This Little Handbook of Writing Next Gen Clickbait Contents is Everything
See what I did there? That my friend, is one of the most important steps of creating some articles people will click on. Even though it looks like the thousand other baits on the internet, most of us will get lured into clicking it like a dog chases a ball which was never thrown. In essence, click baiting is a modern marvel, a masterpiece, created by young digital minds around the world who has closely observed human behavior and learned to exploit the deepest insecurities of human mind.
So here’s how you do it.
Step 1: Choose a topic. A Trivial One
If you are considering doing a click bait article I am automatically assuming that there is no substantial content which you can write about. So, start by picking a trivial topic. Something that everybody probably already knows. And then consider it as something marvelous as “life-hack” because who doesn’t like to see 10 different ways of ruining a bunch of plastic bottles and turning them into beautiful garbage?
But all click bait contents does not need to be life-hacks. You can also make do with a bunch of filter-burned travel pictures you saved from Instagram or some highly retouched steamy pictures of celebrities and you’re good to go.
Step 2: Give it a click bait worthy title
Once you’ve selected a topic, you have to work on the title. Remember, the title is half of the game. This IS the bait. Your title must seem like it will make life like never before after anyone reads the article. Here are a few tips:
Tip 1: Use absolute superlatives even though the topic is mediocre at best:
“These Breathtaking Photos of Dhaka Traffic Jam Is Everything”
Tip 2: Use earth-shattering reactions for very simple and down to earth events. For bonus points blame the “internet” for the said reaction.
“This Kid Told a Nursery Rhyme and The Internet Lost It”
Tip 3: Use the tried and tested method of listing down things to make your article feel like a shortcut to amazing life.
18 Places You Must Visit before You Earn A Living
Finally, if you want to be a pro, you must mash all these up to form the ultimate mother-of-clickbait-titles.
“5 Absolutely Priceless Cat Reactions to Game of Thrones’ Last Episode That the Internet just can’t get enough of”
Step 3: Start the article with a layer of fat
Once you start writing the article, your sole objective would be to hold the attention of your reader just long enough so that Google Analytics counts it as a ‘visit’. No matter what you’re writing the endgame is that magical number of visits (or likes/or claps/or whatever the number you’re into).
Start by describing the topic very broadly but very vaguely. Keep it just long enough to fill a paragraph. Then use a GIF using a famous pop culture reference. You can get plenty at Giphy. For example, if your article is called “7 Chocolate Hacks That’ll Change Your Life”, it should start like this:
Who doesn’t love chocolate? We all do right? In case you’re living in a cave at the far end of the world, you must have heard of chocolates. Even the underwater square sponge loves it!
Step 4: The Actual Material
Next comes the gist of the article; everything that you have hyped up to this point. Spit it out right about here.
OK. let’s move on.
Step 5: The Reaction
Since you’re writing a clickbait article you have to anticipate that the actual material of your content might not live up to the hype you’ve created so far. But clickbait writers can deploy another crazy technique that’ll surely impress the readers: Reaction GIFs. A well placed reaction GIF will cue the reader towards the right reaction that you so badly want
Clickbait articles can be a great way out if you don’t have good content. Sure you have to let go of your basic dignity, but in return you get your long awaited clicks and views. You can avoid all the hassle of researching, writing and editing good contents and just focus on these little tips.
