Having a blog is great…
But not if no one reads it.
It definitely sucks to put so much time and/or money into writing blog posts, and then hear the crickets. But with the following tips, you can ensure your audience is attracted to your articles and then wants to keep reading through to the end.
5 Tips to Ensure People Want to Read Your Content
Spend Time Making Your Headline Awesome
The headline is the first thing your readers will see, and people see hundreds of headlines every day. So, if your headline is just blasé, they aren’t going to take the time out of their busy day to read your article.
Your headline should present a clear benefit to the reader. They should be stopped by it and say to themselves, “that’s just what I’ve been searching for” or “I’ve been wondering that.”
At the same time, it should be uniquely worded so that it stands apart from all the other headlines on the same topic. Here are some examples of blasé headlines vs. stellar headlines:
- 10 Ways to be Grateful vs. 10 Powerful Ways to be Grateful and Happy Now
- How to Start Meditating vs. How to Unlock the Outstanding Power of Meditation
- How to Start a Journal vs. How to Start a Journal You’ll Love: The Ultimate Guide
Open Strong
The opening of your article is critical for grabbing the interest of your readers and getting them to read the rest of your article. The headline pulled them in, but now you need to give them something that makes them say, “Hey, this is gonna be a good read.”
How do you do that? The easiest way is to tell a personal story that relates to the article topic. It could be a personal experience or a story about someone else. It could also be something that elicits emotion, or something that paints a detailed picture of a situation they can relate to and gets them to use their five senses.
Format it Right
It’s really important to remember that formatting definitely matters. The articles that just contain paragraphs get read the least because they feel tedious to read (even if they are not). That’s why it is so important to break up your articles with headings, sub-headings, bullets, numbered lists, and graphics. You can also use bold and colored text to make certain words stand out.
And keep your paragraphs short, even if it’s not the proper way to write!
Bring in Emotions & Senses
The more you can pull on your readers’ emotional strings, the more they will keep reading. Here are some ways you can do that:
- Use words that make them feel something emotionally.
- Reiterate your understanding of their situation with personal experiences or examples.
- Focus on showing them something instead of telling them about something.
- Engage them and get them to use all five senses.
- Bring your sense of humor into the article and give them a chuckle.
Close Strong
Don’t neglect the close of your article. The best way to make a lasting impression is to close strong by coming full circle and bringing a new insight to what you said in your opening which could only have been declared by reading the article. It’s also a great place to include a call to action.
Another option is to have a Next Steps section where you provide them with some action steps they can take to put the ideas in your article to work. I’ll demonstrate that here in my own Next Steps section.
Next Steps
Now that you know the most important aspects that make people want to read your articles, here are some resources you can look into to help you put it all into action:
- Do Sticky Blogging – I have taken hundreds of online courses over the years. I mean seriously, I’m kind of a junkie when it comes to that. But by far, the one and only course that stands out to me is Sticky Blogging and Sticky SEO. Well, I guess that’s two, but they are offered by the same person. I learned more in those courses than I did in any other course. That’s honestly where I learned most of the points in this article. She offers a free workshop, which you can get access to here.
- Use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer – This is actually a tool that was introduced to me in the Sticky Blogging course, and it’s a game changer for headlines. It helps you choose powerful words for your headlines so they can grab as much attention as possible. The headline analyzer is on this page, but make sure you also download the Power Words cheatsheet that are available at the bottom of the page because you’ll need to use those while you are using the analyzer.
- Start With PLR – Creating a consistent stream of awesome content that doesn’t consume all of your time and money is very possible with PLR (private label rights) content. Use it as a starting point for your articles and then use the tips outlined in this article to make it unique and awesome! Browse my PLR store here.
- Have Fun – Creating content that gives people value is pretty cool. These days, we can be our own publishers because we can put content out so easily in so many different ways. Just make sure you are not just adding to the noise, but are striving to make a difference with your content if you want it to actually get read.
