, but most readers will just skip reading it altogether if it’s too long. It’s best to keep it to a short yet descriptive paragraph, with no more than five sentences. In this case, less is more.
Stay on topic. The objective of your byline is to entice readers to visit your website to learn more, not to tell a condensed version of your life story. Off-topic personal details are generally of little interest to readers. Save them for your memoirs.
Include relevant credentials. People like knowing that the words they’re reading come from a reliable source. If they enjoy your article, they will visit your website to see what other expert advice you have to offer.
Use humor when appropriate. If you’re writing about something serious like cancer or war, don’t try to be funny. But if your topic is lighthearted, a little humor in your byline can be endearing and spark your reader’s curiosity.
Give them an incentive to click. Promise to reveal a secret if they visit your site, or give something (perhaps a special report or sample) away. For best results, make it an ongoing giveaway instead of a limited time offer, because chances are your byline will be seen for a long time to come.
Tweak your byline for different purposes. There’s no rule that states that you must use the same byline for everything you write. For best results, you should change it up depending on the audience, publication and purpose. But you don’t have to start from scratch every time. Just write an all-purpose byline, and in most cases a slight change or two will give it all of the extra “oomph” it needs.

Paying attention to your bylines can pay big dividends. If you make them concise yet interesting, they will leave the reader yearning to learn more, and that link to your site will be irresistible.

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