Top 10 Ways to Write Attention-Getting Headlines & Content for Your Blog Posts

Many online entrepreneurs typically blog about their niche. They write about the industry, trends affecting their audience, make new announcements and generally, provide informative content for their web site visitors. Having a blog elevates the user experience, showing your audience that you have something to offer them beyond what you’re selling. You have advice, opinions and all kinds of information that speaks to their needs.

However, sometimes the hard part is creating content that your audience will want to read in the first place. Your online business stands out, so too should your blogs, right?

From the right headline to providing them with engaging material, here are 10 ways to keep your visitors scrolling down your entire blog page and coming back for more.

Write Attention-Getting Headlines

1. Top 10 Headlines

People often gravitate towards top 10 lists. It makes sense, since so much of our lives have involved couching topics in terms of numbers. From bestsellers and music charts to doctors asking us to describe our pain on a “level of 1 to 10,” there are terms like “top 10,” “bottom three” and “giving 100 percent.”

Numbers tell readers up front what they’re in for: a succinct read that will give them key takeaways. Besides, succinct is what readers want. Tosin Adeoti, a young entrepreneur and founder of Home-Based Business Coach, says, “Studies show that internet readers scan, skim and skip around blog contents more than they read.” Keeping your audience in mind is essential and “top” lists help. Adeoti says it’s important to give them a “visual break” which can be done by proper use of white space, bulleting points or outlining comments with a top 10 (or 5 or 25) list.

2. The “What you’re Not Doing But Should Be” Headline

Let’s use the example of “Five Things You Probably Aren’t Doing on Your iPhone but Should.” This headline lets your audience know they are in for a short read (“five things”) while also enticing them to read more (suggested by the “what could I be doing differently, or more effective?” headline). In other words, it seems to suggest that is has something for those who don’t want to be left out. It’s a teaser that gets them wondering what they can learn something that’ll make their experience easier, better or faster.

3. The Unusual Headline

Headlines that make people do a mental double take like, “How Discovering Your Online Niche is a lot like Dating” or “The Barry Manilow/Metallica Concert: What Your IPod Says About your Music Style,” can engage your readers. While more serious cut and dry headlines about your web site blog can also make a point, it’s often not a bad idea to mix it up with some attention-getting levity.

4. The “Did You Know” Headline

The “did you know” headline evokes curiosity. “Did you Know that the Cashew is Not Really a Nut?” may be a blog idea for someone with a health-related online business. It imparts a sense of intrigue, telling others that there’s more to a story they likely thought they knew everything about. Similar to the “lesser known facts about . . .” or the “what you thought you knew but didn’t . . .” concept, this headline draws people in to hopefully satisfy their yearning for more knowledge about your business.

Write Attention-Getting Content

5. Check the Calendar

You’d be surprised at how many unique days exist dedicated to a hobby, cause or even certain foods, colors and pet peeves. Be creative.

For example, Jennifer Lilley, a blogger, columnist and copywriting professional who has worked with such clients as Johnson & Johnson andFrito-Lay, wrote a blog called, “How Pumpkins can help your Brand: Trying new Approaches to Generate Awareness.” In it, she says, “These days, there’s a date with a designation for just about anything. From International Cookie Dough Day to Lost Dryer Sock Day, there’s bound to be one that’s an ideal match, and therefore a prime opportunity, to tout your brand. Check out the United Nations’ list of world observances by day for ideas.”

For example, if it’s National Cookie Day (which was December 4, by the way) and you sell eBooks, why not consider a blog that discusses a particular eBook being a “sweet” read or as a way to boost sales of new recipe book? Even if you sell health products, use the day as an opportunity to blog about your own top 10 list of favorite gluten-free cookies. Then, find all things cookie or cookie day related on Twitter, and post your blog. Make it known to the masses!

Of course, make sure the day is aligned with your brand’s message. Lilley says that an event can also be an opportunity to offer a differing opinion, one that’s against the celebration of a designated day. In other words, building messaging around a topic can also be done by taking a stance against something, too. For example, writing all about why there should be more National Kale Days instead of cookie ones, is an idea for the health-minded blogger running a nutritional product web site.

