Blogging is about a lot more than just writing some information, sharing a press release, or a “how to”. Truly captivating blogging is an art form; it’s storytelling, theater, and education all rolled into one… it’s a science and an art form all rolled into one.
This means that you can write the most brilliant, intellectually stimulating, informative blog posts in the world, but if they can’t capture people’s imagination, and hold their attention, they’re pretty much worthless.
As an example of this, try reading a 500 page data book… then try reading a biography or fiction novel filled with images, plot twists, vivid image descriptions, emotional connections, and all the elements of the human experience.
Blog Posts Are Meant To Be Interesting
Most people will talk about being interesting, writing interesting content, and making your posts interesting.
But if I asked you what the word “interesting” meant in one sentence, what would you tell me?
If you look up the definition of interesting, you’ll find the following:
Arousing a FEELING of interest.
If you think about anything you’re interested in, it’s because it stimulates your FEELINGS to hold your attention in some way.
Now, let’s look up the definition of boring:
Not interesting; tedious.
Being Interesting Is About Stimulating Emotions
Have you ever wondered why people are passionately, obsessively addicted to sports?
There’s absolutely NO LOGIC or educational value to them whatsoever.
In fact, sports and music, for the most part, only do one thing:
Stimulate emotions… people love the tension; wondering who’s going to win, waiting to see what’s going to happen from one play to the next; that sense of not knowing, then talking about it with their friends the next day, and that sense of sharing and belonging with people… it’s all to stimulate EMOTIONS
And why do people keep coming back to these things again and again?
To experience more of these FEELINGS.
Tell A Story With Your Blog Posts
You talk about drama, tell stories, talk about things that have a lot of intense emotion in them.
For example, when talking about search, Google originally spoke not about their revolutionary algorithm; they spoke about how they would revolutionize the way we access information by putting all the world’s information together within one click.
Apple didn’t build computers; they built tools to help creative people unleash their potential, and have the power to make their dreams a reality.
Starbucks doesn’t sell coffee; they sell a third place between work and home where you can go to relax and be yourself in a comfortable atmosphere.
Focus On The Experience
Our minds think in pictures, and we connect pictures to emotions.
For example, if I say things like “productivity” or “communication” that are just ideas, notice how there’s no connection; they’re just words.
But, now, if I say things like “your first kiss” and “eating pizza”, which describe actual sensory and tactile experiences that you have emotions, thoughts, and feelings connected with, I’ve just engaged your imagination, and gotten you emotionally involved in what I’m talking about.
By engaging your imagination, I’ve also done something very subtle, but also very powerful; I’ve gone from talking at you to actually communicating with you.
I’ve gone from just talking at you with words, to engaging your imagination by creating a full sensory experience, getting your emotions going and, as a result, holding your attention on what I’m talking about by getting your mind and body focused on everything I’m saying.
I actively got your imagination involved in what I was saying inside YOUR head.
If I say dog, you immediately get an image of a dog in your mind, the thoughts and feelings associated with it, and I’m holding your attention by directing your mind, and creating emotions.
This is also very powerful because, by imagining/thinking/feeling my ideas in your head, you saw the images and thoughts in your head as YOUR idea, not mine (you can imagine how powerful this is for marketing!).
How You Tell It
Remember that keeping a person interested in what you’re talking about often has little to do with the content (although this does matter), and far more to do with how you present the content, and if you can keep your readers emotionally involved in what you’re writing about.
If you can tell an effective story, they’re going to what to keep reading, regardless of how informative or practical it is, because it’s entertaining, compelling, and engaging (think about the kind of television we watch).
I also want to mention this doesn’t mean you can just go out and write crappy content, but instead that you should strive to create the most amazing content you can, and then enhance it using these techniques to captivate your reader’s attention, hold their emotions, and get them personally involved and invested in whatever you’re writing about.
And the best part is that these simple tricks take practically no effort to apply once you understand them, yet they can literally skyrocket your success in blogging, or in any piece of content or communication you create, and the more you use this formula the more natural and effortlessly you’ll be able to apply it, and the more powerful your communication will become.
By Guest Author – Chris Nosal is a marketing expert who provides marketing advice his Apple Marketing Secrets blog. You can visit his blog to learn more about him, read his free eBook, or get more free content, tips, and advice. You can also connect with Chris on his Facebook and Twitter profiles.
