Do you write content that affects your readers or do they just read and click away? If it’s the latter, you may want to make some adjustments. The more your readers respond to your content, the more money you’ll make. They’ll talk about you. Share links. And come back to your site for more.
How Do You Know If You Write Content That Affects Your Readers?
Well, sometimes it can be hard to tell. Comments on a blog are one indication, but not necessarily the only indication. Do your readers stay on your website for more than a few seconds? Are your email list and RSS subscriber lists growing? If so, then you’re probably doing okay, but there’s always room for improvement, right?
If you’ve been writing content for some time, take a look at the content your readers do respond well to. Those might be the blog posts with a lot of comments or the articles that have been linked to often from social networking and bookmarking sites. Those are successful articles!
Also, you can measure click through rates because you are including a call to action and a link in your content, right?
Take a Step Back Before You Write Content
Okay, let’s assume you’ve never written an article or blog post before, because maybe you haven’t. Everyone needs to start somewhere. What does it take to write content that your readers respond to? In my experience, and according to many content experts, the following elements can help grab your readers and hold their interest:
Humor – this is probably the most difficult way to engage a reader because most people just aren’t funny. But if you are funny, use it to engage your reader. It’s a rare talent and it shouldn’t be wasted!
Problem Solving – show your reader how to solve a problem. Everyone has problems. They may not be end of the world type problems but we’re all on a path to improve and overcome challenges. From the size of our bank accounts to our writing ability, we all have room to improve or at least we can try. Tap into whatever need or problems your audience is having and help them improve. Make it simple and make it fun and you’ll write content that readers respond to!
Personality – share your personality in your writing. Whatever it is. You might be warm and friendly or you might be a total jerk. Guaranteed, when you embrace your personality in your writing, you’re going to get a response. Hey, some people have really capitalized on the “I’m a jerk and I don’t care” personality and brand.
Path – Lead your reader through your content. Provide a logical path of points that lead to a call to action. For example, if you write an article about how to replace your oil filter yourself, walk your readers through the steps on how to do it. Then you might end the article with a call to action that leads them to a DIY automotive repair home study course. Asking your readers to take action is a great way to generate a response.
As you sit down to write content for your next article or blog post, relax. Let your personality shine through. Provide value to your readers by solving a problem and then give them an action to take. Of course, you want to test and track the results so you know in more detail what your readers respond to.
Be good to yourself,
James