6. Get a Leg up on Hollywood

While some people roll their eyes over the latest Hollywood gossip, there’s something to be said about the fact that it makes for popular conversation. Striking while the iron is hot is key, often allowing you to blog in a way that resonates with your audience in a timely manner.

With some creativity, it’s possible to make the most of the world of entertainment and weave it into your blog. Move outside the online business world, but not entirely. From amazing new movie roles and well-known phrases of celebrities gone wild (i.e. “winning”) to award show memories, it can be worked into your blog as an entire theme. “Think outside the box. Rather than relying on high-profile examples that everyone is writing about, such as Steve Jobs,” says Jane Porter, associate editor at Entrepreneur.com, “consider case studies of other successful people . . .”

7. Turn to Social Media

Social media gives you no excuse for writer’s block because it exposes us to blog ideas galore. Furthermore, if you hone in on the moment, your blog becomes timely, resonating moreso with your audience while establishing yourself as someone truly “in the know.”

Between all the trends, discussions, specialized pages and forums, there’s a writing opportunity in everything. Even if it initially seems like a stretch, keep thinking about a specific topic and consider ways you can turn it into a post. For example, on Twitter, #snowday was recently trending in the United States. What’s that have to do with you?

If you’re selling eBooks on your web site, why not write about how a #snowday is the perfect time to catch up on reading? Talk about books you remember during no school snow days. Reminisce about newsworthy blizzards of days gone by. Throughout all of this, discuss the books that have been part of your #snowday experiences through the years and suggest some favorites you’re now selling.

If you’re selling health products, why not blog about top foods that can naturally raise your temperature and keep you warm during this #snowday?

8. Know Your Current Events

If you sit for hours happily blogging about the joys of music and your online music store, touting it as ear candy for the ages and post it, that’s a good thing, right? Of course. But what if you neglected to take a few minutes beforehand to scan top headlines and breaking news related to your online business?

So . . . you post your blog about the joys of the music industry and then turn on your TV to see an unfortunate turn of events regarding that very topic? Suddenly, that happy-go-lucky post becomes an ill-timed piece of writing.

Porter urges online bloggers to ask themselves these questions: Is there anything relevant happening in your industry — policy changes, tech developments or recent reports — that could affect your customers? Can you distill some valuable lessons from companies or industry leaders who’ve made headlines? What could your customers learn from these victories or disasters?

9. Take off Your Geographic Blinders

Maybe it snows a lot where you live, making it seem logical to weave in references about how nice it would be for visitors to enjoy your products with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. But too many cozy casserole and roaring fire references can be a turn off to folks living in Puerto Rico. Some local “about me and my area” talk is good, even necessary, to get your audience to understand you more and showcase the personality behind you and your brand, but too much local talk can make others feel as if your blog is leaving them out, even if they live in the same county. Not everyone shops where you do or even likes the same coffee house as you (if they even like coffee at all), so go easy on constant mention about your favorite place for a cup of joe. Consider being more generic at times or offer a range of geographic-friendly topics like, “Whether you’re enjoying a fireplace or lying on the beach . . .”

10. Don’t be Afraid to Show Your Personality

Do your readers know who you are? Truly? Beyond the fact that you’re a marketing guru with a passion for providing must-have products via the internet?

Don’t be afraid to inject some personality in your blogs, allowing your audience to know some details that make you more engaging, more relatable, more . . . human. You never know when a chuckle or story that makes someone feel they aren’t alone over a funny thought, habit or pet peeve can translate to buying power.

5 Ways to Make Your Blog Post Interactive

Static marketing content is as outdated as print-only newspapers. Just as day-old newspapers become litter in the streets, static digital content is useless to the average reader. With such an inundation of static marketing content, one piece hardly stands out from others, meaning brands blend and ideas fade.

Readers crave the dynamic nature of interactive digital content. An ion Interactive study measured the success and general feeling from marketers regarding interactive content. In terms of effectiveness, 93% of marketers say interactive media is great at educating buyers; 88% say it’s effective at differentiating brands, whereas static was found to be only 55% effective. Not convinced yet? Did you know that interactive content also drives 2X more conversions than static content?

