Blogging can be difficult, and it’s especially hard to stand out in the field. You pour your heart into a blog post only for it to get crickets in response.
However, there are many ways to make sure your content gets noticed by readers. In this post, we’ll explore what you need to do if you want more people to read your content.
Key Takeaways |
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1. Understand your target audience’s preferences. |
2. Craft compelling headlines to grab attention. |
3. Utilize visuals to enhance content engagement. |
4. Incorporate storytelling for a personal touch. |
5. Optimize content for search engines (SEO). |
6. Promote content across relevant platforms. |
7. Leverage social media for wider reach. |
8. Collaborate with influencers for added exposure. |
9. Encourage reader interaction and feedback. |
10. Use email marketing to reconnect with readers. |
1. Write An Eye-Catching Headline
Writing an engaging and relevant headline is the single most important factor in getting your content read by more people.
That’s because it’s what attracts them to you in the first place. If that headline doesn’t catch their attention, they won’t click through and no one will ever know what you wanted to say.
Your headline needs to be descriptive and actionable (so they understand exactly what they’re getting), short and compelling (so it piques their interest right away), clear and concise (so they don’t have to think too hard about whether or not they want to read more).
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2. Make Your Content Easy To Skim
To make your content easy to skim, use:
Headings and subheadings. If you’re writing a blog post or an article, use headings and subheadings to break up your text into sections.
You can do this by using different fonts (e.g., Times New Roman for the main heading and Georgia for the subheading), different font sizes (e.g., 12 pt for the main heading and 10 pt for the subheading), or even different colors (e.g., red).
Bullet points instead of paragraphs. Use bullet points instead of paragraphs where possible because they’re easier to digest quickly than long blocks of text!
Images or videos that illustrate what you’re talking about in more detail; links back to these images/videos from anywhere within your post so that readers can click through them easily without losing their place in what you’ve written thus far!
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3. Write A Strong Introduction
“If you are a content creator, the first thing people will see is your introduction. It’s up to you to make that as good as possible.”
The introduction should be written in a question format so readers can easily answer “yes” to it. It should be short and sweet no more than two or three sentences long and written in a way that draws them in and makes them want to read more.
4. Tell People What They’ll Learn
The more you tell people what they’ll learn, the more likely they are to keep reading.
Give a preview of what’s coming so readers can get excited about what’s ahead. You can do this by using teasers: short sentences or paragraphs that whet their appetites for the main course. Here’s an example from Neil Patel: “How To Get Your Content Read By More People.”
5. Use Subheadings And Lists
You can also use subheadings to break up your content and make it more readable. For example, if you’re writing a post on how to build a website, you may want to break the post into sections like “Things You Need To Know,” “How To Choose
A Domain Name,” and “How To Make Money With Your Website.” If you have several paragraphs of text that go together under one heading, consider turning them into a list with bullet points or numbers (like in this blog post).
Using lists helps readers find the information they need quickly. They also make your copy more digestible for readers who skim which is pretty much everyone these days.
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6. Help Readers Solve Their Problems
The easiest way to get your content read by more people is to help readers solve their problems.
Write about problems that people have, and explain why they have them. Give them a solution or at least some information that will help them find a solution on their own.
Don’t just tell people what they should do in an authoritative tone; try to understand why they’re experiencing the problem and what’s causing it so that you can provide solutions tailored specifically for their situation.
And make sure you know what you’re talking about before starting: research is key!
7. Call People To Action
You should be doing this after every blog post, but it’s especially important if you’re trying to inspire your audience to take a particular action. If you want readers to get in touch with you for any reason, tell them exactly how they can do that and make sure the process is easy.
That could mean including an email address or a contact form link at the bottom of each post; if your readers can’t figure out where their message will land, they may abandon ship before ever sending it.
If people enjoy reading about one subject but don’t feel confident enough in their knowledge about another topic (or don’t want to spend money on the book), offer a call-to-action related specifically to them:
“If this topic has sparked your interest but continues too long without addressing [specific problem], send me an email at [username]@[domain].com and let me know! I’ll make sure that we cover that issue next time around!
8. Get Personal
You’ve probably heard this advice before, but “get personal” is the best way to make your content stand out.
Use your own experience: When you talk about yourself in an article, it gives readers a sense of who you are and helps them relate to you. You can share a story that illustrates the point of your article or give the reader insight into why they should care about what they’re reading.
For example, if I wrote an article on how to get better at playing guitar (which I did), my background information would include that I played guitar when I was younger and how much I love music overall.
This isn’t required for every piece of content but it does make it more interesting for readers in most cases.
Include personal stories: Personal stories can help establish credibility with readers because people love hearing other people’s experiences!
