Draw Readers Into Your Content [Without Driving Them Crazy]
As a content creator and/or blogger, how do you create content that draws your target audience further into your information without pissing readers off or diminishing the size of your following?
5 Reasons to drive readers deeper into your content offering
Beyond the obvious benefits of increased pageviews and time-on-site, here are five reasons to drive readers deeper into your content offering.
- Expands the potential topics you can cover. After mining a category for a while, content creators and bloggers may be at a loss for article ideas. (Here are 29 helpful hints for creating content.) Starting with content that attracts a large readership, create related information by going deeper into its different aspects in a more targeted and specialized way.
- Deepens your relationship with your existing base. You enhance your connection with those readers who go deeper into your content offering because they’re more engaged with you and your content.
- Establishes your thought leadership. By creating more content on the topic, you reveal the depth of your knowledge. This makes you a go-person on your area of expertise and translates to PR gold.
- Attracts more knowledgeable audience. More in-depth content reaches potential readers who thought your more basic content was too elementary for them. This can have the added benefit of reducing your competitors who may only focus on the broad market.
- Enables you to gain attention of influencers in your category. As an added benefit, providing deeper information helps raise your visibility among other experts in your field and provides access you might not have otherwise.
9 Content marketing tactics to increase reader consumption
Here are nine content marketing tactics to increase reader consumption without irritating your current readers and/or customers.
- Tailor content around customer questions and comments. Go into depth on topics where readers or prospects have expressed the need for more help. Marcus Sheridan calls this the secret sauce. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Gather insights from your comments, customer service and sales to guide your content development. Provide a special email address that’s above-the-fold to collect reader suggestions.
- Format your content to guide readers in. Face it—If your text looks like a dense academic journal article, chances are it’ll scare readers away from even the most elementary content. Think easy-to-read content. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Use small chunks of information, bolding headings, lists and tables to lead readers through the entire piece.
- Use photographs and graphics to convey complex ideas. Break information into visual chunks to enhance comprehension. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Enhance your information with images and infographics to help your audience better understand what you’re trying to say. Of course, don’t forget to incorporate your branding!
- Employ video and audio to explain concepts in real time. Understand that a large portion of your audience prefers to take in information visually or aurally. Therefore, they need to be shown how to do something works. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Offering more than one way to take in your content can broaden your information’s appeal.
- Use non-linear techniques to drive readers deeper into your information. Specifically incorporate links, asides and pop-ups. This allows readers to determine what depth of content they want. Remember the web isn’t linear (and neither are your readers.) Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Use color and typography to guide your readers. Also, ensure that non-linear techniques aren’t viewed as intrusive!
- Expand on articles that resonate with your audience. Use your content marketing metrics to determine which articles attract the type of audience you’re seeking to achieve your objectives. This doesn’t necessarily mean the most comments. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: One easy way to accomplish this is to create a show and tell article where you give examples.
- Use a relevant call-to-action to provide additional information. Guide readers to additional content. It can be more elaborate or detailed. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Make your call-to-action stand out visually. Also, ensure it’s contextually relevant.
- Survey readers to find out what they want. Don’t just guess about the type and level of content your audience finds suitable. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Ask them through the use of a question at the end of your articles, a survey or other feedback mechanism.
- Rate your content. Let readers know when material is more in-depth. Actionable Content Marketing Tip: Use a sub-title or ranking system to alert readers. Alternatively, let your readers rate your content. It’s another way to get valuable feedback.
You can provide more in-depth and/or advanced information without pissing your audience off by making it easier to digest. In the process, you’ll enhance your relationship with your readers.
What other ways have you used to make your content easier-to-consume?
Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen
Want to know more about content marketing? Then please join me at:
Hat tip to Mack Collier and the #BlogChat gang for inspiring this post.
Here are some related articles of interest:
- How to make the case for content marketing.
- 11 Tips to Get Your Content Marketing on Track [Research]
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/248030268
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