Despite these numbers, many marketers shy away from interactive content. It might be because it has a reputation for being expensive and labor-intensive. But that is an unfair reputation. Creating interactive elements is, in fact, easy, fast and even free.

These five tools allow you to start immediately interacting with customers, which draws them in, converts at higher rates and gives feedback to improve your business.

1) PlayBuzz

The original PlayBuzz site is for the average Internet user interested in which Hogwarts house she belongs to or wants to test her knowledge about 1990s TV shows, but PlayBuzz’s business site is tailored to empowering companies to generate an interactive feature, embed it in their marketing content and watch user engagement rise and their network grow.

With PlayBuzz you can create free countdowns, polls, personality quizzes, flip cards, trivia, rankable lists, general lists, gallery quizzes and a swipe voting feature made popular by dating apps. Each element has an appealing quality that catches readers’ attention and can communicate information quickly in a visual manner. It also keeps visitors on your page longer and is designed for social sharing.

When choosing from so many options, remember highly interactive features like quizzes and swiping are good for social platforms and visually driven posts, while flip cards and polls are good for text-heavy content.

When you are designing these embeddable features, keep in mind your company’s brand and voice, this will ensure consistency while adding that added bonus customers appreciate. The best way to track the success of PlayBuzz content is to monitor its social performance in shares, engagement and views.

PlayBuzz is so user-friendly, you will forget you are marketing while playing with the design tools and fun features. Check out these flip cards we made with it.

2) SlideShare

Slide presentations are something nearly every professional has seen or used, whether it’s from business trainings, college lectures or group projects. Putting information in a condensed, easily-digestible format is one of the most popular marketing, sales and proposal tactics because of its familiarity and logic.

SlideShare can be embedded into any blog post and breaks down a topic for readers in a much more visual and attractive manner than static paragraphs of text. Try it with an existing post that needs more visits but provides valuable content.

Take text from the blog, simplify it for each slide, keeping word count at a minimum, include a CTA on the last slide, and embed the feature somewhere in the post. If you put the slides near the top, you can include a friendly disclaimer such as, “Don’t have time to read the rest? We summed it up for you here.”

Readers appreciate options for taking in information and really appreciate when you understand their limits. SlideShare transforms already written content into powerful snippets of data.

Don’t think of SlideShare as a place to put all the information in bullet points; think of it as a place to present an idea in a visual and condensed manner. It might be a good challenge to fit a hefty amount of information into a slide show. This exercise will help you write succinctly and think about content in an out-of-the-box way.

Give the most important points priority instead of cramming an entire blog post into a slide show. Graphs, statistics and quick thoughts are especially effective on SlideShare.

3) Make a GIF

Regardless of how you pronounce it (“JIF” or “GIF”), these little graphics excel at entertaining and inserting some fun into your digital content. It shows you have a sense of humor and don’t take yourself too seriously. That said, make sure to use GIFs sparingly and only for appropriate topics.

Many websites have tools for creating your own animated GIF or have a domain of popular ones for every emotion and situation. This imagery also warrants the use of BuzzFeed-worthy titles and descriptions to accompany your chosen GIFs.

This type of interactive content performs excellently on social platforms because of the flashy element and viral qualities. These qualities lend themselves well to tracking social success easily by monitoring shares, likes and engagement.

When choosing or creating a GIF, make sure it is a reference your audience will understand. You wouldn’t want to use a GIF from a popular TV show if it’s not likely your customers are familiar with it. However, if pop culture references are common in your content, feel free to use GIFs as freely as you'd like.

Websites such as GIPHY make the art of finding the right GIF quick and entertaining, while at the same time providing you with everythin you need to share with your audience. Take the GIF below - I typed "content marketing' into the search box, found this gem from Mad Men, and simply copied the embed code into the blog. Easy!

