I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
How to write content people WANT to engage with
Hey Reader,
I'm currently hosting a live cohort for my signature program, Medium Writing Academy, which means I'm meeting our students in several weekly coaching sessions to discuss their questions.
One of the topics we discussed last week was how to get more engagement on your content:
Short answer: No, don't do it. 🛑
Long answer: Your audience won't engage with your content because you tell them to do so.
They'll engage with your content because it's engaging.
And that brings us to the biggest problem with most (online) writing advice like:
- Write engaging content
- Be yourself
- Use stories
- Stay consistent
- Be unique
All of that sounds good, but..
HOW?!?!?
How do you actually do any of that?
Most advice for new creators/writers is vague and left me feeling confused when I started to write online back in 2018.
Let's be honest: We all know our content should be interesting, engaging, useful, valuable, and unique.
But as beginners, we don't know what any of that really means, let alone how to actually do it.
So let's get actionable today - here are 3 reasons your audience will engage with your content (not because you tell them to but because they want to):
REASON #1: They feel understood
Your readers will love to engage with your content when they feel understood and supported by your work.
Most content is dull, uninspiring, and repetitive. 🥱
We all crave ideas that make us feel inspired and understood.
The good news is, your readers will feel understood when you share your truth.
The right people will feel connected to your work when you allow yourself to open up and be yourself.
If you want your readers to engage with your content, take a step back and think about who your content is for and how you can help them.
Without those answers, you can't write content that makes them feel understood.
Once you understand your ideal reader and tailor your content to meet their needs, you'll start to see comments like this:
REASON #2: They disagree (or have something to add)
Let's be real: Some stories aren't meant to make your audience feel good. They're meant to educate or share new perspectives.
When you allow yourself to be controversial and share your raw, honest opinion, some readers might engage with your work simply because they have something to add.
Sometimes, that might be a different perspective or opinion on your story.
Other times, they might just make an addition to your point, like in this example when a reader enjoyed my piece and shared his own approach through a comment:
Lots of creators go for controversial topics because they want to trigger engagement at all costs.
REASON #3: They genuinely love your content
The most obvious way to get someone to engage with your work is to create content your audience will genuinely like because it's useful and different compared to what they've seen before:
You can't enforce engagement when your audience doesn't feel like engaging.
And let's be honest: Most people never engage with online content.
Even if they like your work, they move on without engaging.
Getting people to engage with your content is no easy task, but it's an important one.
Without engagement, you won't be able to stand out from thousands of other creators and build a significant audience.
Without engagement, you won't be able to successfully monetize your work. 💰
That's why you want to focus on mastering the three most common reasons for audience engagement:
- Get clear about WHO your ideal audience member is, so you can craft content that speaks to their desires and pain points. This will help you make them feel understood, which is a feeling we all miss.
- Allow yourself to be a little controversial instead of trying to do what everyone does. We're bored of seeing the same old messages and patterns all over the internet. Be you. Share stories we haven't heard a dozen times already.
- Go the extra mile to create content that'll be appreciated. Don't just tell your reader WHAT to do, tell them HOW to do it. Provide examples. Share your real-life experience. Back up your claims through research. Write content others don't dare to write. I talked about this in detail in a live event I hosted with my co-editors at Better Marketing.
Was this helpful, Reader?
Hit "reply" and let me know if you have any additional questions about audience engagement. 📨
Big love from my screen to yours,
Sinem
Want more?
Write • Build • Scale with Sinem Günel
I help you write confidently, build your audience, and scale your income. Subscribe for first-hand insights and actionable strategies to turn your ideas and knowledge into a thriving digital business, so you can make money doing what you love.
No, this isn't clickbait - I actually asked my grandma if she liked what I'm about to share and she DOES. But I have to go back to the '80s to make my point.. that's when my Turkish family immigrated to Austria. And there was one thing I hated while growing up: My grandma always asked me if my friends were Turkish. (Because she thought they'd be better friends if they were lol) Everywhere we went, she told me to be friends with the Turkish girls - at weddings, on vacations, anywhere. To her...
Hey Reader, Ever since we launched the Write • Build • Scale publication on Substack, we've been facing a challenge. We talked to dozens of creators who have been on Substack for much longer than we have. We even talked to the Substack team. And we kept facing the same unsatisfying answer: There's no perfect solution. The problem we faced was how to best combine Substack with the tools and platforms we've already been using for years. Ever since we joined the platform, we wanted Substack to...
Hey Reader, Are you aiming to make more money through your writing in 2025? Maybe it's the first year you're giving online writing a shot at all? Either way, I've got something for you: My amazing co-founder Jari has written an incredibly useful guide that'll help you go from struggling to making a full-time income through your work (while ultimately working less than 25 hours/week!) >> The full guide is available for our members on Substack. Here's the 5-step process in a nutshell: #1. Solve...