{"id":4010,"date":"2015-07-23T17:06:24","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T21:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/blog\/write-content-people-will-actually-read\/"},"modified":"2016-04-15T16:44:21","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T20:44:21","slug":"write-content-people-will-actually-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/blog\/write-content-people-will-actually-read\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Write Content That People Will Actually Read"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Great content is created by\u00a0getting to know\u00a0your audience\u00a0and connecting with them on a personal level. Understanding your audience is crucial \u2013 if you don\u2019t, then you\u2019re just wasting your time.<\/p>\n<p>In the following step-by-step guide, I\u2019ll show you how to become a more strategic writer and get your content seen by the right people. On the way, we\u2019ll take a look at some proven tactics that will help you see things from your audience\u2019s perspective and build high impact campaigns.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 1: Start With A Compelling Headline<\/h2>\n<p>Just like a Drake song, every great article starts with a solid hook. Your headline needs to intrigue readers right off the bat while also letting them know exactly what your article is going to cover.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cimoNqiulUE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To figure out how effective my headlines are, I usually come up with a few ideas and then run them through the <a href=\"http:\/\/coschedule.com\/headline-analyzer\">CoSchedule Headline Analyzer<\/a>. By drawing on their huge content database, <a href=\"http:\/\/coschedule.com\/\">CoSchedule<\/a>\u2019s tool is able to perform an in-depth analysis of potential headlines and let you know exactly why they do (or don\u2019t) work.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/coschedule.com\/headline-analyzer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3899\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-11.58.02-AM-1024x652.png\" alt=\"Coschedule Headline Analyzer\" width=\"900\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-11.58.02-AM-1024x652.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-11.58.02-AM-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-11.58.02-AM.png 1187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After running some options through there, you\u2019ll come out with a streamlined title that has a pretty good chance of hooking your readers and getting them to give your post a look.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 2: Do Your Research<\/h2>\n<p>Right away, it\u2019s pretty clear to readers whether you\u2019ve actually researched your blog topic or not (and that\u2019s especially true if you\u2019re trying to target industry experts). Do yourself a favour and put aside the time to learn about the subject that you\u2019re covering \u2013 your blog post will be better for it and you\u2019ll come away from the experience a smarter person! Win\/win.<\/p>\n<p>Putting in research time doesn\u2019t just mean becoming an expert, it also means paying attention to trends in your industry and popular culture. Incorporating buzzworthy topics is a fantastic way to keep your posts engaging, timely, and interesting while also showing that you understand your audience.<\/p>\n<p>You also need to do research to pin down your audience&#8217;s interests. One of the easiest ways to find out what\u00a0your audience wants to know\u00a0is by simply reaching out to them and asking them about their experience with your product. By using online survey tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/qualaroo.com\/\">Qualaroo<\/a> or shooting your customers a good old-fashioned email, you can get some real insights into their pain points and what kind of things your posts should be covering.<\/p>\n<p>Another cool (and kinda sneaky) way to get some more information about current and potential customers is by checking out sites and forums that they frequent, so that you can get inside their heads. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/\">Reddit<\/a> is one of my favourite tools for this type of research. Just find some Subreddits that are popular with your userbase and start deep diving into threads to find out what kind of questions they\u2019re asking and which topics are important to them.<\/p>\n<p>Now that we have all that sweet, sweet data, let\u2019s start crafting it into a high quality blog post.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 3: Be Interesting<\/h2>\n<p>Before you start writing, you need to ask yourself a straightforward question: Why should the reader even bother reading my article?<\/p>\n<p>I know it seems obvious, but a lot of people overlook this part of the writing process. What makes you interesting? What makes you different? You need to think about what you bring to the table that no one else does (or at least, that no one has yet) and run with it.<\/p>\n<p>Be funny. Tell a story. Take a fresh approach to a tried and true topic. Whatever it is, just do something to give your blog post that extra boost. This is especially true if you\u2019re trying to reach industry experts: they\u2019ve read all of these articles 1000 times before, so have mercy on them and give them something interesting to read.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/experts.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/experts.png\" alt=\"Helen Lovejoy\" width=\"571\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/experts.png 571w, https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/experts-300x204.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also, you should never underestimate the appeal that some humanizing touches can bring to an article. No one wants to read an article written by a robot \u2013 well, not at the moment at least. I think the young marketing god <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/unmarketing\">Scott Stratten<\/a> said it best when he dropped this piece of knowledge:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cIf you want to persuade people and get them to pass something around, evoke their emotion.