4) Qzzr

If the products or services you are marketing lend well to quizzing your prospects, Qzzr is the right tool for engaging them further. This free quiz-making platform allows you to create a quiz in minutes, embed it into any post and track the results. It also comes with a WordPress plugin for easy integration.

Customers love to test their knowledge, if only to prove how much they know. They also love to reveal pieces of their personality and discover new sides of themselves. Giving your customers these opportunities through quizzes is the perfect gateway for interaction and connection.

Keep quizzes as short as possible so as not to fatigue your readers. Make sure the answers are pointed and don’t allow quiz takers to avoid questions. There is nothing worse than a vague answer and worthless results. And there is nothing better than seeing interactions with customers and the fruitful rewards of getting specific.

You might use a quiz if you are trying to target specific products or services to your customers as they begin their buying journey. The fashion-delivery company Stitch Fix requires all first-time users to take a fashion quiz to determine which products will please them most.

You can emulate this model or use a quiz for testing your customer’s knowledge about your industry, current events or other relevant topics. Readers especially love quizzes that tell them which [car, building, time period, scientist, politician, 1980s pop star, etc. they are most like.

The great thing about Qzzr is the ability to integrate with CRM systems. This feature allows you to track the success of each quiz, pull data from the results and target customers more accurately and personally.

5) Podcasts

Podcasts aren’t just for Serial fans or listeners of public radio. The audio format is a gold mine for the busy professional. It gives multi-taskers a chance to consume your content on their terms. There might not be enough time in the day to read all the content circulating within certain industries or interact with specific companies.

But if marketers give professionals a way to gain all the benefits of static content during their daily commute without burying their faces in a screen, they might see a rise in interest and customer conversation. It’s also great for audio learners and is a much more casual and open environment for bringing guests and commentators to foster a fruitful discussion.

Before creating a podcast, study up. Listen to all different kinds of podcasts to figure out what works. It’s also good to pay attention to which length is appropriate. If you are getting more downloads and listens for shorter episodes, your customers might want quick conversation. But if you see a demand for longer form podcasts, your customers probably appreciate deep dives into certain topics.

Bring in guests for fresh perspective. Try implementing different segments to break up the monotony of a single episode. But make sure to get into the groove of podcasting before you give up or count your early success.

As you develop your podcast and find what works, you will find you can adjust and evolve episode to episode based on listener feedback or performance statistics. The key is keeping your eyes and ears open. Podcasting is just as much about listening as it is about talking.

Boost Your Personal Brand with These 4 Content Marketing Tips

Content marketing -- in the form of sharing useful content such as blogs or videos with web viewers who relate to your brand -- can be one of the most successful digital marketing methods for your personal brand, but only with a solid strategy in place. According to the Content Marketing Institute’s 2015 B2C Content Marketing Report, 47 percent of the most effective content marketers have a documented strategy in place, while only 5 percent of the least effective content marketers have devised strategy.

With the abundance of types of content and channels to distribute content on, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Use these four simple techniques to positively use content marketing to boost your personal brand and extend your reach and visibility in the global online space.

1. Produce meaningful content on your website 

First, determine your target audience and what passions you have that relate to your professional objectives. You might want to create written posts or videos where you share your expertise by teaching the audience a new skill. This helps cultivate an image of you as an authority in your field.

Don’t just promote yourself in your content. Think about the content consumer first, and how you can best help them. To brainstorm ideas for your content, ask yourself:

• What topics am I an expert on?
• What is the best way to convey my knowledge—through writing, a podcast, a photo slideshow, an infographic, a video, or something different?
• Would I be more helpful I interviewed another expert and weaved their testimonial into my content, or if I made their interview the primary content focus?
• How can I make my content more accessible to more types of users, such as by adding a transcript to a video for hearing impaired visitors, or by adding photography to a blog post for people more likely to want to consume images?

Regarding frequency for posting on your own site, a 2015 study by HubSpot found for companies with 10 employees or less, blogging at least 11 times per month is ideal. The study also found companies that published at least 16 blogs per month received three-and-a-half times more traffic than companies that published four posts or less per month. Start out slowly in the beginning if you’re trying to find your content marketing rhythm, but aim for continual higher frequency.

