When you first start running a blog, it can be a very painful experience, putting a lot of time and effort into your blog posts and articles, and knowing that no-one is really reading them. You can slave away over an article but unless you already have a dedicated audience, there is a good chance that only a couple of people will read it.
But if you want to make sure that people start reading as quickly as possible, then it is not enough to simply keep posting the same old stuff. You need to think about the type of content that people actually want to read, and the kind of content that will hold attention for long enough to make an impact.
Let’s take a look at how you do that:
The Title
The first thing that will help you to get more readers is your title. It is just as important as the subject line of your emails. Of course, if your title isn’t interesting, then people are not going to feel motivated to click on your link, or even read past the first line.
This is something that sites like Buzzfeed know all-too well. And this is also what has given rise to ‘clickbait’. It is important not to create clickbait yourself (which of course doesn’t provide any real value), but you can learn from the way that these posts structure their titles. Try to make your articles stand out by writing about something that people have not already read a thousand times, or at least provide a fresh spin. Find an emotional hook, and try to introduce a little curiosity.
In short, the best way to make your articles naturally engaging is to write about something different, and not something that has been covered a hundred times before, by every other blog in your niche. Always ask yourself, “would I spend time to read this?”
Presentation
Presentation is so important when it comes to getting your content to be read. This is something that is often overlooked, but if you use the right font, the right headings, and the right spacing, in addition to some nice high definition images, you will see your visitor retention go up quite a bit. People hate being greeted by a massive wall of text and this is one of the fastest ways to get them to turn around and click the back button.
Tell a Story
I read somewhere that “storytelling is SEO for the human brain”. This is true to a very large extend. People love hearing stories. They like to hear how the techniques you are recommending helped you. They like to hear about how you discovered the secret formula to success, and how it popped into your mind while you were relaxing on the beach.
Stories engage people because the human brain is wired to read stories, and people can relate to stories. This allows you to create suspense, cliff-hangers, and emotional engagement … “wait for the next installment to hear the rest of the story”.
If you are looking at your content right now, and it feels a little dull or a little dry, think about how you can perhaps make it into more of a story. Try it, and do it well, and you will find that your content becomes much more engaging, and that people stay on your site that much longer! As an extra bonus they might even sign up to your newsletter to hear more from you.
