Smack Someone Right in the Face with Your Content

The Average Attention Span

When I surf the Internet to either find an answer to a question or to find entertainment, I probably click through about 10 or 20 websites before I find something I can stick with. If something doesn't capture my attention in about 3 seconds, I'm leavin'.

So it is with most everyone else on planet Earth. What lures people in? What peaks their interest enough to stay on a page and read through the content?

1. The Headline

In the word's of Wayne Campbell, the headline has to be "something extraordinary, something big, something mega, something copious, something capacious, something kajunga!"

Use the headline of the page or article to tap into the viewer's emotions. In just a few words, sum up how the content they're about to read is going to bring value to their life. Here's one example of an article with an effective headline that Angela Stringfellow mentions in her article about how to write attention-grabbing blog post titles:

• Topic: A Papa John's employee offends a woman by leaving a racial slur to describe her appearance on her receipt. 
• Good Headline: "Papa Johns Fail: 'Lady Chinky Eyes' Goes Viral" 
• Bad Headline: "Papa Johns Employee Offends Customer

Even though this is pretty racist, it definitely grabs your attention and might even tug on your emotions. Either way, you'll probably read it. Here's another example of a few recently published articles all from The Onion that I personally enjoyed:

• "Taylor Swift Now In Long-Distance Relationship With Curiosity Rover"
• "Financial Sector Thinks It's About Ready to Ruin the World Again"
•  "Report: 89% Of Americans Just Want To Go Home Right Now"

Now I'm not saying you have to be funny with everything you write. If you're not a funny person, don't try to be, because people can pick up on that and then choose to never read what you publish ever again. But try writing about a subject in a way that no one else has before with opinions that might not have ever been expressed by another voice, and then use your headline to express that.

2. The First Paragraph

So you actually got someone to at least click on your article from reading your awesome headline. Now you just have to get them past the first few sentences. One thing you should NOT do in the first paragraph is go on and on about something that's not relevant to the headline. GET TO THE POINT, and do it fast.

Use keywords that coincide with the headline to reassure the reader that, yes, this is relevant to what they're searching for. Once you're finished introducing the subject, move on in to the good stuff.

 

3. The Rest of the Article

There are so many things you can do with the body of your content that will not only keep people satisfied but influence them to maybe share it with others because it's easy to flat out easy to read. Here are just a few ideas:

• Make a list like I just did.
• Add high quality images that apply to the content where appropriate.
• Use other forms of media like videos, gifs, or infographics.
• Don't write 5 paragraphs of text without slipping in something visual in between.
• Use quotes from other relevant sources, and try to separate those quotes from the rest of the content to help them stand out.
• Most importantly, have a passion about what you're writing. If you're writing just to write, don't write.

 

From Experience

Speaking in business terms, the content strategies that we as a company implement into our Utah SEO campaigns have to be catered to each business' specific characteristics. That means time, research, trial and error, and whole lot of patience in order to get to know the individuals we're trying to convert.

So, in a way, you need to stalk your audience. Study what they like to read, share, and comment on. Try and replicate that content using your own unique voice, and in time you'll grow your fan base and reputation for being an authoritative source of great information.