While your content should not focus on you, it should help you generate positive sentiment and exposure for your personal brand. Achieve this by linking back to an About Me page through your author bio link so people can learn more about you—and do business with you—if they like your content, or add a call to action to get in touch with you at the bottom of the post.

2. Offer to guest blog

Now that you’re an exemplary content-producing machine on your own website, search for other stars in your industry you can network with and whose audiences you can also share your professional prowess with. Choose influencers you admire, reach out to them and tell them why they interest you, and explain how you relate and how you can help their audiences.

Offer to create a post for their website, and ask for a link back to your website in return for your useful content. This generates a positive backlink that benefits your personal brand’s search engine optimization, while exposing you to a new audience that might lead to new business. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do guest posting effectively. Also, let them know you’ll promote the post through your own network via a promotion on your website, through an email newsletter, or via social media. By offering to help other influencers, they’ll be more likely to help you promote your content, as well.

3. Host guest content on your site

Like guest blogging on other sites exposes your personal brand to new potential contacts, letting an authority create quality content for your site is also beneficial. Your site becomes more well-rounded and a better source for insightful information that will help drive traffic up, while the guest poster is likely to share their post through their own networks, bringing new visitors to your website.

You can also use guest content to promote your own related content. Keep in mind, promoting your personal brand is not the goal with hosting guest content. Rather, make your sure any promotion of your content is relevant and non-invasive to the post. A simple way to ensure this is to use a widget on your site that automatically displays related posts on the bottom of the article or video. You can also include “Read more related to this topic” links on the bottom, and customize what you share.

Content marketing is a waste of time if no one is seeing your content. Entrepreneur recommends using paid outlets, such as sponsored LinkedIn updates, to increase your reach, but amplifying your content doesn’t have to be costly. Save time and money by using free social networks and digital connections to get your content to more targeted consumers.

4. Set up profiles on all applicable social networks where your target audience is.

Content related to personal branding will most likely be useful on professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, while journalists and media pros are also likely to have Twitter accounts. When promoting your content, write posts with search engine keywords in mind, and include a call to action to entice those who see the post to click.

On the content post, encourage discussions to keep readers engaged and coming back to posts by asking questions on the bottoms of posts, or by promoting a discussion via the post you share the content through. Don’t just copy and paste links into social networks or on message boards—experiment by sharing photos or videos from your content to better adapt to the network’s algorithm, and constantly test posting times and types of posts to optimize your reach.

Once you’ve built relationships with other influencers, share your content with them when you feel it’s relevant to their audiences. A successful content marketing strategy is based on how much value you provide for both an audience and those who help you share your content. Create and share with a philosophy focused on helping, and you’re on your way to strengthening your personal brand through content marketing.

7 Hot Trends Defining Your 2015 Content Strategy

Content marketing is an essential component in buyer engagement, social media, lead generation and online marketing. In fact, the power your content carries is growing by the day as new tactics and trends propel content development to new heights in brand publishing.

Blogging is not enough. Social media is not enough. There is a methodology that makes up smart content creation and it focuses on attracting, converting and inspiring your target audience — your clients and potential clients. Content needs to engage, inform and delight in order to build market identity, brand ambassadors and new opportunities for business growth and development.

What does this mean for your 2015 content strategy?

A comprehensive content marketing strategy is in order if you want to be not just a successful participant, but a winner, when it comes to creating effective content that fuels your brand awareness.

Your 2015 Content Strategy

Buyer Personas

Who are your buyers? Who is your target audience? Your buyer personas are the people you most want to engage. Your content needs to speak to their market interests, operational requirements, corporate goals, everyday problems, buying habits and even hobbies. In order to create content that is truly effectual, you must understand the customer demographics that compose your buyer personas:

• Who are they?
• What are their jobs?
• What are their behavior patterns?
• What are their professional goals?
• What power do they have in their businesses?

Identifying your buyer personas will result in your content being tailored for your ideal audience — leading to enthusiastic content shares and new client conversions.

