Do you wonder why people don’t seem to care about your content? There’s a big difference between writing content and writing compelling content.
Why? Because not all content is created equal.
Let me explain what I mean by “compelling content.”
I’m talking about content that:
- resonates – people feel like you’re writing for them. They relate to not just what you write but also how you write.
- converts – compelling content engages people. It sucks them in so they pay attention and eventually trust what you write. This leads to more subscribers, more leads, and more sales.
- matters – perhaps most importantly, compelling content makes readers feel something. They care about the content, which is what drives them to take action. Modern content can’t just inform. It must also distract, entertain, and inspire, and do so in an enjoyable way.
So, if you’re interested in learning how to make your content more compelling, read on. In this post, I’m going to break down the 8 components of compelling content.
Set the stage with your headline
I bet you’ve written a few posts that might be considered compelling content.
And yet, you still didn’t get terribly impressive results.
There’s a very good chance that you slacked a bit when creating your headline.
Your headline is your first possible chance to gain or lose the interest of a reader. There’s a lot of pressure riding on the 5-15 words that describe your content.
On average, eight out of 10 people will read your headline. But from these eight people, only two will continue to read the article.
That means that if you have an average audience and an average headline, you’ll essentially lose 80% of your potential audience before you’ve even started.
So, if you have compelling content in the body of your article, make sure you also have a compelling title.
Think of how these compounds over time. If you’re an expert headline writer, your traffic will grow exponentially faster than someone else’s who is better at producing content.
Start with the headline, then move on.
Don’t be one dimensional … it is boring
Have you ever attended a lecture where a professor just talked for an hour?
If someone could harness that sleepy feeling you inevitably get at such lectures, they would make a fortune with a product that instantly puts people to sleep.
That kind of lecture is a one-sided conversation—much like many blog posts are, where someone is simply stating facts or talking about themselves.
This bores people because there’s no one that most people care about more than themselves.
You’ve probably known someone who always rambles on about their life, never letting you get a word in. They get boring fast.
Wouldn’t you love it if you had a little “x” button that you could click to leave one of these one-sided conversations?
On the web, you have just that. If you lose interest in a topic because you’re simply being lectured, you can move onto any one of the millions of other websites.
So, onto the problem at hand. At least for the time being, your content is solely consumed. Unless you’re holding webinars or social media chats, content is produced by you and then read, watched, or listened to my readers.
There are two main strategies you can employ to help deepen your readers’ interest and engagement in your content:
- Keep it stimulating
- Make it as interactive as possible
Immersion is a solid-state – don’t break it
Sometimes I read a blog post that seems disjointed.
It’s easy to tell that it’s been written in distinct sections that don’t connect to each other well.
While this might seem okay at first, it will interrupt any momentum a reader initially experienced reading the content.
If you’ve taken my advice from the past, you outline your posts into sections before you start writing. This is great from an efficiency standpoint.
However, the part that most bloggers get lazy at is editing. One of the most important jobs of an editor is to make sure that all parts of the article flow smoothly into one another. They should all logically connect to each other.
Once you have your headline, make sure your content reflects that.
The headline and the intro both help you set up the premise of the “story.”
All of your subheadlines should tell a story and be relevant to the main topic.
If you can grab skimmers’ attention with one or more subheadlines, they will start reading that particular section with more attention.
If that section is particularly well-written, they will go back to see what they missed.
One good subheadline can be the difference between an engaged reader and one who quickly skims your content and leaves.
It’s not an article, it’s a story
You must understand this distinction.
You can call your content an article, a blog post, or whatever you want. But the way you write your content will determine if it’s compelling or not.
When most people think of an “article”, they think of a newspaper article—an objective look at a particular topic that simply states facts.
This is not what blog content is about.
I’m biased when I write, and I need to be. You can’t write compelling content without caring about the topic or not having an opinion about it.
If you don’t back it up, your reader will click the “back” button
One of the things I hate most about typical posts written on success is that they are all fluff, no substance.
As soon as I see that the writer makes a claim without backing it up with a credible source, I lose interest.
I’m not special—most people are like this. If your audience is particularly uneducated, you might get away without citing your sources, but it’s pretty rare.
As you can see in my blog posts or guest posts, I try to back up every single claim and opinion with a solid statistic or source. It’s one of the key factors in writing a data-driven post.
This is a lot of extra work. At first, it might take you an extra hour or two per post to research everything you need. But you will get faster over time.
All content needs this – wait for it…
According to Freytag’s pyramid, there are 5 parts to a story:
The peak of the story’s plot is the “climax,” which is where the main action takes place.
Remember our curiosity gap created in the headline? The climax is the point just before you resolve it.
The tension is unbearable for the reader, and they will read on almost no matter what. House on fire? “It can wait until I’m done reading this post.”
Shortly after the climax, there is the big “reveal.” This is where you relieve that tension by providing exactly what you promised.
It’s crucial that you deliver, or the reader will be disappointed. This is the main reason why many readers do not like sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy. They make incredible claims in the headlines, but they rarely back them up.
Now, your content isn’t a typical story in a novel.
However, you still need a climax and reveal.
In one of your (likely) final sections, you need to show your readers something new and exciting. They are looking for a definitive solution to their problem described in your article, and you need to deliver it.
What now?
Everyone has had those classes in school.
The teacher explains a new relatively complex subject and then gives you a loaded question at the end.
Cue a blank stare at the paper.
It’s tough to go from listening for an extended period of time to taking action of any kind. You’re in a mindset of absorbing information, not applying it.
Having readers apply what you write about is good for three reasons:
They get more out of it – If readers don’t apply what you teach them about, they won’t fully understand it. Consequently, they won’t get as much out of it.
It’s more fulfilling – I’m guessing (hoping) that you create content first and foremost because you want to help your readers. There’s nothing more fulfilling than seeing a reader put your advice into action and succeeding.
They’ll remember it – If someone takes action and gets a good result from it, they will remember where the original advice came from. This will lead to more subscribers, more engagement, and more long-term fans.
How does this translate to compelling content?
Compelling content needs to be as actionable as possible.
What’s your point?
The final part of compelling content is a concise statement of its value.
All good content has some sort of point it’s making (often more than one).
After reading an article, a reader has likely taken in a lot of information.
If you’ve done your job right, they’ve read most words and even understand how to use most of your advice because you’ve provided clear examples.
Now, those examples are really introductory examples. Imagine that you just learned your basic addition and subtraction skills and someone asked you what 2+2 is. You understand how it works on a basic level.
But then you get to the more complicated questions that require you to combine everything you learned. This is where it gets tricky.
The final part of compelling content is putting the pieces together. Recap the main point of the article, the problems you have solved, and the ways your readers can apply what they’ve learned in their own lives.
The important thing is that it’s concise and it contains a valuable message.
The bottom line
Compelling content isn’t a mystery. You just need to know its components.
Incorporate some—ideally all—of these components into your content, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how the quality of your content and your readers’ engagement increase over time.
He delivered his message with both supreme confidence and self-deprecating humor. He is a man who is unafraid.
So, be bold. There is something there. Just a small observation that meant something to me and I hope it means something to you.
Content favors the bold. Bold makes you pay attention.
If you’re ever unsure of how bold your content is, read it from your average reader’s point of view. Ask yourself how interesting it really is and whether it inspires you to take action (whatever action you want your readers to take).
