Captivating your audience can be tough. Everyone seems to be a critic these days, so you have to be extra savvy when it comes to creating content that will actually resonate with readers.
Having said that, I’ve been in the blogging game for quite some time now and there are three forms of content in particular that really sink their teeth into my readers, regardless of the topic.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the 3 contagious forms of content that are bound to go viral.
1. List Posts
There is a simplicity about list posts that make them so irresistible to readers. Maybe it’s because they are designed in a way that each title captures your attention so if you aren’t interested in some of the material you can skip right over it.
On the other hand, perhaps they’re so great because they offer so much valuable information in an easy to digest manner.
Whatever the reason, list posts tend to go viral because they pack a lot of punch in an easy to view manner. With so much information to sift through these days, a list post culls together the top 10, 20 or however many items and compounds them in a comprehensible layout.
There is an art to creating a list that will fly around the interwebs and it all comes down to the title. When you are brainstorming your post title do us all a favor and make it interesting. Rather than writing “10 Healthy Foods to Eat” go with something that jumps out at people like “10 Foods That Are So Tasty You Won’t Believe They Are Healthy For You.” It’s all in the hook!
2. How-To Posts
Who doesn’t love a good how-to post? I mean, there are sites like About.com and ehow.com that are dedicated to these sort of posts.
What’s so great about how-to posts is that they are tailored to teach you something new. More importantly, they break down whatever it is you are trying to learn into easy to follow steps. It’s like reading a much more interesting instructional pack.
Many copywriters believe that if you start a post title with “How to..” then you can’t create a bad headline, but again, try and be creative. Just be sure it is clear what you are discussing. Ambiguity gets you no where nowadays.
3. Stories
I would bet that when you were a kid, you loved listening to your parents tell you stories. There’s something so captivating about them.
Well, the same goes when you are creating blog posts. A compelling storyline draws in the reader and makes them want – nay, need – to keep reading.
Worried stories don’t really apply to whatever it is you’re writing about? Think again.
Even if you are writing about affiliate marketing like we do, you can harness the power of storytelling by describing how someone failed at it in the beginning and then launch into the moral/lesson of the story. This approach personalizes it and hooks the reader emotionally into finding out how that person overcame their obstacle.
The big takeaway: By employing these 3 contagious forms of content not only will you be providing your readers with amazing material, but you’ll see a drastic increase in your response rate too. Which method will you try first?
Jill is a wanderluster and affiliate marketer and lifestyle entrepreneur hell-bent on teaching others how to use affiliate marketing to replace their income and escape the 9-5. She can usually be found over at http://ScrewTheNineToFive.com, scrolling through Facebook and Twitter, or traipsing around Asia with her hubby.
