The role of a journalist is to engage readers from the start and compel them to read right through to the end of a piece. In an information-heavy society competition is inevitably rife, but journalists come armed with a few tricks up their sleeves designed to maintain reader interest from start to finish:
1. Headlines are Everything
You cannot expect to compel readers with your content marketing if your message doesn’t stand out right from the start. You can do this by creating a top headline that triggers enough interest to get the reader to click through.
In journalism, a good or bad headline can make or break the success of the article. Journalists know the importance of a good headline in attracting reader interest, and journalists have learnt the art of crafting a headline that is the perfect balance between informative and catchy.
Headlines should ask questions, spark curiosity or surprise and even broach negative language. President Barack Obama’s email marketing campaigns place a heavy focus on subject lines, as the team of experts behind his marketing campaigns know just how important titles are in capturing audience attention.
2. Know your Audience
Journalists start out with little knowledge of who their readers really are, so they immerse themselves in topics or spend plenty of time with the individuals they are writing about before creating their content.
For instance, famous British journalist, Louis Theroux, immerses himself in the world of the individuals he is reporting on so that he can learn all about them first hand and bring his audience an in-depth, first-hand account into their world (famous meetings include American Nazis, believers in UFOs and drug addicts).
You can’t expect to craft compelling content if you don’t know your audience well enough. It’s imperative to know who your exact target market is so that you can tailor your content around their interests and appeal to them using language they know and use. You also need to write in a knowledgeable way that demonstrates your expertise on the subject.
3. Give it a long shelf life
Journalists know that meaningful content is content that possesses a long shelf life. Yes, there will be reports on breaking news that need to be published, but content such as interviews and feature stories can also be created – this type of content has a more classic, evergreen feel to it that continues to attract interest over the long run.
Craft content that your readers can return to time and time again. By updating this type of content every few months, you can repost it in future and also upload it to your social media pages so that your readers can revisit it again and enjoy it.
4. Keep your ears to the ground
Finally, journalists have their ears to the ground at all times so that they can easily source potential stories. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, events and goings-on so that you can always have interesting content to write about.
Need a powerful content marketing strategy that generates premium results? Look no further. Contact 8 Ways Media today for more information, or fill in our quotation form for your free, no obligation quotation.
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