8 Ways To Get People To Read Your Content

How do you stand out as a writer? With 500 million blogs in existence and over 135 billion books in circulation globally, you have a lot of competition. And yet, in real life, you hardly ever meet anyone who is a writer. Weird, right?

Even when you manage to secure your place in the writing community, it is still a challenge to keep your content relevant and get people to read it. In this article, we share with you tips for writers in 2020 to guide you to stay on top of your game!

1. Know Your Audience

Whether you are writing a book, blog or any other type of content, you need to know who is your audience.

For example, think of a designer, when they are putting together a fashion piece they know if their target market is teenagers or professional women.

The whole design and marketing approach is based on who is going to be buying this piece of clothing.

The same goes for your content. Even when it is obvious, take a moment and consider all the possible options. If you are writing for a travel site, you can assume that the readers will be people who travel. Right? But is that enough?

There are young people who travel, and there are retired people who travel.

2. Plan Your Content

Building on our previous example, if you are writing for a travel site we can assume the readers will be people who travel.

Now you need to isolate if they are looking for cruises, luxury hotels, isolated airbnbs or city tours. Then you can begin planning your article.

For example, list all the cruises, get the prices, find out about the amenities on the boat, etc.

This way you are giving the reader exactly what they want, which is valuable and relevant content.

Your audience will read your content if it is relevant and solves a problem for them.

3. Keep it Simple

Life’s complicated enough. Most people engage with blogs for the following reasons:

1. Seeking information to solve a problem

2. Entertainment

3. Alternative media approach (anti-media sentiment)

4. Opinion / Reviews

5. Personal development

6. Crafts

7. Other – unspecified reasons

Respect your audience, they are choosing your content over someone else’s. Keep it simple and give them what they need.

Everything is moving in the direction of ‘simple is best’. We don’t want to have to think too hard or feel that we are not smart enough. Use basic human psychology in your writing.

4. Do Not Be Afraid to Mix it Up!

You do not want to be predictable. No one does. Do not be afraid to make a joke, or write an article about something completely new to you.

Ask your audience to give you suggestions. Make them feel important, and they will keep reading your content.

When it comes to more technical tips:

1. Use active voice

2. Eliminate empty words (very, really, etc)

3. Keep bullet points short

4. When in doubt write in the second person

5. Use examples

6. Be credible when using data and stats

7. Have a point…and arrive at it

8. Remember your ‘Calls To Action’

9. Be inspirational

5. Do You Need to Use Acronyms?

In short, no you don’t. Take a moment and type out the entire thing. Do not make assumptions that people know what ‘YOLO’ means.

6. Dr. Suess it Up

One of the best children-book writers of all time! Why?

His perfect rhymes have something to do with it, but also he made up words, and somehow, magically the reader knew the meaning. Try it.

What happens when you mix ‘fantastic’ and ‘amazing’? Fantamazing!

Although ‘Fantamazing’ is not a proper word, you know what it means. Play with language when you can.

7. Curate Your Content

Write it and then walk away from it. Let your work breath and go for a walk. Come back and take a look at your content.

Now cut something out of it.

8. Do You Want Free Content?

Open your blog to your readers for submissions. Create a game where one reader submits a chapter of a story, and then another reader gets to write the next article, and so on. You would be lying if you say that you do not see the value of this tip! Enjoy the process and connect with your audience.

9 . Share Stories

Do not just preach and give ideas, but share stories. Stories appeal to the emotion in us, and you know what they say right?

People might not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.

10. Keep Up With the Trends

Google Trends is a great tool. You can use it in a couple of different ways. You can either see what is trending and write about that, or you can check and see how popular your upcoming subject it. The good news? It is free!

Final Thoughts

Deep down you know what you need to do. The biggest indicator if your audience will engage during the article is how you feel when you write it.

Are you having fun? Are you sharing new exciting information?

Are you solving a problem? There is no bulletproof formula for creating fantastic content, but we know that if you follow our tips for writers for 2020, you will be a little closer to ‘content greatness’!