How easy is it to write engaging content? Well, it can be tricky. 80% of people tend to read titles and headlines, but only 20% will be convinced to read any further. Persuasive content writing is a critical element in the literary industry, and you can’t afford to get it wrong. So, what goes into compelling your reader to engage further with your content? This blog post will help – here are 6 ways to effectively write engaging content.
1) Write a strong title with a hook
Your headline is that catchy statement that draws the reader further into your content. Most importantly, the appeal of the topic, headline, or title is what determines whether your audience will be willing to continue reading. Without any leading words to spark the reader’s interest or stir their emotions, you may not be able to sustain their attention for long. You may sometimes have excellent content but lose out on the benefits of having others read your work because the title or headline is weak.
Furthermore, immediately after your headline or title, it helps to use a hook to grab attention. Usually, in nonfiction books or ebooks, you’ll notice just a few lines of creative description that captures your attention, known as the hook. Some writers prefer to use the hook in conjunction with the title, as a tagline, while others place it in the blurb. No matter where you decide to put it, it must do its job of selling your book – at a glance – to a reader.
2) Research everything you write on
Research can be likened to meal prepping or laying the foundation of a building. Preparation is key; proper planning goes hand in hand with your research, because without it your content may seem disorganised. An avid reader may most likely sense this deficiency and become disinterested in going any further. Remember that effective content writing aims to keep the reader wanting more and to ultimately leave them satisfied after consuming your content.
Doing your research enables you to structure your entire content to suit the overall theme. Successful writers often adopt a writing outline during the research stage and also record or note down anything that piques their interest. Subsequently, that helps them fit research findings into appropriate sub-themes that may come up during the writing process. Research gives you a proper understanding of what you’re writing about.
In other words, your research can give you that first-hand experience you need to give your content a boost. It’s no longer an accepted practice to write about content that hasn’t been researched thoroughly, or that only contains basic information. Readers want depth. Fortunately, the internet holds a wealth of information that can help when researching any topic of your choice.
3) Ensure your content is structured
Your content’s structure reflects experience and knowledge in the writing world. A mark of effective content writing is the smooth blend of related sections grouped together. Moreover, a good content structure shows your ability to present all grouped items (or sub-themes) cohesively. Content structuring can sometimes turn out to be challenging, but there are ways to deal with it. A simple and accepted way to do this is to employ the card sorting tool method.
This is a technique used to evaluate information. For instance, if your writing is purposely for your blog, card sorting will be useful because this type of sorting session can help you categorise different topics. This crucial exercise helps you to present your work in a logical, readable format without confusing your audience or even yourself.
4) Practice and consider writing as your job
As the saying goes: ‘practice makes perfect’. Constant writing has a way of helping you get better at writing! Indeed, there are no shortcuts to becoming an excellent writer because writing in itself is a craft. It takes a while – months and years to get better at it. Most talented writers you read about have always had to build strong brands for themselves over time.
This is no different if you seek to write engaging content. Indeed, this is even more difficult to do, especially when you need to create content that appeals to readers from varied backgrounds and interests. That, however, shouldn’t steer you away from the actual purpose of your writing. Just as you’d give another career a full 100% commitment, you must do the same for writing too. Therefore, from a commitment angle, you can fulfill your purpose of writing effectively.
5) Create engaging and exciting content
Without infusing elements of interest and/or excitement, a reader will likely consider your content as dull and monotonous. To achieve engagement, you need to ask yourself why anyone would want to spend time reading your work. How can you write in a way that evokes curiosity and pleasure at the same time? Knowing who your audience is and exactly what they’re interested in is crucial. If you’re not able to speak directly to them through your content, it may just seem flat and easily forgettable.
6) Proofread and edit your work
According to YourStory.com, quality content accounts for 30% of the writing, while editing accounts for 70%. It’s also believed that the quality of writing and content influence the degree of editing. No matter which school of thought you belong to, these two elements create definition and infuse character to the entire content. Be sure to carefully read over your work before publishing, as this will help you identify some avoidable errors. This also helps to improve the quality of your content.
Effective content writing is a real craft you can learn and master over time. As mentioned earlier, keep practising, researching, and sticking to the basic rules of writing.
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