The blogging world is enticing to anyone looking to create a sustainable income source from home. It’s easy to pick a niche and put some content up online, but the real challenge comes in creating content that isn’t boring. How do you capture the reader’s attention and keep them coming back for more?
We’ve created a list of tips for how not to be a boring blogger where we’ll help you liven up your content, share your unique perspective, and authentically grow that subscriber count. Let’s get started.
1. Choose Something You’re Passionate About
Start by asking yourself, why are you writing the material you’re writing? You should be writing on a topic that genuinely makes you excited and brings you joy. If you have no connection to the tech industry or to personal finance, for example, don’t write about those topics.
When starting a blog, a lot of online blogging gurus will advise you to choose a “profitable niche.” We highly disagree. You shouldn’t choose a niche simply for money-making purposes because writing is not a get rich quick scheme. Let’s repeat that for good measure. You will not quickly make money by writing online content no matter which niche you choose and by niche, we mean the topic your content is centered around. Readers are smart. They can tell if you’re actually passionate about a subject versus just trying to make a quick buck.
In addition, don’t build an affiliate marketing site full of products from Amazon that you’ve never used before. There are hundreds of retyped and spun product lists on the internet all trying to sell the same 5 espresso machines or VR headsets. Readers want your personal account. They want to know why you use what you use. Giving honest and sincere reviews will build trust and connection between you and your readers which will in turn translate to a higher subscriber account.
2. Write With Your Own Voice
Oftentimes we think there’s a particular structure or set of rules we need to adhere to when writing-false. When we try to format our work to a specific structure, it becomes formulaic and a bit robotic. The personal touch is nonexistent making your writing boring and bland.
When writing, think about having a conversation with your readers and letting your personal voice shine through. It’s okay to be informal and to “talk” to your friends. Readers will love hearing your point of view and all about personal experiences. Tell them a story about some whacky time you decided on a whim to drive across the country to visit 12 different national parks and narrowly escaped hitting a deer with your car.
When you share a personal story, you’re engaging your audience in a way that no other writer possibly could. This gives you something special and unique to offer. You can even split your story up into multiple articles and tease the readers by telling them they’ll have to come back to find out more. This is a great tool for building your subscriber count. Are you giving your readers something to come back for?
3. Switch Up The Structure
Did you know a reader on average spends only 37 seconds reading your article?
37 seconds.
That’s not always the most encouraging thing to hear when you’re working on building audience engagement rates. However, there are a few tricks you can employ to grab your reader’s attention.
• Breaking up blocks of text
• Using bulleted lists
• Inserting quotes
• Including pictures
Did you notice what I did there? Everything I just typed above employs a different strategy for making your writing more eye-catching. Don’t be afraid to stray from traditional paragraphs. Use tools like bulleted lists, quotes, engaging headings, and eye-catching images.
When our eyes see large blocks of text, we automatically skim them. Employ the use of the “white space rule,” which essentially means having more white space and fewer large chunks of dialogue on your page. Headings are a great tool to catch your readers’ attention and to break up those large paragraphs. Many readers skim articles first and only look at the headings to decide if there’s something they want to read more about. Having interesting headings can potentially increase the 37 seconds engagement period.
Using the white space rule and adding visual intrigue to your posts will definitely make your blogs less cookie-cutter and boring.
4. Write For The Reader, Not For You
This is hands down the biggest game-changer in our opinion. If your writing is self-indulgent, readers will never stick around. The whole reason why they’re reading your material in the first place is to get something out of it. They’re either looking for an answer to a problem or for some sort of inspiration. If you aren’t offering anything to your readers, why should they care about what you have to say?
We all know those people who talk constantly about their problems. It’s not a fun conversation and usually, you’re tuning out their words and planning your exit. It’s the same thing with writing, only it’s a whole lot easier to exit out of a webpage than it is to walk away from someone in person. Don’t be that person or your engagement rate and subscriber count will truly suffer.
Perhaps impart some encouragement or talk your reader through the steps of a craft or recipe you’ve created. If your readers feel like you’re offering them something, they’ll be far more likely to stick around. This is an opportunity to really connect with your readers.
Before you publish anything online, always read what you wrote through the eyes of your reader.
5. Use A Call To Action
Let’s say hypothetically you have caught your reader’s attention and they made it all the way to the end. Now you can tell them what to do. Do you have another article for further reading you’d love to suggest? Direct your readers there with a link. Do you want to hear their personal accounts or how they deal with a problem you presented? Ask them to leave a comment below. Speak to your audience directly and even ask them to subscribe.
Engaging them in some way will help your readers feel closer to you while simultaneously making your content more fun and interactive.
It takes a lot of guts to publish your words online. Don’t be scared to be yourself and to share your voice. If you remain true to yourself and implement the above tips, there’s no way your writing could possibly be boring.