Monday, December 27, 2010

Writing WordPress Blog Posts That Hypnotize

WordPress is one of the most highly touted blog platforms in the world. Its massive user base is incredibly passionate and resourceful. And the updates just keep making WordPress better and better. Unfortunately, for the WordPress user, this means that they have massive competition on the web today. Of course, this isn't just from other WordPress users, but they are included. You need ways to differentiate your blog from the rest of the crowd. You need things that make your blog posts literally hypnotize your readers.
Is there anything more boring than reading a blog post about someone's cat? Now, I'm not opposed to cats, but unless I personally know you (and even then), I don't want to read an entire post about your cat. But posts about cats aren't the only ones that bore people to tears. Most blog writers have no idea how to capture their readers.
Writing effective blog posts is not like normal writing. Writing blog posts that really grab people are very rare. But what do these writers know that the others don't? Well, first, they understand that having someone's attention is a privilege. Most writers look at it the other way around. As such, you need to understand that you probably have 5 seconds to convince someone to keep reading your post. That's it. How would you write if you only had 5 seconds to sell someone to read your post? Well, you would start with a catchy title. You wouldn't write the title "The Importance of Saliva." Nope, don't do it. You would write something like "Why Saliva Keeps You Alive." See the difference? There is nothing in the first one that remotely makes me want to read on. The second is much more alluring.
Okay, so you have written a nice title. You have garnered maybe another 10 seconds from your reader. That's an incredible step. Now, don't let your readers down. Your very next paragraph should punch them between the eyes. Lead into your subject and keep them wanting more. Maybe you would tell them facts about how much saliva your body produces in a day. It's gross and incredible. And then maybe you would start to tell them about the enzymes in the saliva. And then you would leave them hanging on how exactly it keeps you alive.
Don't answer the reader's curiosity in the first paragraph. If you do, you will relieve the tension and they will move on. You want to lead them into the body of your post. You want to hypnotize them with your words. And then you want to deliver something great. Don't lead them on and then not deliver. No one likes a tease.
If you follow these simple ideas, I can guarantee that your writing will improve. Writing blogs is like writing articles in a newspaper. You need to grab their attention, build tension, keep them wanting more, and then deliver. It's that simple.


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