A-ha! Made ya look! As ridiculous as our title is, there’s something valid to be said about it — and no, it isn’t that even an unborn child, Kardashian though it is, can write a blog. Whether your blog creation can grab someone’s attention by the lapels happens in a split second. In InternetLand, the information slides fast and loose and the stuff we actually stop on has to really pique our collective interest. Nicolas Carr wrote a great piece for The Atlantic the other day about how we’ve turned into a nation of scanners and how maybe Google is melting our brains. At least, I think that’s what it was about. I couldn’t finish the whole thing. Nevertheless, these observations bring up all kinds of interesting questions, like whether it’s even worth your time blogging for this generation of barely-readers and super-scanners. And aside from lies about celebrities, how do you get readers to actually look at your blog?
We say blogging for business is a worthy fight to be had, despite the pervasive societal attention span which resembles that of a hummingbird with ADHD. In fact, one could argue that for every glance an article or blog gets, there could be as many, if not more, legitimate reads thanks to the smartphone and tablet revolution. Meaty and readable content is highly sought after, so diligent marketing can help any blog about anything get in front of the right audience. Also, the addiction to short reads and scannable blog posts is actually a blessing. Posting great images and videos instead of lengthy articles a few times a week saves you time while creating the kind of posts perfect for busy blog audiences on the go.
When it comes to the matter of reeling readers in, don’t be afraid to add some pop to your titles. Memorable, funny, shocking and intriguing headlines will slow down even the fastest scanner in the bunch. Sure, promising topless photos of Kate Middleton is probably not the way to go, particularly if you’re a nonprofit for orphans. But using your headline to give readers a taste of the brilliance to be found in your company’s blog is exactly what a great headline should do. An ace blog content management team can take the best and most interesting points of your posts to create kick-butt, must-read headlines. If, however, you are referencing a celebrity, hot stories, a new product or hit pop culture phenom in a blog post, make sure you do put it in the title and tag that puppy so new readers can come and find you.
Leave a Reply