Make Your Content Engaging With These Guaranteed Strategies
You need to make your content engaging in order to gain real traction in the blogging world. But doing so requires patience and a constant desire to understand what drives customers’ behavior.
When you make your content engaging, you are effectively offering information that adds value to your readers. In other words, any content that engages readers challenges them to rethink what they’ve learned. Or it offers a fresh viewpoint on a subject
It’s about truly knowing your audience well. And actually caring about what they need.
So if you want to make engaging content for social media, for a website, a blog, or engaging content for a YouTube video, the process is almost the same.
The secret lies in creating the most engaging content with just a few tweaks to your existing content creation strategy.
Essentially, what you need is simply an intent to create exceptional content consistently.
This applies to written online content like blog posts or social media posts, audio content like podcasts, video content like webinars, and more.
Make Your Content Consistently Engaging
As a good writer, you need to offer your viewers content that is beneficial to them in a particular situation.
But you can do that only after you make an effort to get familiar with them and their interests, wants, and difficulties.
And what’s the overall benefit of this effort?
Well, one big benefit possible is that your readers will spread the word if they like your content so much. And sharing of great content is a recurring event in the blogging world connected to social media. In fact, social media has expanded so rapidly that according to statistics, about 4.48 billion people currently use social media worldwide, up more than double from 2.07 billion in 2015
So go ahead and make your content engaging. That means you create exceptional content consistently.
Also, remember, every piece of content you create should be practical, and so useful that readers are forced to read it cover to cover, and then spread it.
However, this is exactly the difficulty that every marketer currently suffers.
So what I’m saying is don’t just loosely add to the information bubble around you.
Instead, take a position. Shake a few chains. Aim to at least go further in your treatment of a subject than anyone else has.
A Compelling Headline To Make Your Content Engaging
One of the most important parts of your content is the headline.
A headline initially grabs the interest of your visitor and quickly decides whether they will continue to read, or not.
According to Hubspot “Great headlines, though, can make a dramatic impact in the opposite direction. You can increase the traffic to your articles by as much as 500%, based solely on the headline”.
So here’s something you must do if you want to increase your ranking in search engines.
Create headlines that are simple and concise. And include powerful keywords in them.
This way a new article that could otherwise be overlooked, can benefit from an interesting title. It can actually gain hundreds of social shares and comments.
Another factor that I always emphasize is how good you’re at selecting the best blog topic for long-term profitability. Essentially, how well you know your niche also determines the power of your headlines.
Undoubtedly, this makes your content engaging. And as a result, it will rank higher in search engine ratings.
However, if you write a dull headline, even the finest blog article can be ignored.
So here are three definite guidelines you can follow to make your headlines engaging.
Draw Their Attention
Whether a person sees a blog title by searching on Google, an email, their Facebook, or their Twitter account, the criteria remain the same. The first thing it needs to do is attract their attention.
And that’s why it’s really crucial to cut through the cacophony.
Hence, to do that, you add surprise, curiosity, contradiction, specificity, or numbers (figures) to your headlines.
Obtain A Click
Getting a click is considerably harder than it sounds because certain formats only have click-through rates of 0.5 to 1%.
But you still do need those clicks, so what do you do to obtain them?
Here are some tips to encourage readers to click on your content and read through it.
1. Establish your merit.
2. Add value to the readers
2. Specify the subject of the article
4. Your article must compel viewers to read it
5. Know your audience and their pain points
Bring About A Conversation
Some people will only share a post if they believe their friends are likely to find the title interesting.
Hence, usually, headlines that get shared the most are those rich in emotions. This could range between awe, love, fear, anxiety, affection, humor, or surprise.
There’s another factor that helps to make your content engaging.
It’s the basic hierarchy of needs (as defined by Abraham Maslow).
So what does that imply?
It implies that people unwittingly share info because it reveals who they are. Therefore, it conveys information about them (whether they are conscious of it or not).
We also occasionally spread useful information just to appear helpful (meeting our need for self-actualization).
Then we share content that is attention-grabbing because it makes us stand out (catering to the need for self-esteem).
Create A Superb Introduction For Your Content.
