One of the biggest challenges to writing great content is capturing interest—and these tricks are perfect ways to get the attention of your target audience.
Content marketing programs are hard to sustain, in part due to the amount of interest you need to generate to sustain it. Your content needs to be enriching, entertaining, and most of all, informative, but even the highest quality content can get lost if there isn’t an attention-grabbing headline or appeal to draw your readers in.
These 10 tricks are some of the best ways to make sure your content gets noticed:
1. Use numbers in your titles. It worked to get you reading this, didn’t it?
2. Don’t oversell the article. People filter out titles of articles they see as spammy or unrealistic. One weird trick to lose 40 pounds of fat instantly? Probably not.
3. Use a great image. Visual elements are some of the best ways to draw people in—make sure you select a picture that is relevant and intriguing.
4. Include a tagline when you can. Make some room for a miniature tagline to include alongside your post titles.
5. Target your audience effectively. The narrower an audience you’re trying to reach, the more specifically appealing your writing style can become.
6. Don’t show all your cards. Tell your readers you have a secret, or something else valuable—but don’t reveal what it is right away. Sneaky, but viable.
7. Separate your content. Have some regularly syndicated content separate from “top” or “premium” content. Save your best stuff for a different league.
8. Keep it light. Don’t try too hard to sell your content or force your users to read it.
9. Use adjectives to your advantage. Carefully choose what adjectives you use in your headline—they can make or break you.
10. Include justifications for your claims. Mention methods, principles, facts or lessons in the titles of your content to demonstrate you have tangible backup for your claims.
It might take some time to learn how to implement these tactics while still maintaining your brand voice, but with effort and dedication, you’ll find the perfect pace.
