This is the second post in our two-part blog post series on how to create more engaging online content.
In the first post, we shared the first 10 tips. In case you missed that post, you can read it here: How to create more engaging content (part 1).
Following are the rest of the tips.
11. Show your human side
People like other people. They don't just like websites that don't mean anything to them.
It's important to showcase your human side to your readers. Your writing should reflect your own personality in your content, and that's what makes it engaging and interesting to your readers. They get to know more about you via the content you publish on the web.
Furthermore, if you are an organization, it is equally important to let the leaders and executives of the company share their own personal stories. It showcases the human side of an organization, and people eventually get connected to it as they find it most interesting.
The overall tone of the brand is also an extension of this idea.
12. Understand your audience
If you don't know who your audience is and what they like or dislike, you can never appeal to them.
It is a very basic rule to first understand your target audience and blog readers. Once you do that, you can create content that actually appeals to them. If you know what problems they are facing, you should be able to provide them with the exact solutions with your content. Why wouldn't they find that engaging and interesting?
13. Avoid jargon
No, you aren't competing for any Nobel prizes in literature. Blogging is all about conveying information in the simplest way.
Write effectively and communicate as clearly as you can. Avoid technical jargon, or you will lose your readers right then and there.
When internet users search on the web, they are looking for information as quickly as possible. They want a piece of content that uses non-technical language and conveys the solution or information as simply as possible.
14. Make it readable
If you want to engage your readers with your content, you have to make it easily readable.
How can you do it? There are a few tips for it.
- Divide your text into shorter sentences and paragraphs, so it doesn't look overwhelming.
- Introduce different elements (images, videos, quotes, statistics, case studies, etc.) that your readers might find interesting.
- Along with the image and screenshots you use, also include other graphics to make your content stand out from the rest, e.g., infographics)
15. Include tips and advice from experts
If you are not an expert in your niche, you can always use quotes from other influencers and well-established bloggers.
People love listening to experts. If they have something to say on your topic, include it.
Your blog readers will find it interesting and engaging. More importantly, it also increases the credibility of your content.
The important part here is to make the quote pop out with either some graphical elements or an actual screenshot. Another tip is to include the image of the expert to add further credibility.
16. Use subheadings
Subheadings can have a huge impact on the overall quality of your content. It does not matter if you are creating a blog post or a landing page; subheadings can be very useful.
Subheadings make it simple for the readers to understand what you are saying, which, in turn, increases the engagement rate. In addition, subheadings help divide your content thematically, which makes it easier for search engine crawlers to find relevant content on a page. This, in turn, may also help with better search engine rankings.
17. Create articles with actionable tips
Articles with actionable tips and tricks almost always get more engagement from readers.
Actionable articles are supposed to provide practical tips and tricks to solve a very specific problem of their target audience. This is one of the main reasons why they engage more readers and get more social media shares.
As we mentioned earlier, most online searchers are looking for solutions to their problems. If you can share that solution in succinct actionable tips in a clear format, it will be easy for them to consume that information.
18. Add numbers, facts, and statistics
People love numbers and facts.
There is a reason why so many of BuzzFeed's articles start with numbers. Online users also prefer to click on headlines that have numbers in them.
Conductor did research to find out what internet users prefer in a headline. As it turned out, 36 percent of readers preferred headlines with numbers in them. The second best was headlines that addressed readers, and only 21 percent of readers preferred that.
Therefore, if you want to create more engaging content, it is a good idea to add numbers to your headlines.
19. Ask questions
Do you ask questions to your readers? Like I just did?
It is an excellent little technique that can help you create better and more engaging content.
When you keep talking and talking, you eventually lose the listener's interest in what you have to say. Sometimes, you need to nudge them a bit to get their attention back.
When it comes to creating content and blog posts for the web, asking questions is an effective way to do that.
In between your content, ask relevant questions from your readers. Obviously they won't be able to answer you (apart from the comment section), but it will make them more attentive to what you are saying.
Sarah Mitchell from GlobalCopywrite says, "The best way to engage your reader is by asking questions. I often start a blog post or a document with a simple question. The readers consider how they would answer the question and are immediately engaged. They continue reading because they don't have an answer and want to find out. If they have an answer, they continue reading to see if their opinion is shared by the author or not.”
20. Educate. Not sell.
The main purpose of blogging or content creation is to educate your readers and solve their problems. This is not the platform to sell them products.
Overselling is one of the main reasons why so many bloggers get so little engagement from their readers.
The content of your blog should aim to solve your readers’ problems. Make it informative, interesting, and engaging.
On the other hand, when you keep pushing your products or services down your readers' throats, you turn them off. They will no longer find your content engaging.
21. Evoke emotions
The best pieces of content evoke emotions.
If your readers aren't emotionally involved in what you have to say, they won't find your content very engaging.
There are many different types of emotions that your content can — and should — invoke. Based on the context of your blog posts, those emotions can be:
- Realization of a problem
- Fear
- Happiness and joy
- Curiosity
- Desire
- Imagination or a sense of wonder
- Scarcity
- Urgency
- Trust
- Relief, validation, or contentment
Conclusion
So this concludes our two-part series of blog posts on how to create more engaging content. We hope you found it useful.
If you have any questions or comments, please let us know.