Expansive Content Platforms

If you think blogging is enough in terms of content creation, you are not even competing in today’s content-rich marketing environment. Blogging is one small component in an increasingly robust content portfolio.

In 2015, the content winners will be those expanding their content machine to include everything from:

• white papers
• ebooks
• videos
• webinars
• email newsletters
• blogs
• podcasts
• timely social media posts
• guest blogs
• strategic landing pages
• visual content
• live presentations

Think of content as a palette – one with diverse colors all necessary in painting a successful portrait of your business and its branding.

Mobile Content

As the rise in smartphones and tablets continues, the requirement for mobile content rises. Your content is being viewed 24/7 on diverse mobile devices. Is your content empowered for today’s mobile buyers? A mobile-optimized website is required to deliver content that creates a positive user experience. Are your clients using their mobile devices for virtually everything? Of course they are. Why aren’t you?

Your content needs to be reflective of the paradigm shift that has impacted the professional landscape — the age of the mobile workforce. If your website isn’t mobile friendly, get with the times — fast. Keep in mind also that these same mobile surfers are also active on social media — so you had better be as well.

The Rise of Adaptive Content

According to the Content Marketing Institute, adaptive content is a content strategy technique designed to support meaningful, personalized, interactions across all channels. The urgency of supporting personalization that considers multiple channels is apparent from stats like these. Ninety-four percent of businesses say personalization is key to success. And 48 percent of shoppers say they prefer to use a smartphone to shop while actually standing inside stores.

Today’s consumers want to see personalization somewhere in your content stream. Why? It reflects not only your ability to relate to their motives, challenges and needs, but also expresses your desire to deliver a superior and uniquely tailored customer experience. Adaptive content can boost presale and marketing content, as well as influence post-sale engagement. Researching and incorporating elements of adaptive content will benefit your 2015 content strategy greatly.

Ample Visual Content

Visual content is streaming big in online marketing strategies today. People want to see people, places and things. They want visual engagement. They trust visual engagement. If your 2015 content strategy is devoid of videos and unique visual elements, rethink it. Incorporating visual content is extremely important, especially when trying to engage mobile viewers.

Get creative with infographics, memes, charts, graphs and even cartoons to tell your brand’s story and win over brand loyalists — especially on your social media platforms. Don’t have a Pinterest yet? Stop neglecting the opportunities visual content will create for your online marketing endeavors. Odds are, your competitors are moving in a visual content direction. Don’t be outdone or outdated.

Website Content Optimization

When it comes to the content you are putting out there, the most important place to position optimized content is your website. Your website content needs to be powered with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to fully leverage it  as a marketing tool and funnel for new clients. The content of your website should be designed to attract, convert and close customers. It is your single, most important sales tool. Your website can convert leads into new business.

However, if your website is not SEO optimized, how will anyone find you? Searchers are buyers. They are searching, right now to accomplish a task. Will your business pop up as they are searching? If you have effective SEO tactics in place, you stand an excellent chance of getting noticed. It all comes back to the strategy and quality that fuels your content. Remember, search engines crawl content to understand a website’s purpose. Next, they index content based on the perceived purpose of the content.

If your website is equipped with smart SEO, clear Calls To Action (CTAs) and content designed to engage the right buyers, your website is doing its job. If not, research the best SEO and CTA techniques for your business and make the adjustments necessary to turn your website from a simple window to an open door for customer acquisitions.

Going Inbound

You’ve no doubt heard the term inbound marketing, but do you know what it means? Inbound marketing is everything from optimizing blog content to generating website traffic and conversions with strategic white papers and more. Inbound marketing is about developing customer-centric content and leveraging that content to produce results — new clients. Inbound marketing is all about creating original content that engages your target audience — buyer persona — in a conversation.

According to HubSpot, inbound content best practices include researching and understanding buyer personas, creating content tailored to both your buyer’s persona and your buyer’s three journey stages — awareness, consideration and decision — and leveraging your content to serve your business goals by optimizing distribution channels.

Creating remarkable content that is delivered to your ideal audience via your blog, social platforms and website is the core of inbound content strategy. Go inbound in 2015 — and see how your buyers react.