by Joe Warnimont | via RichWP.com |
Are most of your blog posts filled with boring industry stats or tedious tutorials?
Are you confused how to turn even your most boring content into creative literature that people will actually want to read?
Blog posts are supposed to amaze people. They are supposed to grasp your reader’s attention and make them want to share the content with other people. That’s how you gain exposure with your blog posts right? What if your industry or product is so boring that even the most creative writer in the world can’t turn it into something special?
The answer is simple: There is no subject so boring that you can’t create something interesting out of it. After all, if people buy your products or services, there is something that makes them useful, and a story behind it to get reader attention.
Start with a Question
Questions grasp reader attention and make them want to read more. The only problem is that every question isn’t exactly riveting. Let’s say your company creates medical machinery for hospitals and other health care facilities. It’s not easy to write interesting content for the industry, but there are ways to get people interested and spice up your content with questions.
A post on the Huffington Post called Should DNA Stand for Do Not Ask? received over 130,000 views and tons of social media shares. DNA is a scientific subject that is difficult to make interesting when you go into great detail. Broadening the spectrum and asking a question that people find interesting is a way to make your posts readable. The article begins with the line: Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you necessarily should, right?
It uses another great question that lots of people are asking themselves. When you hear about the things you can learn from a DNA testing kit it seems like a no-brainer, but are there some results you don’t want to know? Create a title that includes a question, and reel your readers in with an even more enticing question for the first line. Broaden your focus, and write about a topic that the average person can get excited about.
Incorporate Pop Culture
If you go on Twitter, most of the trending topics are about celebrities, sports stars, holidays and online phenomenons. You may not think that President Obama or Justin Bieber have anything to do with your law practice or manufacturing business, but these people and trends almost always give you engaging material.
Let’s stick with the law practice example. Celebrities are known for getting into trouble, so why not take the most recent scandal or mishap and devise a post based on that? You might write an article titled How To Press Charges Against Justin Bieber, and outline the best legal tactics to take after a group of teenagers vandalize your house.
History is Always Fun
Every company and industry has a history, and most of the time your customers don’t have a clue what it’s all about. The US Post Office is pretty boring, but BuzzFeed dug deep into its history and developed a blog post that not only teaches people about the Post Office, but urges readers to share the content. This article received hundreds of social shares just by providing interested facts that relate to the history of the organization.
Form an Opinion
Writers often believe that the best content is the kind that never offends anyone. Unfortunately, when you try to please the world you forget that people love taking sides and debating. When you settle on a blog topic, try choosing a side of the argument, and devise a plan for backing up that argument.
You’ll notice that some of the most shared blog posts online include headers like: Why Marriage is for Suckers or Why Leonardo DiCaprio Never Deserves an Oscar. If you don’t actually believe in these statements then don’t write about them, but if you can create a legitimate argument for or against a certain side, go for it.
People on the internet enjoy forming opinions and creating teams. Think about politics or sports or even the Twilight movies. Girls went wild yelling at each other for Team Edward and Team Jacob. There’s sure to be some topics in your industry that strike up conversation. Are discount travel sites destroying the tourism business? Pick a side. Does Wal-Mart actually treat its employees better than most other large corporations? Get the people talking.
Use Imagery
Even an interesting blog post looks boring without at least one relevant image. Add as many beautiful photos as possible to get your point across. You can also use infographs or slideshows to crunch down boring industry information into an easily digestible media format.
Get on the Visual.ly mailing list to understand how they take loads of boring data, that most people would typically pass on, and turn it into gorgeous graphs and images to encourage shares and incorporate images and pop culture.
Interview People Who Amaze
Sometimes you just can’t come up with the content needed to keep your readers interested. Every viable blog strategy should include an interview every once in a while. This gives your readers an outsider’s view on your industry and shares a story on how someone became successful or how they make sure their business stick with the trends.
This is especially important for those companies just getting started in an industry or for a new blogger who doesn’t feel confident giving out expert opinions on a particular product or service. Interview someone who is already successful in a niche, and share the information with your customers. Add even more value by creating a round-up post that includes quotes from ten or twenty experts in the field. Round-up posts answer a single question that many people ask in your industry. It doesn’t take too long for the experts to answer the question, and it gives you an interesting post to share with your readers. In addition, you get possible social shares from the experts who have large followings.
