1) Ask Questions
Opinions are like arseholes. Everbody’s got one.
Give your readers a reason to share their opinions by asking them questions during the course of your posts. Don’t just broadcast your announcements. Make it a two-way conversation.
2) Pick A Side
Most rational people are capable of seeing both sides of an argument. Unfortunately, the perceived anonymity of the internet means that a large percentage of people stop being rational. You just need to look at the comments on almost every video on YouTube to see this. The trick is to have a strong opinion and be able to stick to your guns, debating your subject without degenerating into the tit for tat name calling and flame wars that so many trolls live for. There are some hugely Outspoken Bloggers out there who have turned their talent for this into a veritable artform and you can learn a lot from observing how they handle themselves.
3) Do As I Say, Not As I Do
The only real rule on the Internet is that there are no rules, so don’t be surprised if you see me break almost all of these rules at some point. There will be times when you have to be flexible and use your common sense to decide just how strictly you’re going to follow these rules.
4) Find Out What They’re Already Talking About
Check out some of the other popular blogs in your niche and look for trends in the subjects of their posts. Take a position (remember point 2 above) and make your post a response to one of the posts you found. You should also find out where your target readers spend their time online (Twitter may be the obvious answer these days, but it’s not the only place you should be looking) and look at what they’re talking about – are there particular products they’re excited about or problems that you can help them solve?
5) Show Them Something Familiar In A New Light
Some of the most successful posts in terms of reader engagement and viral sharing are those that show readers something mundane that they’re used to seeing in one particular way, in a completely different way.
6) Make ‘em Laugh/Cry/Angry
Provoking an emotional response is a powerful way to increase your readers’ engagement with your articles. Just remember that there is a fine line between engaging and enraging, as anyone who’s ever read the comments on Techcrunch.com will know.
7) Keep Your Promises
There’s a whole internet full of content out there for people to read, so if you start a series of articles you’d better finish them, because unless you’re someone who provides massive value anyway, those disappointed readers probably won’t hang around waiting forever.
Leave Them Wanting More
’nuff said.
Photo Credit: Ged Carroll
