How to Write Compelling Content for Your Audience

Did you ever get so wrapped up in a TV series that you couldn’t wait for the next episode? Or, thanks to Netflix streaming services, watch episode after episode some Saturday because each episode left you dying to know what happened next? Well that’s the kind of impact you want to have on your blog readers. With each post you should create a sense of longing in the reader so that by the time they finish reading that last paragraph they wish there was just one more blog post to read…now!

Creating content that compelling is not easy. It takes time to develop that kind of writing skill, and feedback to know what people are interested in reading. Unfortunately there’s no magic “Captivate Audience” button on WordPress, but here are a few suggestions to help you create content that leaves your audience at the edge of their seat and coming back for more.

Check the Forums

Especially in your blog’s infancy it can be hard to get an accurate read on the type of information your followers care about. Until you have a sizable reader base, scan the forums and other blogs to find out what questions people are asking. When you come across a relevant question that remains unanswered, answer the question in a blog post. Chances are that person who asked the question isn’t the only one interested in that particular topic. Reply to the inquiring reader on the forum or blog with a link to your blog post.

Monitor the Response 

As you get a few more blog posts under your belt and a stronger following, measure the popularity of each post to get a feel for the type of content that readers enjoy. You can get a good feel for reader sentiment for a particular post in the comments it receives, how many times the article was shared on social media sites and how many people linked to your blog.

Let’s say for example, you wrote a blog post about generating fans on Facebook last week. That particular post generated 5 comments, 10 Facebook shares, and 7 people tweeted a link to the article on Twitter. Especially for a relatively new blog, that’s a great response (provided they are mostly positive in nature). Judging by the response level, I’d infer that your readers find that topic particularly compelling and would like to read more about it.

Now it’s time to brainstorm. How can you write more articles just like that one to generate that kind of response and continue to captivate your audience? Ask yourself a few questions:

1. Was it the topic of Facebook specifically that people were so interested in?
2. Was it social media in general they care about?
3. Was it the “how-to” format?
4. Is there enough related content that would lend well to a series?

Check the Analytics

Google Analytics is an invaluable tool for any blogger to use on a regular basis. The data available to you is very telling of the kind of success your blog is experiencing, right down to each individual post. Google Analytics shows you how many views each post received and the average duration viewers spent on each post.

Call upon your mad analytical skills to draw some conclusions based on the data. For example, if you find that last week’s blog post has 80 views, when on average your blog posts receive 30, that must have been a pretty compelling read. On the other hand, maybe a different blog post has a 50% bounce rate, meaning people didn’t stick around long after they clicked on the post. That could mean that you need to work on creating more accurate titles or maybe your content could use a little work.

Ask the Readers

Do you lie awake at night wondering what your readers want to read about? Well here’s any idea: Ask them! If you’re running low on blog ideas, ask the readers what they want to learn about. Don’t be afraid to embrace any topic that comes your way, even if you’re not necessarily an expert on it. Take that as an opportunity to learn something new or learn more about something you wanted to know anyway.

Stay Current

Stale content is boring content. That’s just the nature of the internet. Millions of blogs are being updated all the time, so if your blog doesn’t present the reader with new and interesting content, readers are sure to find it elsewhere.

With each blog post ask yourself this question:

Are people going to want to read this?

You know compelling content when you read it on other blogs, use that same standard for your own. If you find yourself zoning out while proof-reading your blog posts that means you’re not even interested, so why would other people be interested? Strive to make every blog post interesting and compelling, and you’re bound to have a very successful blog.