After you’ve been blogging for even a little while, things can begin to get a bit stale. To build your audience it’s critical you hang on to the readers you’ve got… which means you need to generate excitement in every post. While strong, useful content is the key to a killer blog post, there are some extra ways you can attract readers and KEEP them reading!
1. Choose a Meaningful Title
Have you ever read a blog post and found the content is completely different from the title? Instead of tricking your reader into reading your post, be clear about what your post is going to discuss, what it’s going to teach, and how it’s going to help them. Readers will quickly be able to decide whether the post is something they want to read or not.
Also, use headings and sub-headings to create a post that people can scan quickly to find the ‘meat’ of the content, or the part that’s most relevant to them.
2. Use Numbers
When choosing a title for your blog post, numbers grab attention and make it easier for the brain to process exactly what a reader will GET out of reading! Talking about ‘4 different ways to make your blog posts more exciting’ helps readers instantly see they’ll get four key pieces of information from your post.
This also helps people stay “on track” while they’re reading. They don’t get lost wondering if they’ve accidentally missed something important, and their brain sub-consciously files away the information MUCH more effectively. This means people understand and absorb your content much more effectively. This is better for them because they get more out of it… and better for you because they remember you as a great authority figure they want to pay attention to!
3. Ask a Question
As you write your blog post, ask questions of your reader. This makes them feel engaged and realize you’re aware of the questions they already have in their minds. Once you’ve asked the question, spend a little time discussing the reason why the question is important… then eventually answer the question in your blog post.
As you ask questions, the blog post becomes more of a conversation than a speech at your reading audience.
4. Continue Your Message Next Post
Want to get your readers to come back again? Consider writing a long blog post that’s split into multiple parts, and release each new post a few days apart.
Give solid, helpful information in the each post and then briefly mention what’s coming up in the next post. Each post should stand on it’s own, but have a strong reason for readers to return to find out the “next step” in the process.
Whatever you blog about, you need to stay exciting in the mind of your reader. There’s so much clutter online these days it’s difficult to stand out. This isn’t about being tricky, but rather about being clear about what your blog offers, structuring your content in the right way, creating a conversation with your readers, and delivering your content in a way that gets you maximum engagement.
See how many of these strategies you can use for your next posts. Don’t forget, more exciting blog posts = more engaged readers = more customers!
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Article by James T Noble
James makes small businesses bigger. He's previously worked with some of the world's largest brands and companies to market their products and services online - including Disney, Microsoft, 20th Century Fox, Virgin, Coca Cola, MTV and many others. Read more about James...
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Title certainly plays a great role for making them come into the post and give it a 30 seconds try. If your starting paragraph could catch his attention, your post did its work.
Asking questions and talking a bit about next post can hook your readers – I agree!