How to Write Captivating Content That People Will Want to Read Repidetely Without Resorting to Dirty Tactics: for SaaS and Startup Professionals
this isn’t another “tips for writing on Medium”
Writing is both the most important and the most challenging skill to master.
I have been writing for the last 24 months on platforms such as Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit.
Writing is tougher than it appears because it requires clarity of thought. When you talk to someone, you often speak on autopilot without carefully considering your sentence construction. You simply convey your random thoughts to the person in front of you.
To illustrate this, take a transcript of any YouTube video (you can use the Glasp add-on) and try to read it. Within roughly 7.5 seconds, you’ll realize how unclear and unstructured the text is.
This is indicative of how we communicate verbally; we don’t consciously frame our conversation with a beginning, a clear subject, a specific message, and an intended outcome.
In writing, though, you must be mindful of these elements to ensure that your audience finds your work readable and engaging. In this essay, I will demonstrate what you need to do to enjoy writing, craft engaging content, and create outstanding pieces that stand out from the rest.
Let’s begin.
Don’t write purely for engagement
Let’s be real: many people start writing to market themselves.
If your only goal in writing is to make money or gain social media attention, you’ll likely fall short.
I’ve read plenty of these types of essays, and I must confess that I made the same mistakes during my early writing days.
Writing is a skill that requires dedication and passion. You must be in it for the long haul. You need to have a drive and take pride in your work.
You should be eager to share your writing because you know it will resonate with people and inspire reactions like, “Wow, I didn’t know that!” or “That’s really interesting.”
The world doesn’t need writers who churn out articles using simple prompts in chatbots like ChatGPT.
What the world needs are thinkers — people who can take complex issues like economics and break them down in an understandable and engaging way.
People want to read content that educates, entertains, and introduces them to new perspectives about their world.
Most writing you see is very boring and similar because it states the obvious and becuse it is following the same formula.
For example:
Problem: How to lose weight?
Solution: Eat less and work more!
Outcome: You will feel better about yourself!
Are you for real?
Almost all the content you read is the same, just phrased differently. The reason this is boring to read is because you already know the answer in the first few seconds.
It’s like watching a movie where you already know the ending. There’s no drama, no tension and nothing to anticipate.
To make this more engaging and more interesting to read, you have to approach it differently.
For example:
Problem: How to lose weight?
Solution: Use systematic thinking to understand how emotions drive your behavior to eat.
Outcome: Now you understand how your brain unconsciously controls your behavior and how to change it.
See, this is more interesting. What I did was take the problem and explain it from a systems-thinking perspective. If you’re not familiar, systems thinking is a way to understand how all parts of a system affect each other.
In the above example, what is driving the overeating behavior is usually emotion or old memories. So to solve this problem, you need to address those deeper issues first and not just look for the latest diet fad.
This is why diet programs don’t work — your brain is faster than your rational thinking.
Here are some other ways to make your content more intriguing and engaging:
One effective method is through data interpretation.
Take existing data and analyze it from your own perspective. For instance, I write about how people make buying decisions. I might take some data from The Economist and explain how it impacts our purchasing behavior.
The Houthi attacking ships in the Red Sea? Here’s how that will influence what and how you buy.
OpenAI released a new version of ChatGPT? Here’s how it will affect you and change your buying habits.
The formula is simple: take an event happening in the world (if you’re unsure where to start, check Google Trends to see what people are talking about) and offer your unique viewpoint on it.
This leads me directly to the second point.
Know What You’re Writing About — Have Deep Knowledge
To write effectively, you need a comprehensive knowledge of the subject. This was something I didn’t grasp initially. You must understand your field deeply, from A to Z, and know exactly what you’re talking about.
If you don’t, readers will sense the lack of depth. This is why I enjoy reading publications like HBR, The Economist, Nature and the Stanford Review. They take complex topics and provide unique perspectives.
For example, a psychologist , Jordan Peterson might explain how AI advancements could reshape the future, or an AI expert like Yann LeCun might compare the cognitive processes of cats and humans.
These experts have a profound and varied understanding of their fields, allowing them to uncover non-obvious connections.
There are no shortcuts or easy ways around it. You need to invest a lot of time in studying and writing, repeatedly refining your skills. This is crucial because your reputation is at stake.
Your Reputation
People form their perception of you based on what you write.
They assess who you are, your expertise, intelligence, reliability, sense of humor, and whether you are someone they would enjoy being around.
If you write sloppily, others may think poorly of you, even if that’s far from the truth.
I was reviewing my top articles (the above screenshot), and while they weren’t the best written, the way I presented the information engaged readers.
They believed I knew what I was talking about. I realized this when, after I wrote the article “Why Cost Of Living Is So High?” a friend asked for my perspective on the topic and wanted to know what I thought would happen next with rising prices.
So, always strive to write well. People will notice the quality from the very first sentence.
Final thoughts
There is no doubt that this is the most challenging and crucial skill to master. Writing allows others to see the world through your eyes. They experience what you experience, almost as if they are in the same room as you.
Imagine that every time you write something, it’s as if your potential client is right there with you, listening to what you have to say (assuming you have something valuable to share).
Now, multiply that by all the people who read it online, and you have an enormous reach that even Hemingway could only dream of. Do not write poorly; write about something you are passionate about.
Nikita
