Three Tips for Writing Blog Posts To Capture Your Readers’ Attention

Three Tips for Writing Blog Posts To Capture Your Readers’ Attention

Picture your potential reader. She’s scrolling social media posts on her phone, quickly skimming her emails, and maybe listening to music or having a conversation. Her attention is scattered, so what’s going to make her stop to read your blog post?

Let’s take a look at three ways your blog post can capture your readers’ attention.

  1. Titles/headlines matter. 

What’s the first thing your readers will read? Your title. So if your title doesn’t capture their interest, they probably won’t read your post.

Here’s a free tool to help you write engaging titles, and I recommend you use it for every post: Headline Studio. When you type in your headline, you’ll immediately get a score and analysis of your title. 

For example, I was writing a blog about negative emotions. I typed in the title, “What Should We Do With Our Negative Emotions?” I got a score of 60, not good enough. I always aim for 70 or higher, so I kept trying a variety of titles. Eventually I landed on, “How Can We Handle Our Negative Emotions in a Godly Way?” with a score of 76. 

Here’s another great thing about this tool — you’ll get feedback for crafting a more engaging title, making this a great learning tool as well.

      2. Write a “how-to” post. 

Craft a blog with lists, tips or how-tos. Why are these blog posts so popular? First, these types of posts are ranked higher by Google. Want proof? Try Googling “how to write a blog post that engages my reader.” The first thing you’ll see is a post with a list.

Notice how this is connected to the first point — get that “how to” in the title and you’re more likely to get your readers’ attention, along with a higher ranking. 

      3. Focus on your readers’ felt need or problem. 

Your problem is that your baby won’t fall asleep, so you Google “how to get my baby to sleep.” You want to learn more about social media, so you Google “how to create engaging Instagram posts.” That how-to phrase identifies your readers’ need or problem.

When you are blogging, you need to know who you’re writing to and what their needs are. If you’ve been blogging and/or posting on social media for a while, notice what your readers respond to. Notice which posts get the most interaction. These are the posts that are appealing to your readers’ felt need or problem.

We’re blogging because we care about a topic, but more importantly we care about our readers. We want to reach them with the help and encouragement we offer in our blog post. Using these three tips ensures our reader’s attention will go from scattered to focused, she’ll stop to read our blog post, and she’ll benefit from what we’ve shared. 

I’m so glad you’re here,

Melanie Chitwood

Take some time this week to revise one of your blog posts. Try using the Headline Studio tool to improve your title. Consider creating a list, tips or a “how-to” post. Feel free to share your post in the blog comments section for us all!

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Melanie Chitwood is a writer, writing coach and editor. She’s the author of Harvest House books: What a Husband Needs from His Wife and What a Wife Needs from Her Husband. For the past six years, she’s been a writing coach and editor, working with Christian nonfiction writers of all abilities. Her favorite times are spent with family and friends around her farm table, playing games, telling stories and laughing hard. She’s a former Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker and writer and is excited to be back with Proverbs 31 Ministries. You can connect with Melanie on her blog at melanieschitwood.com.

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