It’s crucial to introduce the subject you’ll be writing about so that readers can find it when they browse your content online. And thus inspire them to read more.
Visitors often decide about continuing with your article, simply by going through your introduction.
All articles must therefore begin with a brief, good description of their topic.
And hence it’s crucial to make your introduction succinct and to the point.
Any guesses why?
Because no one will look at your post for more than a few seconds. This is what urges you to go over the article’s main ideas in a few sentences before commencing. That’s what an introduction achieves.
The Power of A Story
A powerful illustration of an interesting strategy to connect with your audience is storytelling.
Your viewers are more likely to care about your message when you make your content engaging for them.
Therefore, to make a story truly fascinating, be certain to include components like conflict, resolution, and emotion.
Remember, stories have enormous power! And case studies are an excellent option for your blog articles because of this.
According to an article in Psychologytoday.com ,“Stories are how we think. They are how we make meaning of life….Stories are how we explain how things work, how we make decisions, how we justify our decisions, how we persuade others, how we understand our place in the world....”
By the way, in case you didn’t know, success stories are among the most widely shared stories on the internet.
Hence the message here is, you could consider writing a good case study on success. Either about yourself or another person. Consider writing about your blog’s greatest triumphs, and describe how you got there.
Be Concise And Make Your Content Engaging
The hard fact is that nobody enjoys reading complicated, tedious content.
Instead, by writing concise, to-the-point paragraphs, you can quickly increase the readability of your content. Hence, before you click publish, make sure to modify your writing for simplicity and clarity.
So what’s the aim of concise writing?
The aim is to use the best words possible.
Small wonder that concise writing is not about using fewer words. Rather it’s about using the clearest words.
However content writers often make the mistake of writing words that can be eliminated or substituted. But this weakens sentences.
So here are a few takeaways that I recommend for powerful writing:-
1.Substitute a word with a sentence.
2.Find the negativity and replace it with the positives.
3.Be conscious of your stance. And stick to a theme.
4.Focus on your intended audience.
Break Your Content Into Paragraphs
Imagine reading a piece of writing that was a single long wall of text. Even just thinking of that makes me want to leave right now.
Frankly, nobody wants their viewers to flee their site. But the only way to avoid that is to make your content exceptional.
So what makes your content exceptional?
Well, content becomes exceptional when you serve your readers useful, bite-sized information.
Your content actually entices your readers by educating them and empowering them. This also depends on selecting the best blog post formats for you and your readers. And so they slowly inch towards your offered solutions.
You must therefore divide your ideas into digestible sections and paragraphs. That’s exactly what goes to make your content engaging.
So here’s how you craft your article’s paragraphs:
• Add more whitespace in your content to make it simpler to transition from one idea to the next.
• A good idea is to compile all related information in different paragraphs.
•Experts recommend starting with the most crucial phrase, then adding more information.
•Try and avoid having more than 6-7 sentences in each para
Most importantly, erratic paragraphs can make the structure suffer and cause confusion among your readers.
So you’ve got to be careful when crafting paragraphs. That’s because their main purpose is to make your material easier to read.
Visuals For Making Engaging Content
It’s always a great idea to leverage the power of visual content for enthusing your readers and breaking up text-heavy content.
In fact, visuals improve conceptual clarification and enhance the aesthetic appeal of your article.
So here’s what I suggest.
Select high-quality, topic-relevant imagery when choosing graphics for your content.
Remember that visual content increases overall information retention for your readers. Most importantly, it increases the likelihood that customers will remember your brand.
But when it comes to “warming” an audience, brand retention becomes the crucial reason for using great visuals.
And in the content marketing process, here’s a word of caution to remember- “consumers will not buy from an unfamiliar brand“.
Statistics and Data For Engaging Content
Your writing can always become more credible and persuasive with the use of data and statistics. And this adds to your Google EAT score.
So here’s what you need to do.
Cite your references when employing data in your article so that readers can verify things for themselves.
And there’s another advantage to statistics.
With data and statistics, your readers invariably comprehend the content more effectively. It’s because data and stats break up the text.
