20 ways to skyrocket your reader engagement
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 6:03 am
Sometimes you publish a post and put all your heart and soul into it and it falls flat. Sometimes the opposite happens. Something goes viral and you had no idea this would happen. Readers, eh? Who knows what they like? What pleases them? What sort of content do they want to like, tweet, pin, or +1?
As it turns out, it is not a matter of pure luck telegram database after all (unless you want to count those baby or cat videos that go viral on YouTube, then it might be luck). There are things you can do to make sure you give your blog post the best chance of success. It’s not out of your control.
While there is no proven formula for a blog post that will engage your readers, entice them into commenting and sharing, all the successful posts do seem to have a fair bit in common.
They do have things in common that you can apply to your blog post and see it soar. You just have to do this consciously and diligently. You have to do it over and over again, and stay consistent.
So where are these things exactly? I am glad you asked. I have made a list – a checklist of sorts – to keep handy every time you publish something. Especially if your goal is to connect with your audience, your objective is for your work to resonate and make a deep impact.
Here’s how you do it:
#1 Always write for your ideal audience
You might be sick of hearing this advice by now but this is the ultimate truth. You can’t write a post and hope that it will appeal to every single person on this earth. That would be ludicrous.
You have to choose a specific reader when you are writing to them. If your business caters to more than one kind of person, then make a conscious choice. Is it going to be a mum of two young children or a corporate executive? If you try to please both, you will end up pleasing none.
Your ideal customer profile should be so specific that you can actually imagine that person sitting across you. You know what they like and what they don’t. You are writing from a place of service and you truly want to help this work. Picture this person clearly and you will make a deeper connection.
headlines
#2 Choose the right headline
Some people throw their arms up in defeat and say that they are no good at writing headlines. Some people like to copy others and create formulaic headlines without paying attention to their ideal audience and the industry they are in.
Can you imagine writing a headline that you would come across on a marketing blog for an audience of highly spiritual people. Do you use the word ‘abundance’ when writing a headline for a group of designers or use the word ‘killer’ when writing for the people who practice law of attraction?
Always pay attention to what works in your industry first. See what sort of posts get attention on social media platforms. Make a swipe file and collect these headlines for inspiration. This will make your job so much easier.
Always remember, either go for arousing curiosity in the reader or list straight up benefits of reading your post, and you won’t go wrong. The job of a headline is to get attention, and once you do that you have other things you can focus on.
#3 Write in a conversational tone
How many articles get passed around that are dry, drab, and written in an academic style?
Not many, right?
This is for a reason. People want to feel like they are being part of a conversation. They want to hear from a friend. They don’t want to be lectured. If you are still writing in a corporate style for on your company blog, full of jargon and mumbo jumbo that nobody cares about, let alone understand, how fast can you stop?
If you genuinely can’t write like that, imagine receiving a question from a reader or a customer that you can answer on the phone only. Then say it out loud and watch your language. Have it transcribed and edit it for brevity and clarity. Not only is this conversation, this is you. This is your truest voice and people love hearing from live humans.
#4 Use the word ‘you’ liberally
‘You’ is one of the most persuasive words in English language. Use it.
Many people are still writing in first person, meaning they use words like, ‘I, we, …’ in their work. While it is okay to write a piece and focus on your point of view, for example, when you are telling a personal story, or talking about lessons learned, address your reader in your content.
You will see your engagement increase many times over.
#5 Empathize with your reader
The opening paragraph is something most people forget to pay attention to. For them, nailing their headline is the Holy Grail.
Let me tell you something, the job of a headline is to click something and nothing more. If you want people to continue reading, work on your openings. If your openings are boring, people will not stick around to read more.
The best way to open a post is to empathize with your reader. Say something to let them know you understand them. It could be that you get their pain or you painting a picture of what is possible.
Step into their shoes and show them you understand what it’s like to be them.
#6 Tell Stories
We, humans, love stories. We are wired to do so. Well told stories never get old, look at how well the fiction genre does in books, look how popular epic sagas become in the theaters. Yet somehow people are afraid to tell stories on their blogs. They feel they are not good story tellers or they don’t have any stories. Not true.
Your biggest story explains your why – Why you started your blog or business? What made you the person you are today? Readers want to know your journey. They want to understand the odds you had to overcome to get to this point. They are rooting for you. In you, they see the better version of themselves. Personal posts do really well in terms of engagement and elicit a huge level of support from your people.
You can also tell business related stories. Take your readers behind the scenes and share something. Give them a sneak peek into something that is releasing soon, share your buyer success stories – make them the hero.
Sometimes it is easier to make a point with a story. You might write a how-to post explaining the merits of something or you could tell a story and boom – you’re done. Try it and see what happens.
#7 Create a common enemy
Depending your topic, what is that thing that frustrates you the most about your industry? What are some of the myths you can’t wait to set straight?
Let people know who stands in their way of achieving true success. Is it the media? Is hype filled, red highlighted copy or junk food. Whatever it is, identify your enemy and people will get behind you to take it down.
#8 Appeal to the right emotion
Jonal Berger in his book Contagious talks about hitting the right emotion in people if you want your content to spread.
He says that people are much more likely to share something if the content creates a feeling of awe. If you can make them sit up and take notice, if you can create a sense of wonder, people will respond positively.
He further explains that the main emotions that makes people want to engage with your blog post are those that lead to a high arousal. These are excitement and amusement. Make people laugh or surprise them.
