People rarely enjoy talking to themselves, though often this is what seems to happen with the content some people produce. After hours spent planning, drafting, proofing, and posting, blog posts seem to land on deaf ears (or eyes) as little to no action is taken after reading them.
- Few to no clicks.
- Little to zero shares.
- Next to no one is following through with your well-thought-out call-to-actions.
- And most importantly, no phone calls, email enquiries, or orders placed.
There are reasons why people aren’t engaging with your content as much as you’d like, so today I’d like to share some potentially hard-hitting truths that will help you create better content for greater impact with your ideal audience, starting with:
1. The Topics You Choose Are Boring!
Rather than focus on you and what you enjoy, flip the switch and look at what your audience enjoys. You can use analytical data to provide you with solid truths about what your ideal customers are searching for and what interests them. At the very least, you can use other sources of information like social media, competitor websites, and surveys to see what’s trending.
If you’re struggling to come up with content or if writing isn’t your forte, never be afraid to ask for help. Professional content writers experienced in your industry will deliver the type of next-level content you need and will more than return the investment you make with engaging them. You pay them for content that will be around and working for you for months and years.
2. Figure Out What Grabs Their Attention
Are weird and quirky topics your audience’s thing? Or do they prefer helpful and handy tips?
Content engagement requires ongoing trial and error. Test different pieces of content based on who you think your ideal audience is, and then continue to tweak to perfection – while understanding that what is “perfect” this month likely will change a few months down the road.
3. Your Headline Falls Flat
As experienced online content producers will tell you, headlines are “all of the things”.
Human beings view as many as 5,000 advertisements every day If you’re as shocked by that statistic as most, then this only means one thing:
We’re ignoring a heck of a lot of them.
Your headline has to shimmer and shine if you want to attract new readers. This may mean using unusual phrasing, creating a timely on-trend post, or choosing a quirky and original title for a topic.
Headlines are never easy. But taking the time to consider and plan them in advance properly can make a lot of difference in the responses to your post.
4. Have a Call To Action That Makes Sense
Far too often a call to action (CTA) is promoting a sale to someone who shouldn’t be sold to.
Someone who is clicking on your post for “DIY” repairs, for example, isn’t interested in buying your product or service (unless the DIY option is so complex that they’ll call you anyway). They want to know how they can do this themselves and likely with what they already have on hand. Whether they will or won’t accomplish the repair is irrelevant. But an ideal call to action at the end of that post should involve downloading a well-branded checklist they can take with them to ensure all steps are taken to get the job done right.
Writing engaging content is both an art and a skill. It takes time, persistence, and dedication to conquer. By following these tips above, however, I know you will significantly increase the impact your content will have both on your existing and your new readership.
Let me know how it works for you?
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