Statistics always helps to simplify complicated data. And remember, data is required to help support your claims.
This is particularly true if you display data and information in the form of graphs, tables, interactive bar charts, and infographics.
This way you eliminate using painful spreadsheets and charts.
However, there’s a catch.
Your data-driven writing only becomes credible if it is based on testing. If not, then it should be validated by professionals using cutting-edge technology. And possibly the best way to ensure that is to display statistics and data from credible sources only.
Making Engaging Content Involves Great Questions
Asking lots of questions helps people connect with one another, and it also unlocks knowledge.
Asking also displays boldness and indicates your readiness to learn. Remember, every inquiry implies an answer, which eventually encourages conversation.
In their book “Winning – The Answers”, Jack and Suzy Welch say “all you have to do is ask. And ask is what people in best-practices cultures do—all the time”
A great method to involve your audience is to ask questions. So gaining excellent writing abilities means you understand how to ask the proper questions.
The interesting thing is that we naturally become better questioners when our emotional intelligence improves.
And guess what you need to do?
Use enough questions in your content.
You could pique readers’ interest by posing a question at the start of your post.
Besides, the content could also be interspersed with questions to keep readers interested throughout. Only, you need to be careful not to go overboard or your inquiries could appear to be contrived.
Use Good Examples For Making Engaging Content
One strategy to explain your views and make your content more relevant is by offering examples to your viewers.
Why? Because examples make complex ideas more relatable.
This apparently minor change has significant learning implications. It’s because readers can recall tangible examples much more readily than abstract concepts.
For instance, consider this example:
“Playing a musical instrument takes talent and effort to perform well. For example, great musicians will train for up to 8 hours each day.“
The second statement is an example and helps clarify the concept up front.
So we need to recognize that even a single example can bring more clarity to a concept than a generalized description. Of course, using several different examples is preferable.
But here’s a word of caution.
When employing examples, pick ones that are related to your audience. Something which will help in comprehension of your point.
Create Passionate, Engaging Content
Before delving further let’s just stop and ask why the bulk of bloggers take up blogging? Well, for most bloggers it has to do with making money from blogging. Hence it becomes a business of a very fulfilling nature.
But if you want to earn money from blogging like a business, it takes devotion, and passion to do so.
Blogging with passion entails being sincere and expressing yourself from the heart.
And the truth is, when you are enthusiastic about something, your readers can tell. And this instantly makes your content more interesting.
Readers can see past poor grammar, or structure to determine whether they will connect with the content or not.
And what is the best approach to accomplishing that?
For one, instead of writing to numerous people, choose one person. And write your content for that one person.
Also, in the process, use your own experiences and emotive words.
That way, even if it makes you appear unattractive on the page, being honest will help you connect with your audience.
Therefore, write about a subject that is close to your heart and let your individuality come through. It will be appreciated by your readers, and you’ll have a better chance of keeping their interest.
Related Posts
Create Exceptional Content Consistently With These 8 Best Strategies
How To Select The Best Blog Topic For Long-Term Profitability
Best Format For Blog Posts, And Blogging FAQs
How To Do Successful Content Research For Your Blog Posts.
Conclusion
You want to make your content engaging on your blogging journey because that’s obviously the shortest route to success.
However, it’s observed that emotionally relevant content is more engaging. It prompts audiences to generate both unconscious and conscious reactions.
And here, attention is the first point of engagement, encouraging readers to stay and absorb your content.
Good, engaging content also implies that it is visually appealing to the viewer. It captures their interest and generates a desire to learn more about your brand after viewing it.
That desire is also one reason why I recommend including examples, and questions to improve the depth and quality of content.
Moreover, this helps your writing become readable and understandable.
And here’s what I’d finally say.
Even if you write a great headline, an excellent introduction, and craft well-broken paragraphs there’s a secret link that must never be lost to sight.
That secret is your knowledge of your audience.
Effectively, this translates to a deep focus on that one person you’re actually creating this entire content for. Once that crucial facet is sorted out in your mind you will see your success coming fast
And you should eventually observe viewers heading over to many pages on your website after you’ve done everything to make your content engaging.