On the other hand, you don’t want to create a feeling of low arousal in people by making them feel sad or content. Generally speaking, they won’t be motivated to share it as much.
As it turns out, it is not a matter of pure luck telegram database after all (unless you want to count those baby or cat videos that go viral on YouTube, then it might be luck). There are things you can do to make sure you give your blog post the best chance of success. It’s not out of your control.
While there is no proven formula for a blog post that will engage your readers, entice them into commenting and sharing, all the successful posts do seem to have a fair bit in common.
They do have things in common that you can apply to your blog post and see it soar. You just have to do this consciously and diligently. You have to do it over and over again, and stay consistent.
So where are these things exactly? I am glad you asked. I have made a list – a checklist of sorts – to keep handy every time you publish something. Especially if your goal is to connect with your audience, your objective is for your work to resonate and make a deep impact.
Here’s how you do it:
#1 Always write for your ideal audience
You might be sick of hearing this advice by now but this is the ultimate truth. You can’t write a post and hope that it will appeal to every single person on this earth. That would be ludicrous.
You have to choose a specific reader when you are writing to them. If your business caters to more than one kind of person, then make a conscious choice. Is it going to be a mum of two young children or a corporate executive? If you try to please both, you will end up pleasing none.
Your ideal customer profile should be so specific that you can actually imagine that person sitting across you. You know what they like and what they don’t. You are writing from a place of service and you truly want to help this work. Picture this person clearly and you will make a deeper connection.
headlines
#2 Choose the right headline
Some people throw their arms up in defeat and say that they are no good at writing headlines. Some people like to copy others and create formulaic headlines without paying attention to their ideal audience and the industry they are in.
Can you imagine writing a headline that you would come across on a marketing blog for an audience of highly spiritual people. Do you use the word ‘abundance’ when writing a headline for a group of designers or use the word ‘killer’ when writing for the people who practice law of attraction?
Always pay attention to what works in your industry first. See what sort of posts get attention on social media platforms. Make a swipe file and collect these headlines for inspiration. This will make your job so much easier.
Always remember, either go for arousing curiosity in the reader or list straight up benefits of reading your post, and you won’t go wrong. The job of a headline is to get attention, and once you do that you have other things you can focus on.
#3 Write in a conversational tone
How many articles get passed around that are dry, drab, and written in an academic style?
Not many, right?
This is for a reason. People want to feel like they are being part of a conversation. They want to hear from a friend. They don’t want to be lectured. If you are still writing in a corporate style for on your company blog, full of jargon and mumbo jumbo that nobody cares about, let alone understand, how fast can you stop?
If you genuinely can’t write like that, imagine receiving a question from a reader or a customer that you can answer on the phone only. Then say it out loud and watch your language. Have it transcribed and edit it for brevity and clarity. Not only is this conversation, this is you. This is your truest voice and people love hearing from live humans.
#4 Use the word ‘you’ liberally
‘You’ is one of the most persuasive words in English language. Use it.
Many people are still writing in first person, meaning they use words like, ‘I, we, …’ in their work. While it is okay to write a piece and focus on your point of view, for example, when you are telling a personal story, or talking about lessons learned, address your reader in your content.
You will see your engagement increase many times over.
#5 Empathize with your reader
The opening paragraph is something most people forget to pay attention to. For them, nailing their headline is the Holy Grail.
Let me tell you something, the job of a headline is to click something and nothing more. If you want people to continue reading, work on your openings. If your openings are boring, people will not stick around to read more.
The best way to open a post is to empathize with your reader. Say something to let them know you understand them. It could be that you get their pain or you painting a picture of what is possible.
Step into their shoes and show them you understand what it’s like to be them.
#6 Tell Stories
We, humans, love stories. We are wired to do so. Well told stories never get old, look at how well the fiction genre does in books, look how popular epic sagas become in the theaters. Yet somehow people are afraid to tell stories on their blogs. They feel they are not good story tellers or they don’t have any stories. Not true.
Your biggest story explains your why – Why you started your blog or business? What made you the person you are today? Readers want to know your journey. They want to understand the odds you had to overcome to get to this point. They are rooting for you. In you, they see the better version of themselves. Personal posts do really well in terms of engagement and elicit a huge level of support from your people.
You can also tell business related stories. Take your readers behind the scenes and share something. Give them a sneak peek into something that is releasing soon, share your buyer success stories – make them the hero.
Sometimes it is easier to make a point with a story. You might write a how-to post explaining the merits of something or you could tell a story and boom – you’re done. Try it and see what happens.
#7 Create a common enemy
Depending your topic, what is that thing that frustrates you the most about your industry? What are some of the myths you can’t wait to set straight?
Let people know who stands in their way of achieving true success. Is it the media? Is hype filled, red highlighted copy or junk food. Whatever it is, identify your enemy and people will get behind you to take it down.
#8 Appeal to the right emotion
Jonal Berger in his book Contagious talks about hitting the right emotion in people if you want your content to spread.
He says that people are much more likely to share something if the content creates a feeling of awe. If you can make them sit up and take notice, if you can create a sense of wonder, people will respond positively.
He further explains that the main emotions that makes people want to engage with your blog post are those that lead to a high arousal. These are excitement and amusement. Make people laugh or surprise them.
On the other hand, you don’t want to create a feeling of low arousal in people by making them feel sad or content. Generally speaking, they won’t be motivated to share it as much.