The Cringy Trend That’s Turning Off Your Readers — and Even Making Them Unsubscribe

“Ick”— as Gen Z’s say

Photo by Dex Ezekiel on Unsplash

Writing online is all about retention and engagement

Whether you’re posting on Medium, X, or your own personal blog, it all comes down to the same three core principles:

• Attract readers
• Retain their attention
• Garner engagement

Here’s what these three elements look like on Medium

Attract readers:

• Impactful publication and tags
• Attention-grabbing title
• Big juicy hook

Retain their attention:

• Written in an easy-to-read format
• Relatable language
• Interesting, informative story

Garner engagement:

• Hot topics that draw the reader to reply
• Asking important questions
• Tugging at their heart strings

Do these three things and you will not have to do this ridiculously cringy thing that’s turning off your…