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You write blogs and want your content to engage and convert.
Guess what?
Hundreds of other bloggers and content writers want the same. We all struggle for every user and crave proven tactics to make the readers want to listen to us.
In this short guide, savvy copywriters, content creators, and experts from a custom dissertation writing service show you how to influence your posts’ virality and maximize their reach.
So, let’s get this show on the road.
Craft Emotional Titles
A blog post title is the first thing users see in search results or on your website. Like it or not, it’s the core determiner whether they click to check more:
Even if your blog post is super interesting, informative, and influential, a poor title destroys its chances for success. Remember David Ogilvy’s statement, “8 out of 10 people will read your headlines; 2 out of 10 will read the rest of what you wrote.”
Solution?
Write titles that hook readers and motivate them to click. For that, use headline strategies backed by human psychology. Add any (or a few) of the following elements to your titles:
- Surprise
- Questions
- Curiosity gap
- Negatives
- How to
- Numbers
- Audience
- Specificity
Make your titles emotional (so readers can relate to them) yet relevant to the content. A bunch of intrigue is okay to evoke curiosity, but clickbait is a no-no!
Here are some headline formulas to try for your titles:
Numbers + Adjective + Target Keyword + Rationale + Promise (This is the ultimate headline formula to trigger the audience and encourage them to click.) For example: “7 Simple Writing Tricks to Influence Your Website’s Dwell Time.”
How to + Target Audience (This formula appeals to the human desire to get smarter and better and addresses curiosity.) Example: “How to Write a Landing Page If You’re a Freelancer.”
Emphasize Blog Post Introductions
So, they’ve clicked your title and opened your blog post. What can you do to make them read it?
Start with a good introduction.
Yes, most people scan, not read, online content. They’ll scroll to tables of contents or subheadings to see what’s in there. However, your challenging-to-scan intros may scare the reader away from even scanning your post!
A stellar blog post introduction serves three purposes:
- Hook the readers to stay on the page
- Set expectations
- Help the readers understand what they get from your post
Since online reading is 25% slower than print, make your introductions short and scannable. Consider proven intro formulas like APP, PPB, or the Socratic method. (Hint: We’ve used it to introduce this article.)
APP = Agree + Promise + Preview (You start with a problem the audience would agree with, promise a solution, and preview your blog post for them to understand what they’ll get.)
PPB = Preview + Proof + Bridge (You preview the blog post from the start, provide proof of why it’s worth reading, and add a short transition to keep readers glued.)
The Socratic method: Write three questions or statements in a row to engage the audience in communication. Why three? First, our brain grasps three the best; second, such a structure builds the rhythm and keeps readers glued to the message.
Attention to Writing for SEO!
If you want to maximize your content’s reach, it’s not enough to write engaging and informative articles. You must also optimize them so that Google can see them and rank accordingly.
Master the art of SEO writing.
Turn your topics into keywords. Write about what your target audience expects to see in SERPs after typing a particular search term, and Google will award you high rankings for more people to see your page.
Outline your blog posts to match search intent. What do users expect to see when searching for your topic? Is it a list, a guide, a case study, or a review? Write your content with that search intent in mind.
Add keywords to your content. Ensure that it appears in your URL, title, H1, H2, and the first 100 words of your page.
Structure your blog posts for more visibility, scannability, and engagement. Follow the rules of web writing:
- Short paragraphs (consider font size, line height, and line length, too)
- Transitions throughout the text
- Visual content to break down long text sheets (use custom visuals with added value: graphs, tables, screenshots, infographics, etc.)
- Simple text structure (Title – H2 – H2 – H2 or Title – H2 – H3 – H3 – H2 to make it easier to scan)
- Calls to action and click-worthy internal links to encourage readers to check your other pages
Try Neuro Copywriting and Emotional Writing Tactics
Neuro copywriting is the process of crafting a text with specific language patterns to appeal to human psychology, thus motivating the audience to learn more.
It’s about mental hacks you include in your blog posts via particular words, word combinations, and content formatting to trigger an emotional response and make readers stay with your content.
Here are some emotional writing tactics to try:
- Use power words and active verbs.
Power words are descriptive adjectives that indicate what you want to say to the readers. They are persuasive and triggering, making the audience experience different states and act. Here is the wheel chart by Geoffrey Roberts revealing 150+ power words you can use in your articles:
Active verbs also relate to power words as they communicate action via your message, making it sound more confident.
- Ask questions in subheads (or format them as quotes).
Users scan content to understand what they’ll get from it. Questions spark curiosity and appeal to FOMO (fear of missing out), encouraging readers to continue the investigation and ensure that they haven’t missed anything essential.
As for quotes, they signal expertise and authoritativeness, making users trust your content.
- Add beneficial adjectives.
They explain the “What’s in there for me?” objection that your readers may have when deciding whether your content is worth their time. Examples of such adjectives include “new,” “free,” “useful,” “unique,” “cost-effective,” “quick,” etc.
- Write with sensory language when appropriate.
Sensory language relates to words that appeal to the human physical senses. They paint scenes in readers’ imagination and help them “see,” “hear,” “smell,” and “taste” your message. Copywriter Henneke Duistermaat is the ambassador of using these words in writing.
So, Here’s a Recap
The anatomy of a viral blog post that maximizes reach and engages readers includes the following elements:
- Emotional yet relevant title
- Concise and to-the-point introduction
- Search engine optimization (SEO) for higher rankings and more reach
- Writing blog posts with specific tactics that influence user engagement and trigger emotional responses (storytelling, power words, sensory words, beneficial adjectives, bucket brigades, stylistic devices, etc.)
For more practical advice on content creation, please check these blog writing tips and good storytelling tactics. Happy writing!