craft content so people actually read it 📖

Today's challenge:

Craft an excellent piece of

internet-friendly content

Hi friend,

It's Day #4, and by now, you should have the following pieces of the blog post puzzle:

• A main keyword you want to write about
• A list of tail keywords and topics to include for a complete post
• A list of external sites you can link to
• An outline of your post with headlines and subheadlines
• A couple of ideas for your headline

(P.S. If you've not finished this because the KeySearch referral link didn't work for you yesterday, my apologies! Here it is: https://bit.ly/bfd-keysearch 🙌 Lesson learned: don't skip the QA, even on emails ;) I've been informed that the Free Trial isn't available anymore, so use the coupon KSDISC for 20% off)

Now it's time to fill in that skeleton with some great content. But there is something important you need to remember: Blogging is not a college essay.

It can be SO EASY to fall into a rut of writing like a robot.

Or...accidentally sound like a pretentious know-it-all 🙈

This is where your unique voice, your perspective, and your expertise (and a degree of vulnerability and humility) can make a difference.

These are my top 8 tips for writing content that holds people's attention online:

1. Headline is king

Yesterday you learned that the click-through rate on your headline is one of Google's more important factors when deciding how to rank your content.

But headlines are also important for promoting content on social media: You might have awesome content inside, but if your headline sucks, no one is gonna see it.

Instead, get creative with your headline. Spark interest. Be concise. And then deliver on that promise with a killer blog post.

My #1 Tip: Always come up with MULTIPLE VERSIONS of your headline before you choose one! It's worth it to get it right. It is a game-changer.

2. Make your post easier to scan with varied formatting

I know that blog post might feel like your magnum opus, but tragically, if you publish it online, no one is going to read every word.

The Internet skims.

And the sooner you understand this, the sooner you'll be able to write content that's optimized for it.

Try techniques like: Call-out boxes for important points and take-aways, shorter sentences and paragraphs, lists and summarizes (think: TLDR), plenty of headlines and sub-headlines, and bolding key phrases.

3. Shorten the intro (and the whole post)

Get to the good stuff, faster. Establish the answer to "Why should I care?" at the beginning and then dive into the valuable content people clicked-through for.

(P.S. this is a truth that applies to MANY kinds of content: YouTube videos, conference talks, writing newsletters 😉)

There are some topics where EPIC content is required, especially for SEO purposes. I'm talking 15,000 words or more. One way to find out if that's called for is to look at the length of the content that's already on Google's first page for your target keyword. Still, keeping paragraphs short will be a huge service to your readers!

4. Internal cliff-hangers

Internal cliff-hangers are an excellent way to keep your reader's attention and draw their eye down the page.

Until they're not.

(See what I did there?). A cliff-hanger works like that: it's a short, standalone sentence that surprises people or draws them to read the next sentence or paragraph for an explanation. Used sparingly, you can create suspense as you tell your story. Used excessively, it can get annoying.

5. Make it relatable

This is the number one thing I've learned about developers, especially from conference speaking:

Developers love relatable content. Especially if it involves one of the unique forms of misery that all developers share.

I recently saw a tweet that said, "Never spend 6 minutes doing something by hand when you can spend 6 hours failing to automate it."

It's almost a textbook example. We have ALL been there. In fact, you might notice some twitter accounts that basically do exclusively this. It's kind of like "that one weird trick to gain developer followers" which gets old after a while.

You don't need to go overboard or make it "your thing" that you're constantly complaining about a job you theoretically like doing.

But a bit of relatability, vulnerability, and being open can go a long way with establishing trust. You don't need to "perfect" in the eyes of your readers.

(And especially if your audience isn't developers, it's on you to get to know them and find out what their goals, fears, and struggles are. The only want to do it is to talk to people!)

6. Use humor

Great content entertains, educates, and inspires. Humor is a big part of that. But you don't have to be "traditionally funny" to make people laugh.

Developers go for all sorts of humor, just be mindful of what "translates" to the internet and what could be misunderstood.

Some people love self-deprecating humor, because it gives the audience permission to say "That happened to me too!" without feeling stupid. Some people love the "in jokes" because it makes them feel like part of an exclusive club (AKA the story behind almost every joke about Yaml). There are lots of forms of humor that work in developer content.

Ultimately, you need to find your own voice. But if you can bring a little bit of humor into it, that's one thing that makes people interested in reading what you have to say.

7. Be specific

One of the big blogging mistakes I see is blog posts filled with generalizations without any stories to back it up. (Ironically this is a bit of a generalization, but I'm not going to name and shame 🙊).

Avoid writing about hypotheticals and talking about "some people". Find a balance between sharing your story and specific experience and bringing value to your reader in an actionable format.

8. End with a call-to-action

My last tip, but one of the most important.

End your blog posts with a call-to-action! Don't just leave them hanging wondering, "What's next?" or they'll just close the browser tab. You can ask them to follow you on twitter, share your post, or even leave a comment.

As with so many things in life -- you just have to ask.

To formulate a great call-to-action, be specific. Here's an example, "What's the number one lesson you've learned since starting in tech as a junior developer? Tweet me @myusername and share your story."

These calls-to-action are a great way to spark a public conversation about your content and get feedback.

Here's my call to action! Your homework.

It's time to finish writing your first draft. Go ahead and spend some time with your post. Get a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or whatever beverage makes you feel creative. Don't over-edit, just let the ideas flow. We'll revise it later.

In the mean time, tomorrow we are FINALLY going to answer the question you've been waiting for: what can frozen chicken teach you about building an online audience 🍗

Make it count,

@monicalent

P.S. What's the your biggest hurdle to writing a blog post? A fear of imperfection, lack of ideas, or just not finishing that last 1%?" These are all really common reasons, maybe you can relate to them. Hit "Reply" to this and share your experience, especially if you think I can help!