[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Coppyblogger estimates that while 8/10 readers read your headline, only 2/10 read the rest. That’s partly the nature of our browsing habits, but it’s also indicative of poorly-worded or confusing headlines that don’t entice readers to go further.
The headline is surprisingly difficult to get right – and to keep simple. It’s tempting to serve up something too long and watered down because saying it simply is difficult. But saying it simply is a must.
Start with the general headline, write the story, then go back and refine what you’re saying. A great tool is Portent, a title maker that understands how we read online.
We’ll let you into a secret. This article was originally titled: “Why no one is reading your content.” But after using Portent we gained a tip for writing better headlines. Namely, readers are interested in what “experts” say and do.
Post useful content
Building an audience online isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, but one thing is certain: your content should never be samey. Nor does it help to post every day.
Online marketer Neil Patel is a prodigious blogger who historically posted a mountain of content. But he’s slowed his output of late, noticing that other websites are simply regurgitating what he says and siphoning his traffic.
In response, Neil now posts a new story once a week, but he makes sure it’s quality content you won’t find anywhere else. That way, his unique ideas can’t be so easily claimed by rivals.
Neil also makes a habit of reposting his old content on Facebook and Twitter to keep traffic high while he spends the extra time coming up with fresh insights.
Promote it
Promotion is a part of the content marketing game, whether you like it or not.
But it doesn’t have to be a chore. Use tools like Hootsuite and MeetEdgar to schedule your posts when you’re not at your desk.
A word of advice though, marketers suggest posting natively on Facebook as the social media giant limits reach from third-party tools.
Learn from others
Are you analysing the competition? What are they doing? How are their marketing efforts set up? Is the content nicely formatted? Do they write clearly and with grammatical consistency?
Next, plug a website into Alexa to chart their success online. Alexa ranks websites on a global scale, as well as by country. Though you need to pay for the best insights, the free info tracker gives you enough to go on. Couple that with a quick scour of a rival’s social feeds and you’ll have a good idea of whether their efforts are successful or not.
Some good blogs to visit include: quicksprout.com and, believe it or not, the Pornhub Insights page. Don’t worry, this link is fine for work and illustrates the startling effectiveness of web analytics, with reams of data presented in an easy, digestible way. That’s what you want to do with any blog. Take complex ideas and make them simple. Pornhub’s 2016 Year in Review was widely distributed when it was released at the beginning of the year, and helps give an otherwise NSFW industry a massive boost of credibility.
Write clearly
An app we love which professes to make your writing bold and clear is Hemingway. Named in honour of the famous writer and designed to mimic his signature style, Hemingway highlights wordiness and suggests ways of improving stodgy prose.
Give it a try. Simply copy and paste your text into the app (on desktop or mobile) and Hemingway will alert you to confusing sentences, needless adverbs and more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]