Engaging Your Online Reader
Engaging your reader is all about the hook, once an individual’s attention is grabbed it is hard to divert it elsewhere. You must constantly be taking into consideration attractive, materials, themes, images, and titles to be the first thing that essentially hooks people in, and gets them reading, as well as, enjoying your work. Often, it is not what you write, it is how you write. It’s about making things sound exciting or thrilling something everyone needs to know!
The following tips should help you hook and engage your reader and ultimately grow your fan base as a writer.
Create an Interesting Headline
There are many different ways you can construct your headlines to draw in a reader. The following 5 are some of the most popular approaches.
Surprise
This type of lead will turn on the pleasure centers of your readers brain because it is unexpected and exciting. You see this in social media a lot, for example, “I can’t believe number 5 exists!”
Question
This lead will state something in question form that readers can personally relate to and want to know more about.
Curiosity
People always feel the need to know about everything, we are naturally nosy. So when they feel as though there is a gap in their knowledge they will want to read your article to find out more about the topic you are discussing this is where a curiosity lead comes into play.
Negative
Everyone wants to know what they should stop doing. A lead stating, 10 things you’re doing wrong in life, could potentially attract many readers because it will tap into their insecurities and they will believe that they are doing something wrong that needs to be changed. It is also more unexpected than a happy positive lead in, and unexpected is good.
How to
Everyone wants control over what they do, so a how to lead is a perfect way to go. It will bring them in and keep them reading until they figure out how to do whatever the article is talking about. This lead supplies them with intriguing yet incomplete information.
For more information check out the article, How Headlines Change The Way We Think, from the New Yorker.
Express Your Passion
Your writing will be much more interesting and engaging if you are writing about things you have a passion for. If you write about the things you care about it will be easier for you to use more powerful words, really expressing emotions that people can feel for themselves.
Write Conversationally
When writing for a blog or online source the more open and conversational you are with your readers the better. This will encourage them to comment because it will seem natural to them. If you present questions within your writing they will want to see what others said and add their input. This will also create something more interactive rather than a normal article you read and move on from.
Be Energetic
Awaken your readers with a writing style that won’t let them dose off. Rather than long run on sentences, split things up with commas or periods.
Stay Away from Jargon
Some individuals may enjoy jargon, however, most will not understand the pretentious sayings or words that certain groups or individuals use. That being said, you should attempt to write how you speak. This will help your reader better understand you and your writing and will keep them from getting caught up on crazy words that are not commonly known.
Reference Pop Culture
This helps readers relate to your articles or writing in general. If you can reference any type of pop culture into your writing without digressing from the topic or flow it can definitely help get their attention.
Finish Your Piece with a Powerful Conclusion
This should leave your readers with an urge to do something or the need to read more of your pieces. It is important to leave a lasting impression so readers will want to find more of your pieces and share your name with their friends.
Conclusion
Writing is all about how you target your audience. If you aren’t writing with your audience in mind you are likely to not receive the same amount of support and activity on your writing as you would if you considered them when going through your writing process. Engaging your readers is all about how you choose to include them and use the tips above to express yourself.
Sources:
https://smartblogger.com/seductive-writing-tips/
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