They also allow readers to connect with the topic because they feel like there’s some sort of connection between them and the author themselves.”
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9. Tell Stories
One of the most important things you can do to help get your content read is to tell stories.
Stories are what make people relate to one another and they help readers connect with your content. If you can tell a personal story or share an experience that’s relatable, even better! For example:
You could talk about how you had an idea for a business but didn’t take action because of self-doubt or fear of failure. Then, after going through some tough times in life, you realized that if you didn’t pursue this dream now, it would be lost forever.
That’s when it hit home for me if I don’t try now and then fail miserably later on down the road (which is inevitable), then I’ll regret not even trying at all!
Or maybe yours is more like this: “We’ve been working hard over here to solve our customer problems by making sure every customer gets their problem solved quickly and efficiently.”
10. Use Images, Photos, And Videos
Use photos and videos to break up text and make your content more visually appealing.
It’s important that the images you use with your writing are relevant to the topic, but don’t go overboard. Images should be used to illustrate a point or provide more information about the topic at hand, not just for decoration.
Make sure your image is large enough to be readable on whatever device people are viewing it on (desktop computers will have larger screens than smartphones).
You can also use a variety of images in different sizes so that there is always something interesting for readers to look at as they read through your article or blog post.
11. Link Out To Other Relevant Content From Within Your Post
You can do this by linking out to other relevant content within your post. For example, if you’re writing about how to build a website, you could link out to articles about building websites in general or specific types of websites like eCommerce sites or blogs.
You can also link out to other sites that offer great content on the topic at hand. Think outside of yourself!
Linking out helps readers discover new information and learn more about that subject matter because they can see what else is available on the topic and pick which one they want to read first.
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12. Publish At The Optimal Time (For Your Audience)
You want to post at a time when your audience is most likely to be online so that they’re able to read and engage with what you write. This will help increase organic reach (as well as drive readers back to other content).
Use analytics tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Twitter Analytics. These are great resources for identifying when people are browsing or engaging with your content you can also use them in conjunction with social media scheduling tools like Buffer or Hootsuite.
Schedule posts in advance using a tool like CoSchedule or Buffer (which allows you to schedule tweets/posts across multiple platforms), so that they go out automatically throughout the day based on their optimal posting times!
13. Promote Your Content On Social Media
Share your content on social media. The more people you can get to share your content, the more eyes will be on it. Social media is one of the fastest-growing online marketing channels and one of the best ways to get more eyes on your content.
Use hashtags. Hashtags allow users to search for topics and other people by using a pound sign followed by a word or phrase (e.g., #marketing).
You can put these in any tweet or post that relates to your topic, which will help increase its reach beyond just those who follow you and others who are already interested in what you’re saying or sharing – even if they aren’t aware that they may need what you’re offering!
If done right, these two simple steps can greatly increase traffic while helping build awareness within an industry too long dominated by big brands with deep pockets who don’t always play fair when it comes time for new players like us upstarts trying our luck at making names for ourselves against giants.”
Conclusion
You’re ready to go forth and create the content that people want, need, and are dying to read. You’ve got your audience in mind and you know how to make content that works for them. And now you also have 27 ways
to get that great content out into the world and into the hands of those who will benefit from it most.
The hardest part of being a writer is writing a lot. But once you get past that hurdle, everything else falls into place. Remember: Your awesome content deserves an equally awesome audience it’s time to make sure they find each other!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources that provide valuable insights related to content marketing and effective writing techniques:
Data-Driven Content Marketing Techniques: Explore advanced strategies for content marketing backed by data-driven insights to enhance your marketing efforts.
Creating Scannable Content for Online Readers: Learn how to structure your content in a way that is easily scannable for online readers, improving engagement and readability.
Content Marketing Advice for Success: Gain practical advice and tips for effective content marketing to achieve better results and engagement.
FAQs
How can data-driven techniques improve content marketing strategies?
Data-driven content marketing techniques leverage insights and analytics to create more targeted and relevant content, ultimately enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
What is the significance of scannable content in online writing?
Scannable content, with clear headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs, improves readability and helps readers quickly grasp the main points of an article or post.
How can content marketing advice contribute to a successful strategy?
Content marketing advice offers valuable insights, best practices, and tactics to create and distribute content that resonates with the target audience, leading to better engagement and results.
How do data-driven techniques differ from traditional content marketing approaches?
Data-driven techniques rely on analyzing data to understand audience behavior, preferences, and trends, allowing marketers to tailor content for maximum impact, whereas traditional approaches may be based on assumptions.
What role does readability play in content marketing success?
Readability is crucial in content marketing as it determines how easily readers can understand and engage with your content. Well-structured, readable content tends to perform better in terms of engagement and conversions.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.