Imagine having a conversation with a new client. You’re trying to keep them engaged in what you have to say, but it’s clear they’re just looking for an escape. No matter what you have to say, or how enthusiastic you say it, they’re just not into it!
Does this sound familiar with your writing?
If you’re working double time to connect with your readers, and the results aren’t there, you can become extremely frustrated. This is a feeling many writers know all too well. While your articles may be getting plenty of views, your readers may not be interested in learning more.
Losing a connection with your audience, or never having one at all, can be upsetting. It’s not easy to establish healthy relationships, nurture existing ones, and build a fan base through your writing. Below are a few reasons why you may not be connecting with your readers and some advice on how to improve your approach.
Your Readers Don’t Know You Well: If your articles are your main go-to source of content for your readers, that’s something to be proud of. Your knowledge and experience should shine through in your articles. However, it’s also important that you provide the appropriate amount of information about you and/or your company in the Resource Box. Your Expert Author Page is also a place where you can include a brief description about yourself, a list of your goals, and links to your website(s). Be brief, but have a little fun with it! Show your readers how excited and passionate you are about your niche.
The Formal Approach Falls Flat: It’s not too often an author’s audience demands a formal writing style only. You want your content to appeal to a wide variety of readers without alienating anyone by accident. You should be aiming somewhere in the middle with your writing style. Use humor, mild sarcasm, and vibrant formatting on occasion. Be careful not to get too technical or lazy in your presentation. Slow and steady will carry your article far, provided you get to the point soon enough to deliver your best content.
You’re Not Standing Out: Having an informal approach to your writing is one thing, but it’s even more important to produce unique content for your readers. Your articles and writing method need to stand out. Your strengths should be visible and you should develop a recurring theme in your articles, such as a quote in the beginning or bold, consistent headlines. If your articles are just a few paragraphs with nothing that pops out at your readers, it will be just that, a few more boring paragraphs of fluff. Here is more information on learning how to stand out in your niche.
Lengthy Articles with Too Many Sources: Now a few paragraphs may seem a bit on the weak side, but it’s even worse if your article takes an entire afternoon to read! There’s a place for research papers and essays. This place is not in your articles. Using too many sources and dragging out every detail will most likely overwhelm your readers. Keep your articles between 500 and 700 words and you’ll be seeing your hard work pay off in the end. Your articles will be read all the way through.
Your Message is Confusing: Keep it simple! The last thing you want to do is confuse your readers or leave out crucial details in your message. Communicate your tips and advice clearly and keep them engaged without going over their heads. An easy way to keep them focused is to outline your article in the beginning and then recap at the end so nothing is lost in translation. Be professional and don’t try to be too cute or subtle in your message. Your readers shouldn’t be reading your articles over and over just to get the point!
Forced Content or Promotion: Many article submission sites have a minimum word count they need to enforce. This is to keep articles with 1 sentence or a paragraph of derivative junk out of publication. However, if you are forcing extra content into your writing because you ran out of ideas, this is a bad practice and you will lose some readers. You should never add in sentences that don’t contribute value to your content. You should also avoid any promotional content until you reach the Resource Box. You can learn more about this in our recent article, A Quick Reminder on Promotion in Your Articles.
You’re Not Teaching Enough: There are many ways to write and share content with your audience. Most articles should educate and inform your readers. Look back at some of your articles. Each bullet point should stand out on its own. You should know your readers and spark their interest by giving them something they haven’t learned before. Raise interesting questions and give them a desire to read further! Teach through your writing; don’t just list things that could be helpful.
It takes practice and technique to connect with your readers. Make sure you realize that once you gain an audience, you must work on keeping them around! They won’t be there forever if you don’t put the work in. If you haven’t read our last article on this topic, we recommend you read 7 Keys to Repair a Severed Connection with Your Audience.