Whether you are writing a full book, mini e-book or even a blog post, you need to know which type of content will catch the attention of your readers because if it doesn’t pique their interest, they will move on to something else.
This no fluff list will give you eight types of compelling content that you can use to attract and engage your readers. will resonate with your audience and help you achieve your business goals.
How-To Content
How-to content is always popular because people are always looking for ways to improve their lives or solve problems. If you can provide helpful, step-by-step instructions on how to do something, you’ll likely find an audience for your content.
For example, if you are a creative you can write a piece like: Anyone Can Draw: How to Pencil Your First Character Sketch Even if You Can’t Draw a Straight Line.
Lists
People love lists because they’re concise and easy to read. A listicle (a list in the form of an article) is a great way to deliver information in a digestible format.
For example, a list of the best books on self-improvement that actually deliver what they promise or the top 10 manifesting mistakes that repel money would be popular among readers.
Reviews
Whether you’re reviewing a product, a service, or something else, your review can help others make informed decisions. If you provide honest and insightful reviews, people will trust your opinion and turn to you for recommendations.
For example, let’s say that you are in the parenting niche and you specialize in homeschooling. You can devote a chapter to a book, write a mini e-book or write a high value blog post reviewing the top homeschooling services and resources. This will surely provide a lot of value to those parents who want to make this transition the right way.
Interviews
Interviews are a great way to share someone else’s story while also providing valuable information to your audience. For example, you can interview experts in your field to get their insights on current trends or hot topics. Or you can interview everyday people to learn about their unique experiences.
For example, if you specialize in helping women over 40 improve their chances of conception through natural protocols, you could interview several of your success stories as a source of inspiration and hope for your audience.
You could also interview natural and alternative health practitioners about the best fertility boosting protocols for women over 40. Both of these interview series would provide tremendous value to that audience.
Case Studies
Case studies offer an inside peek at someone who has used a product or service to achieve success.
Using the previous example, you could get permission from one of your clients to write an in-depth case study on their experience trying to conceive a child naturally at age 42. This would go deeper than just a brief interview. You would really hone in one what their struggles were before working with you, a detailed account of what happened in program, and the final outcome.
People love hearing about the experience others have had and this type of content can really attract them and hold their attention.
News Stories
News stories and current events can help you bring more attention to your own products and services. Tying news to your offerings will create curiosity and an interesting hook to keep them reading.
What you want to do is add your own spin or analysis to an existing story to showcase that you have a unique opinion about the subject and if possible, make a connection with whatever products and services you are offering.
For example, at the time of this writing there a trending news story entitled: Catholic School Principal Sentenced for Embezzling $175k Meant for Student Services, NY Post August 6, 2022.
Going back to the earlier homeschool example, if you are a home school coach you could offer your opinion on this article and tie it into just one more reason to homeschool your kids. Their tuition and/or school taxes are being stolen right out from under their kids. You could argue their money is better spent on homeschool resources.
Op-Eds
An op-ed presents the writer’s opinion on a current issue in the form of an editorial. They’re usually timely and relevant to what’s happening in the world. Op-eds are a great way to start a conversation and get people thinking about important topics.
Here are a couple of examples in the weight loss industry:
- The processed food industry makes us desperate to lose weight – and then profits from it, LA Times 3/9/22
- Diet Culture is Unhealth. It’s also Immoral. NY Times, 1/3/22
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs are always very popular. These are the top-of-mind questions that most people will have in your niche area. FAQs tend to make great blog posts because they are basic information people are actively searching for online.
The key here is to find the actual questions your audience has about your niche area and simply answer them.
You can find these questions in multiple places but here are a few examples:
Survey: If you have an audience that you can survey, ask them what questions come to mind when thinking about your area of expertise. What do they want to know?
Google: Type your niche into Google, scroll down the page to the People also ask section.
For example, when you Google, Yoga for Weight Loss, here’s comes up in that section:
- Can you lose weight by doing yoga?
- Which type of yoga is best for weight loss?
- Is 30 minutes of yoga a day enough for weight loss?
- Can I lose belly fat by doing yoga?
- Which is better gym or yoga for losing weight?
Answerthepublic.com: Type in your niche, Yoga for Weight Loss. It generated 80 questions that are trending online about this topic. Here are a few:
- Is hot yoga good for weight loss?
- What is power yoga for weight loss?
- When to do yoga for weight loss?
There are many other places you can look like Reddit, Quora and Ask.com. Do a little research and you can uncover a lot of questions that people want the answers to – all you have to do is answer them!
This list highlights just a few examples of compelling content that can engage your readers. While it isn’t everything, it’s enough to kick start your creativity and get you writing. You can use these ideas as a jumping off point for different talking points in your book, a blog post series to attract more people to your website or even an email series to build trust and a loyal community of fans.
Creating helpful, informative, and engaging content will provide value to your audience and ultimately lead to increased revenue for you as an author/content creator.