Even though every single post you write may not go viral, there're actionable steps you can follow to ensure you give every post you publish a good chance of getting more views, followers, and earnings.
In this post, I will be sharing with you strategies for creating successful articles on any blog or publishing platform like read.cash and Publish0x.
What does a successful post mean to you?
In the world of writers, a post is successful when:
You get more viewers and readers on it.
Your readers find it valuable and helpful. You added something to them.
You get more followers.
You earned more money on it.
This is only a general view of what a successful post looks like for most writers.
However, everyone can define what their end goal is for writing, and what success means to them.
The point is, determine what a successful post means to you and evaluate your performance based on that.
But this post will focus on the above highlighted general idea of a successful post.
How to write successful posts
Grab readers attention with clickbait post titles and thumbnails.
Arouse readers curiosity with an intriguing introduction.
Maintain readers attention by providing value in every paragraph.
Save readers time with a clean, easy to read text.
Get results with a sound conclusion and call to action (CTA).
Let's briefly discuss each of the above points below.
1. Use clickbaity (click-worthy) post titles
Nobody will get to read your post if they never click to open it in the first place. And if you don't give them a good enough reason to click, they wouldn't.
Your post title, therefore, will mostly determine whether your post will be successful or not.
Make your post titles attention-catching and clickbaity to stand out from the millions of other articles competing for the readers' attention.
Your post title should make people want to read the post, which will compel them to click and open it.
First, it should offer a promise or a hint of a solution. For example, look at the title of this post. It promises to tell you how to write successful posts. Every writer who wants to write successful posts will certainly click to open it and find out what strategies I have to discuss.
It should be short and clear. The obvious reasons why short post titles are encouraged is so that it doesn't get cut off on readers displays. People should be able to see the entire title at a glance and it should be easy enough to tell what the benefits of reading the post are from the title.
SEO is another factor but that's for another day.
I understand that the "clickbait" has been demonized. In truth is that clickbait titles in themselves aren't bad but how and why they used can be bad.
For example, if your post title claims that Donald Trump takes over the white house and the content of your post is just about his visit to Joe Biden, you're a cheat. And it's practices like this that gave clickbait its bad name.
But if your post content matches the clickbait title and you deliver on readers expectations, you're using clickbait titles properly. And you deserve every click and views it brings you.
2. Make the readers want to read the post with your introduction
If your post title is responsible for getting people to open the article in the first place, it's the responsibility of your introduction to get them to read it.
Your introduction should build interest and provide the reader with a clear overview and reasons why they should read the next paragraph.
Treat it as your elevator pitch and you have just a few seconds to make a roaming reader stop and settle down to listen to (read) what you have to say in your post.
If you succeed with a clickbait title and welcome the reader with a poor and confusing introduction, you will most likely lose them.
So you will want to write a short and clear message of what the post is all about, a provocative statement, etc that will get the reader interested in wanting to hear (read) more.
3. Offer value in every paragraph
Value could be some entertainment, new information, surprise piece of data, etc.
Every sentence and paragraph of your post should have a good reason why they're there.
Your word count is irrelevant. If you can communicate the same information in 500 words don't drag it to 1000 words to meet your imaginary word count quota.
But that's not an excuse to provide half-baked, poorly researched and incomplete information.
You want to be as detailed as possible and provide all relevant information about the topic you're writing on for the reader.
People can still leave you midway through reading your article if they find out that the rest of it is full of inaccurate or irrelevant "garbage". And remember the tipping, following, liking, sharing, and all the cool stuff are below the post.
To get them reading all the way to the bottom where can take all the actions you want them to take, you need to provide valuable and useful information in every paragraph.
If you cannot justify why a word, sentence, or paragraph is there, delete it.
4. Formating is important
Have you come across posts that look like the great wall of china? The best results such posts will get is blocking readers off.
Break your text into meaningful and coherent paragraphs under appropriate headings and subheadings to make reading and skimming easy for the reader.
Equally important is your grammar and spelling. Except you're talking about something the reader wants to learn about, they will close your post after reading too much poor grammar and bad spellings that almost makes the message you're trying to pass incomprehensible.
It's ok if you're not good at English, you can write and publish in your own language. Or better still, write in your language and translate it to English. Then run it through Grammarly for proofreading.
That way you can catch and correct some of the errors and minimize the likelihood of readers abandoning your post midway.
5. Get result with a sound conclusion and call to action
Finish your post with a concise conclusion and a call to action (CTA).
Your conclusion should highlight the main points or message you have discussed in the post.
You can make it more interesting by providing your personal perspective, expectations, possibly forecast if it's relevant to the topic.
Furthermore, a good CTA will ensure your readers know what you want them to do after reading the post.
It could be something as simple as asking them to comment, like, share, follow, or read another of your post or your affiliate partner's website.
Whatever it is, a good CTA is a perfect way of ending your post and getting results.
Conclusion
The primary dream of every writer is to be discovered, read, and appreciated. None of these will happen without you getting down to write and publish something somewhere.
However, getting published wouldn't do the magic.
A good post title will ensure that most people who come across your post click to open it. And your introduction is what makes them want to read the rest of the post.
Whether they read through to the end or abandon you midway depends on the value provided in your post and how you present it.
But one thing is for sure. If they managed to read everything you have written they will be more prone to take any action you suggest at the end of your post.
So, the next time you write a post, don't leave your readers confused. Tell them to share their feedback with you, share your post with their friends, follow you, or whatever action you want them to take.
What would you say has been responsible for the success of your posts so far? Share with us in the comments section below.
This is a great article, concise and easy to understand. And very true about click bait titles. They have become demonized. It is so important to deliver on the promise of the headline. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.