\u201d \u2013 Scott Stratten (President, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.unmarketing.com\/\">UnMarketing<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget that everyone in your audience is human just like you and sometimes we just need a little emotion in our lives. Throw on some R&amp;B, light a couple candles, and get in touch with your real feelings while you write. Or not. Whatever works for you.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 4: Don\u2019t Sell, Provide Value Instead<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s face it: no one likes being sold to and being too pushy is one of the biggest mistakes that marketers can make. Consumers need to get to know you first before they can just start making it rain all up in here; they need to trust you and believe that they\u2019re going to get some value in return for handing over their hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cAlways provide value. Value builds trust. Once you have that trust, you have the ability to do some selling.\u201d\u00a0\u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mvolpe\">Mike Volpe<\/a> (CMO, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/\">Hubspot<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You need to stop thinking about selling yourself and start thinking about educating your audience and giving them some\u00a0value instead. Think about it this way:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Forgetting your wallet and asking a stranger to buy you lunch = inappropriate.<\/li>\n<li>Forgetting your wallet and asking a friend to buy you lunch = appropriate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Why? Your friend trusts you and they know that you\u2019ll hit them back with some value AKA their money AKA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ovrjbiWF_lY\">Friend Better Have My Money<\/a> AKA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gKw5mBh4rYs\">Hey, Dirty, Baby I Got Your Money<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/rihanna.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3901\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/rihanna.png\" alt=\"Rihanna BBHMM\" width=\"485\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/rihanna.png 485w, https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/rihanna-300x164.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So take off your salesman hat and put on your professor hat (because both of these professions definitely wear hats) and focus on providing value first and foremost. Your audience will learn to trust you and be way more open to being sold to than if you had just popped up with a sales pitch right away.<\/p>\n<h2>Step 5: Get Your Content Seen<\/h2>\n<p>Writing a blog post is half the battle \u2013 getting your content out there is just as important. This part of the process requires a lot of prep work, but it will pay off in the end. You\u2019ll need to be writing your article with social sharing, organic search, and influencer outreach in mind the whole time (and all three of these areas can play off of each other to make your post go viral).<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve taken the above steps into account, you\u2019ve already done a lot to make your post more suitable for social sharing. Interesting content that tells a story, evokes emotion, and has a great headline is a perfect recipe for a viral post. Make sure you\u00a0give Twitter shoutouts to the people and businesses that you&#8217;ve included in your content. A super simple method that&#8217;s also super effective \u2013 just the way I like it.<\/p>\n<p>Now that your article is social-friendly, you need to make it search-friendly. Do some research and make sure your post touches on popular keywords. Another quick and painless way to give your post some SEO help (if you\u2019re using <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/\">WordPress<\/a>) is installing the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-seo\/\">Yoast SEO Plugin<\/a> on your blog. This bad boy makes it easy to fill out titles, meta-descriptions, and keywords as well as drop in custom images for social sharing. Even if you aren\u2019t an SEO expert, you\u2019ll definitely be able to give your post a fighting chance on Google.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-seo\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3902 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-3.02.45-PM.png\" alt=\"Yoast SEO Plugin\" width=\"683\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-3.02.45-PM.png 683w, https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-23-at-3.02.45-PM-300x215.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of the most important \u2013 and neglected &#8211; components of getting your content seen is by doing some Influencer Outreach. There are few things more valuable than getting your blog post cosigned by someone influential in your target audience \u2013 whether they\u2019re a blogger, celebrity, or both. It only makes sense that your audience will be more compelled to read something if they see it being tweeted out or posted by someone they trust. References are very powerful tools that can drop your post straight into the slipstream.<\/p>\n<h2>Now What?<\/h2>\n<p>If you take all these things into account, then you should have one dope blog post on your hands! Still wondering how you can get your content seen by the right people? <a href=\"..\/..\/contact\/\">Let\u2019s talk<\/a>. I\u2019d love to help you out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Great content is created by\u00a0getting to know\u00a0your audience\u00a0and connecting with them on a personal level. Understanding your audience is crucial \u2013 if you don\u2019t, then you\u2019re just wasting your time.&hellip;","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[482],"tags":[483,484,485,486,487,488],"class_list":["post-4010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-content-marketing-en-ca","tag-blog-post-2","tag-blog-writing-2","tag-blogging-2","tag-content-2","tag-content-marketing-2","tag-content-writing-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hellospark.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}