The Heart of the Matter

At Slingshot SEO, we talk a lot about creating interesting content. Lately, the word interesting has been nagging at me. What does that mean? How is that different from good content or informative content? Authoritative content? Or relevant content?

People tend to associate digital content with writing for informative purposes, leaving a somewhat bland impression of what the reader is getting into. As a result, we find ourselves saying, "But we need interesting content." And what we really mean is that we need to satisfy readers — not sell a product or justify authority.
 

Readers want specific things. Yes, they want information. But they want a lot more than that. The lessons I learned in fiction writing apply here: Interesting content and, therefore, digital relevance in some part have to do with finding the heart in your content. If you aren't creating empathy or some kind of catharsis for your reader, who will be interested in reading it? I'm not saying that an article about Cloud Computing should have you weeping over the loss of your childhood tree house, but that article should have some conviction behind it — something that will stir the reader.

During a writing conference, I had the pleasure of hearing Peter Jacobi talk about what a reader wants. This past Riley Professor Emeritus of Journalism helped me understand that "Information is not medicine." He mentioned several reader-wants that struck a chord with me. Here are 9 of Jacobi’s points and my take on how you can use them to create more interesting writing.
 

1. Readers want to learn
When a writer finds the heart of the content, it forces the reader to pose a question, take a side or see something in a new light. People actually want to keep thinking about things after the act of reading is over. This is a great marker for whether or not content is interesting.

2. Readers want entertainment
Finding the heart of the content also means evoking an emotion. Resist writing about the tedious and ho hum-ness in life. Create moments that are full of sparks. Laughter is probably the most obvious measure of this evocation, but how do you know if your content achieves this if it's digital? If a piece of content is shared, I'd say that's a good indication that someone was entertained by your writing.

3. Readers want immediacy
Create content that allows us to share experiences now, together. Write in present tense, if possible. For digital content this also means finding trending topics, looking for new developments in a client's arena or industry, and using current sources for research.

4. Readers want to take a journey
Exploration leads to discovery; and discovery leads to change and enlightenment. Science fiction and fantasy take us places we've never been— and never could visit if it weren't for the author taking us there. Yet we feel like we understand those places. Don't be afraid to take a blog reader somewhere new in order to drive home an old truth. For Internet content, this may mean creating a metaphor to explain a concept like mobile analytics.

5. Readers want to meet the subject and maybe the author
Mind your voice. Take a look back at our editor-in-chief's article about how to write like a chameleon. Getting to the heart of the matter includes finding the voice that is the most effective for the subject at hand. That being said, the old adage "write what you know" applies here. It's not only because you are a natural authority, but because it reveals you, your (or your client's) insights and values. And that's what will resonate with and affect readers. Writers, if you don't know your subject, introduce yourself and spend enough time there to feel confident speaking on its behalf.

6. Readers want new perspective
People are curious beings—always categorizing and manipulating ideas and other people to see what happens. And isn't it exciting when you have the "Aha!" that changes you, or makes you aware that you are capable of more? Writers want to influence. Readers look to be influenced. Does your content do this?

7. Readers want to be understood
It's that kind of content you read and you find yourself nodding along or saying "Yes!" to your computer screen. Maybe you even pull out an emphatic "Thank you!" when the author delivers the line you've just given someone else. People like to know they're right. Create digital content that allows others to feel good about themselves.

8. Readers want to be as a child
How glorious to revel in inhibition and feel the energy of the moment when reading a piece of content. The abandon of getting absorbed in your own imagination is such a pleasure. Have you ever witnessed a small child in public throw himself down on the floor in a full-out temper tantrum? I wish I could do that! What a release. A good piece of content can do that — in fact, force you … no allow you … to just let go for a few moments.

9. Readers want hope
The world can be a bad place. The best content can give a reader joy in a time of grief, a feeling of richness in a time of recession, courage in a time of war, adventure when our lives are in neutral, and healing when we are broken. Writers who give hope are the ones who incite change.

Not every piece of content will satisfy all these reader-wants. But the more a writer can provide, the richer and more interesting your content will be. Look back at the last piece of content you created.  How many of these 9 areas did you touch? Did you satisfy your reader?