Connecting with your readers is very vital to any blogger. You don’t just want to write content that people can understand but also something that they can appreciate and relate to.
So the question begs, how do you connect with your readers?
How do you keep them glued to your posts until the end and have them coming back over and over to consume your material?
In an earlier post, we have shared how blogging has helped me to improve my writing skills. Little inverse. In this post, I will ponder over the tips for getting user engagement with your writing skills.
Here are 10 Painless Steps to Writing an Impactful Blog Post: Connects with your Readers
There are several ways to do this. We will give you the ten topmost that you can use to connect with your readers on a more connotative level. This will appeal to not only their emotions but also their intellect.
Table of Contents
1. Begin With Interesting Facts
Normally, readers take the first fifteen seconds to decide whether it’s worth their time to spend the next few minutes they have on a blog post.
So it is necessary to impress them with your out of box thinking.
This presents a challenge and an opportunity, within the first fifteen seconds you have to capture your reader’s attention and the best way to do this is by starting with an interesting fact that will intrigue their curiosity.
This fact can either be related to the niche you are writing about or not. Whatever way you choose to go, make sure the fact is not popular as this may turn away your readers.
Imagine reading the fact that you already know about it? Would it make you curious or sound stale to you?
The same goes for your readers. Write interesting things that they may not have heard about. Preferably something outside the niche as this will make them wonder how you would relate this fact to the topic you are covering thus ends up consuming your content out of curiosity.
2. The End In The Beginning
Have you ever watched a movie or an entire series that starts with the end? Then as the movie goes on they show you how the whole plot is connected to the end.
Why not apply the same technique to your posts to capture your reader’s attention? It would be a great way to make them curious about what leads to what you highlighted in the beginning.
You can choose a cryptic ending or a very gory middle which could also subsequently be the climax of the story so as to show your reader what they are in store for if they stick around and consume your post.
As you put your ending at the beginning, try not to give away the surprise as much as you can, you can give a summation but conceal the surprise in store for your readers. The hunger that you will create in your reader will be unfathomable!
3. Employ An Anecdote
Anecdotes are witty words that put an idea into a different context. They are normally long, jaw-dropping, and relate directly to the writer’s life.
These witty words are meant to have the same effect as facts but in a more shocking way.
Imagine if we started by saying that I once murdered a man using a newspaper, what would be your reaction?
You would be astonished!
Your mind would think hundreds of thoughts per seconds wondering how this is possible. But the truth of the matter could be maybe I killed someone in an article that I wrote in a newspaper or something else totally different.
No matter the meaning, the effect would be the same. You would want to know how those words come to fruition and this will make you want to consume our post. You too can use the same technique to mesmerize your readers and infer their curiosity.
When you come up with anecdotes, make sure that they are funny, related to your life directly as in they happened to you and not someone you know and is related to whatever you are talking about.
You can use quotes too as they work the same way.
4. Ask Questions That Are Worth Asking
In the event, you pose a question to your readers, make sure that the question you’re asking is worth their time.
Ask a question that builds your readers and helps them grow. The questions should not be rhetorical, they should be able to relate to your readers and whatever you are trying to address on your post.
A lot of time is spent on consuming mental strength so make sure you do not waste people’s time as they will not be interested in wasting their reading your blog.
5. Use Cliffhangers
Do not be afraid to use cliffhangers on your posts. Most writers have a hard time coming up with cliffhangers for their posts as they lack creativity.
You can create cliffhangers by hiding things from your readers and make them wonder what happened here?
Or how will this character maneuver himself out of this jam?
Such things make readers cling to their screens wanting to know what happens next. Some even go on to create their own conspiracies’ on what happened or what will happen.
In the end, you’ll connect with your readers deeper than you ever thought as they help you in Writing an Impactful Blog Post.
This gives you ideas that you may have not even thought of.
6. Be Descriptive
This is the most important if you are looking for writing an impactful blog post.
Another sure way of connecting with your readers is by painting a picture in their heads of what’s happening.
As humans, we think visually. Whenever someone says an array of things at random, the images of these things pop up in our minds so that we can understand better what is going on.
The same goes for our readers.
Describe the things with images, infographics or videos whatever you feel so comfortable. Remember, visual content gets more traffic.
When you describe things and put them in perspective, the readers end up relating to your content more thus connecting with you even more.
I follow this genuinely so that writing descriptive content leaves my blog impression in their mind.
So go ahead and give detailed descriptions to your readers. Other than connecting with them with you, they do deserve it!
7. Write In A Conversational Tone/Manner
In your posts, you need to write as if you’re having a face to face talk with your readers. Write like it’s only the two of you in the room and your readers have lent their ears to you.
They see you have all this wisdom that they need and they rely on you to give to them without boring them to death.
This way, it will trigger that litter’s inner voice inside them to think that you are there with them and to help them with whatever problem that they may be facing at that time.
Write in the present tense or as things are going on. This way, you’ll be sure to capture their full attention and end up connecting with them as you have never before. Here are more tips by Copybloger for writing a post in Conversational tone.
8. Inspire Your Readers
Most of the time, people come to our blogs looking for some kind words that show that they are not the only ones in that predicament and people have overcome these challenges.
This is commonly known as inspiration.
You can inspire your audience by empathizing with them. Show them that you are just like them and have gone through the same and emerged victoriously.
Be sure to end the piece with a motivational paragraph that assures them of their own strength.
9. Create A Common Enemy
You heard it RIGHT. To write an impactful blog post, you can let your enemy engage.
The minute you create a common enemy between you and your readers, it’s the time that you would have hooked them forever!
People like hating the same thing and you can provide this same thing and be surprised by the turn out that you will get on your blog.
You could emphasize your hate for ginger, the color blue or whatever it is that is related to your blog. This thing that you hate will evolve and be the epitome and center stage for your posts.
Your readers will converge to read about your rants in relation to this thing. And you would have connected with them.
10. Irresistible Title
Titles are very vital when it comes to blogging.
Come up with titles that are irresistible to your readers and they will share the post with their friends.
Titles should be eye-catching, short, and intriguing. They should give a hint as to what you will be talking about in your blog. Your titles are the reason people land on your post.
So make sure that they are irresistible as this is the first connection readers make with you.
Conclusion
We have given the 10 most crucial steps when it comes to connecting with your readers.
You can choose to start with interesting facts or the end in the begging whichever you choose sounds good.
You can use anecdotes and cliffhangers to keep them glued to their screens.
The descriptions and writing conversationally will help also in connecting with them and not forgetting to create a common enemy and to have an irresistible title!
However, all this would be for naught if you write in poor grammar and have typos all over your blog post. Proofread your work!
Apart from that, there are some common blogging myths while getting traffic to your blog and getting connected with readers. You should be careful while paying attention to these things.
I have seen many, they are afraid of SEO.
These tips are really useful if you are writing an impactful blog post and not much worried about SEO. If you have any point, let’s have a discussion in the comment. Don’t forget to share this with your friend if he/she is in blogging and write very beautiful content.
Editor’s Note: This post is shared by Lori Wade.
