How to Make Your Content Attractive To Readers

How to write consistent content that attracts followers.

As important as it is to attract readers with an eye-catching headline and first sentence. You then need to provide content that will engage.

The first thing to consider is that you have to deliver on the headline that you wrote. This is why it is considered good practice to write the headline after the content.

Personally, I get more engagement on articles between 3–5 minutes long. You might find your readers are different. It is worth analysing your stats to see the ideal length of a post. This length might vary, depending on the subject matter you are writing about.

First Consider the Post Introduction

The introduction to the post should be a short paragraph or a couple of paragraphs. Each paragraph should be between 2–3 sentences long. Explain what you are going to cover in the article and create intrigue.

Remember to spend time working on your killer first sentence. This paragraph needs to be the one that pulls the reader in. If your paragraph is not strong then the reader will not continue with the post.

Your stats will show this if you have a large number of views and fewer reads.

You should be aiming of a read ratio above 50%

Main Body of Content

Deliver the expected information in the main part of your article. Be descriptive but also entertaining. Let your author voice shine through.

If you have a large amount of information to get over to your readers, then use numbered lists and bullet points. Be respectful to your readers and tell them the information in the shortest amount of time.

Look at the formatting of your posts to break up large chunks of text. I use a similar format for all my posts. I use quotes and bold text in order to draw the reader to the main points of the text.

Many readers skim read through their mobile. It is best you adopt a format that works well for both desktop and mobile readers.

You may also like to use deep linking in your posts. This is the process of linking other relevant posts you have written into your current ones. This again gets more traffic to your articles, however, I would warn you not to overuse them.

Keywords

Use keywords in your posts and use them throughout the content. It would be an advantage to have an understanding of basic SEO, but not essential. When using the keywords do not overuse them as these can ruin the flow of a post.

Keep your keywords precise and exact for example, ‘Knitting’ is too general a search word. Use the keywords ‘Knitting for Toddlers’ is exactly enough for it to attract more traffic to your post.

Conclusion

Allow this to be a summary of the main points you have written in the post. Some people bullet point the main parts of their article, some will use a paragraph in summary. Whichever method you use is up to personal choice.

Call to Action

The final part of your posts should be a call to action. This is a way of calling your readers into the debate. I use a question at the end of my posts to ask for the opinion of the reader. I also point people to my email list or other posts.

If you inviting your readers to enter a debate, then ensure that you reply to their comments. To build a community and relationship with other readers I reply to most of my comments.

If a reader has taken the time to read and comment on your post the least you can do is reply.

In Summary

• Write an engaging introduction to pull your readers in.
• Make your points in a concise manner.
• Put the facts in a logical order.
• Use keywords to attract other readers.
• Add a call to action at the end of your post.
• Engage your readers with a question.
• Respect the time that your readers take on your posts and interact with them.

What is your number 1 tip when writing content to engage readers?

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