[Closed] Click bate - does it work on you

Thanks. Saved me a click.

I've just looked at the 'Is this the best tyre inflator?' thing in the name of research.

Guess what? It doesn't answer the question.

Both pointless and annoying.

What I wonder about migrating to a clickbait policy is whether the audience it attracts actually stays around. If the main revenue stream is ad-based then it probably works ok because it attracts more people, and presumably a higher proportion of those who are easily persuaded to click on adverts as well as headlines, but if the main revenue stream is sales-based then I wonder if it risks alienating the spenders in the audience for the sake of attracting transient, low-spend users. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't.

Just now I'm ill and generally feeling stupider than normal and I've ended up clicking on a load of "Look at these amazing abandoned places" and "People of walmart" sort of things, some of them have been pretty good. But never a You Won't Believe.

Clickbait's definitely proven to be effective but I don't feel like STW users are the normal targets.

Have you considered a remote control car?

What it did for my happiness during the winter months may surprise you.

2 Amazing Gifts that are Wasted on Ungrateful Teenagers......You'll be Blown Away with the Second One!

Are you saying this belly fat is here to stay?

You won't believe which SingleTrackworld thread gave me explosive diarrhoea!!

It works in that it cheapens this forum/website/community.
Another nail in the coffin.

I am actually curious to know what Annalise from Neighbours looks like now

But so far have resisted...

Is this one simple trick going to work or not? Mrs Spekkie is waiting . . .

I wrote headlines for a living for many years, including for some well-known websites with a young audience and a Buzzfeed-like tone. As an old-school journo I always enjoyed a clever pun, but it took me a while to get the hang of "doing" what people here are describing as clickbait (I may disagree).

As with all things there are degrees of clickbaityness, and STW's new headlines are on the milder end of the spectrum if they're clickbait at all. Really all they've done is got a bit longer, more conversational and more engaging - sometimes all at the same time.

It doesn't always work but I think they're getting the hang of it and are probably still trying to find the right tone.

To me clickbait means the cliched "and number six will amaze you" or "this is the reason Taylor Swift split up with Xyz" kind of stuff.

"7 reasons why the scott genius is stoking our fire" is a product news piece dressed up as a Buzzfeed-style listicle.

Saying "all headlines are clickbait" is of course correct from a certain perspective, but you need to be going somewhere with the observation really.

It's interesting thought. If the Icebike had been "7 highlights" or similar idI be tempted but current headline means I'll give it a miss. If it'd be "musings on Icebike" or similar and implying a more journalistic writing I'd be interested but expectations lower with current headline.

I think the OP might have deliberately used the incorrect version of "bait" to "bait" us 😉

The mag has moved upmarket in terms of presentation, the site downmarket. Different audiences obviously, but it feels strange nonetheless.

I think the OP might have deliberately used the incorrect version of “bait” to “bait” us

The best clickbait is when you don't even realise you've been baited.

😉