8 Fail-Safe Ways To Make Your Articles Irresistible To Read
Let’s dissect articles from top Medium authors and see what makes them stand out.
Writing is an art that only a few have truly mastered.
The biggest lesson I have learned from 2+ years of writing is that no one owes you their attention.
No one owes it to you to read your work. It’s your job to make people feel like they’re missing out on a goldmine if they fail to read your work.
Your view count is often a reflection of the quality of your writing (it took me a while to understand this).
Instead of feeling bad for yourself, as I used to do, invest your time and energy in learning how to hook readers in and get them to read till the end using the tried and tested methods I’m going to share.
I’m not going to bore you with “writing tips” here.
Instead, I’ll show you how eight different writers, including some of the very best here on Medium, manage to generate thousands of views with each post.
Tip #1: Don’t avoid being controversial
Given how politically correct today’s world is, most writers tend to zip their lips when it comes to controversial topics to avoid alienating their audience or ‘triggering’ a particular set of people.
These days, when I’m watching an interview on TV and the interviewee is asked to give their opinion on a hot-button topic, I expect the same vanilla, “play it safe” response from them.
And guess what? 90 per cent of the time, I ended up being right.
And no, it’s not because they actually believe what they said. They just don’t want to deal with the shit storm that saying what they truly believe will unleash.
I can’t blame them for being guarded. These days, there are severe repercussions for voicing an opinion that’s against the “narrative”.
Time and again, we have seen people lose their hard-earned jobs, get deplatformed and have their reputations tarnished for saying what they were not supposed to say.
I just want a world where people can disagree with each other and call out societal BS without fear of losing their livelihood, or worse, their life.
But here’s the problem — human beings hate clichés.
Our brains are wired to respond strongly to new opinions. We don’t want to hear the same vanilla take on critical issues that everyone is giving. We want to hear your unique opinion.
Take a stand. It’s either you’re for this or for that.
Don’t take a stand in-between like most people do. People can tell if you are a person with character by reading your work.
A writer on Medium who exemplifies this pure authenticity is Ayodeji Awosika. Here’s a snippet from one of his recent posts:
Here’s another one, this time a comment, where he defends Andrew Tate even though half the world wanted his head:
Saying what you truly believe makes you come across as authentic and reliable.
In addition, as we’ve seen time and again, making bold polarizing statements can attract people who simultaneously love and hate what you say.
It’s better to be hated for who you are than loved for someone you’re not.
Tip #2: Tell stories
This is the oldest tactic in the book, yet the most effective.
Remember back when you were a kid and your dad was telling you your favorite bedtime story?
Remember how entranced you were?
Research has found that when you listen to a story or read one, your brain waves harmonize with those of the storyteller.
You start to imagine why they did what they did, how they felt, what they saw, and so on. This in turn enables a deep connection between you and the storyteller.
Let’s see an example of super captivating storytelling. This one is from one of Sean Kernan’s recent articles:
He’s telling the story of how his friend was able to get girls even though he wasn’t “special.”
Telling stories is a fail-safe way to connect with your audience. Your stories can be about real-life events or an illustration that serves the purpose of simplifying an otherwise difficult or boring subject.
Tip #3: Write with energy
I know what you’re thinking: “How does one write with energy?”
Energetic writing is one that incites a strong feeling in you. The author does this by using power-packed words, swear words, and an active voice (as opposed to a passive one), amongst others.
Above all, to make your writing energetic, you must learn to put your thoughts into words.
As usual, let’s take a look at an example. The title and subtitle of this post by Lipika have some really seductive things going on:
Notice what she did with the subtitle 👏
I have read pieces that spoke to my emotional core in a way that made me want to stand up and start doing push-ups.
No, literally. The following snippet from one of Ayodeji Awosika’s recent posts is a great example:
Damn!
It feels like he’s talking to me, and I bet you feel the same way, right?
Tip #4: Make your content relatable
I can guarantee you it’s going to be boring if your content is for everyone. This is because it’s not going to relate to a vast majority of your audience.
What you should instead do is write content for a particular target audience and cover subjects and ideas that relate to the members of that audience. In simple terms, know your audience and know what you’re talking about.
This kind of ties back to the second example in Tip #3. Ayo knows his audience, and that’s why he writes with such conviction and energy.
For this section, we’ll use another writer whose work I absolutely adore reading.
Mona Lazar’s articles on relationships are very relatable because she knows her audience and knows what she’s talking about.
Here’s one statement she made that I think most men will agree with:
She even adds why she knows men are clueless at deciphering interests — she has seen it happen a lot of times!
Let’s take a look at another one, this time from Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi:
She highlights behaviors induced by social media in such a way that anyone who’s used Instagram can relate to.
Tip #5: Write in a casual, personal voice
There are over 1090029019 writers on the internet, and you’re one of them.
The biggest question you must ask yourself is this — “how do I make my writing stand out from the other hundreds of thousands of writers?”
My answer? Your Voice.
A lot of writers prefer writing in a strict, professional and authoritative voice. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, and in fact, it’s advisable to use that strategy if you’re writing certain kinds of content (such as How-To Guides).
However, the problem with adhering strictly to a professional voice is that it often leads to boring and uninteresting content.
The only way you can stand out from the legion of writers is to blend your personality into your blog writing and embrace a more natural, conversational tone.
As an example of writing in a personal voice, let’s take a look at another one of Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi’s posts:
Notice how casual and conversational her tone is? That’s the exact reason why people love to read her work!
Tip #6: Use metaphors and figurative language
Remember that your readers are children — they need to be entertained.
By using metaphors and unique illustrations, you can turn a boring subject into an interesting one. Both offer you some much-needed creative flexibility.
Writing in figurative language allows you to captivate your readers and go beyond the direct, boring way of writing.
Take a look at this example from Tim Denning.
If he had said: “A large segment of LinkedIn are upset over a trivial issue”, it would’ve been boring — right?
His clever use of metaphor brightened that sentence and hooked the reader. Personally, I did a Google search to discover the meaning of that idiom.
One very effective use of metaphors is to liken a complex idea or topic to one that most people are familiar with.
For example, if you’re explaining how the internet works, you can liken it to something that most people are familiar with, such as a library.
Remember, it’s all about creativity.
Tip #7: Include Images and Videos
As humans, we’re naturally captivated by visually attractive content.
In fact, using images and videos are excellent ways to turn an otherwise bland, boring piece into a much more interesting one.
The following example is from a piece I recently stumbled into, written by Mr Henriquez.
Notice how the video instantly lights up the article. I also have to commend Mr Henriquez for using a visually appealing thumbnail! 👏
Try to divide your large content with good images that relate to the subject at hand — they could be pictures of the subject, funny GIFs or illustrations to explain a topic (including infographics).
Tip #8: Include Unique facts and Statistics
Have you ever read something and thought, “wow! I never knew that”?
As a writer, the people reading your work partly do so to discover something that they do not already know.
Wherever possible, include facts and statistics in your work to liven it up. Do not forget to cite them — it’s bad to steal 😉.
Take a look at this example from Krishna V Chaudhary.
I believe that most people reading this article are unaware of where the word “Plagiarism” originates from (me included). Now we’ve learned something new.
You can now see why it’s beneficial to add interesting facts to your articles.
Conclusion
As I said at the beginning of this article, no one owes you their attention. You have to work to earn it.
With the tips I shared in this article, you’ll be unstoppable at commanding attention with your words.
Always keep in mind that the best way to learn is by reading the works of other writers. I recommend reading from at least 8 different writers every day.
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