10 years of writing online and 100 million views later, here are 10 big lessons I've learned about how to capture and keep people's attention in the digital world. 1/ Consistent output is the secret to every growth metric on the internet: views, comments, Likes, shares, etc.
2/ The way you “win” the game of online writing is by creating the single best possible version of whatever form of writing you’re using in your chosen category. If you cannot become the "best" in an existing category, you need to create a NEW category for yourself.
3/ Anytime you fail to deliver on your promise to a reader, you’ve lost them. The key to engagement is to constantly reinforce that every promise you make, you keep. (This means don't make BIG claims in headlines you can't/don't deliver on inside the content itself).
4/ The size of your audience is a direct reflection of the size of the question you’re answering. Big questions ("How can I make more money? How can I have a healthier relationship?") are more universal. Thus, bigger audiences. Niche questions, smaller audiences.
5/ You are not the main character in your story. The reader is. In everything you create, even if you're telling a personal story, you have to bring things back to how or why it matters to the reader and their own personal experience. This is true for stories, news, content, etc.
6/ The single most effective way to “promote” yourself without promoting yourself is to use you, your company, or your product as context to the thing you’re explaining to the reader. Ex: "The habits I'm about to share with you are the same ones on our wall here at the office."
7/ The best way to continue earning a reader’s loyalty is to direct them from a piece of written content they already find valuable, to a longer, more extensive resource they will want to bookmark forever. Each link + new resource should build upon the last one.
8/ Volume wins. The best-selling authors, musicians, YouTubers, Instagram influencers, etc., all share 1 thing in common. They ALL produce a massive amount of content, and they all have libraries going back years (if not decades). Quality attention is a long game.
9/ The Golden Intersection of capturing people's attention is: Answering The Reader’s Question x Telling Them An Entertaining Story. If you only do the former, you're impersonal. The latter? You're self-serving. But if you can do both, you win.
10/ Attention comes and goes. Some days, you'll go viral and see a massive spike in attention. Most other days, you'll fly under the radar. The goal isn't "home runs." The goal is to build a CONSISTENT library SO BIG, your voice can stand the test of time.
If you learned something here today, I encourage you to check out my new book, The Art and Business of Online Writing (CAME OUT TODAY!!!). This is everything I know about publishing content on the internet. amazon.com/gp/product/B08…
