Top 4 Things Writers Should Never Do To Attract Readers

Get out of the weeds and channel your audience’s needs.

I went down a rabbit hole the last time I checked my stats on various writing platforms. I wondered if I was doing something wrong with my content, headlines, picture, and publication.

There have been times when I tried to write an article, thinking I was writing for my readers. But, in reality, it was all about me. Me. Me.

There are various things we learn during this process of writing content online. Here are four ideas to help you overcome the hurdle and sprint toward the finish line — the way forward to attracting more readers.

Take yourself out of the picture.

The first point — stop making all of your writing about you. Yes, it is intriguing and voyeuristic to read someone’s post about relationships with husbands, wives, parents, lovers, etc. But, if you cross the line and get into the weeds of the argument you had last Thursday, you run the risk of alienating the very people you are attempting to attract.

There has been a run on stories lately in various Medium publications where the author seems to be trying to get you to take their side in an argument.

Issues with this process are many, but I’ll touch on this: We aren’t getting all sides of the situation, so it’s difficult to sign on to your opinion.

Or maybe it’s just me. But, I have a background in journalism and thus, tend to be skeptical about bias, motivation, skewing a story one way, etc.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I know that part of writing on this platform is to inform and share ideas, opinions, and heartfelt thoughts. But sometimes, it goes too far.

Be a little more objective when writing — even when taking a side on an issue. Then, you’ll see that you will get more views, likes, and comments.

Be a guide and teacher.

The second point is to take your learning and help others be better at whatever you have expertise on this platform.

Be helpful and show your expertise in layman’s terms. Don’t use $10 words when a $1 word suffices. (See what I did there?) I should have used ‘do’ and not ‘suffice.’

When I was an Executive Assistant in the corporate world, I once had a CEO who would use big words and phrases at management meetings that made the team fume. So they started keeping a list at these meetings of every word that he used that they either didn’t know or used in the wrong context.

Now, a lot could be said for their lack of focus, but part of that was the CEO’s fault. They’d come to me after the meeting and ask, “what did he mean by XXX?” I spent time translating my boss’s talking points, and in the meantime, the ideas were lost on the team. They became so concerned with the grammar that they couldn’t focus on the content.

Take what you know and show, don’t tell, your readers. Give them stories, give them bullet points. Don’t try to show off your skills with a thesaurus.

When you believe in what you write, it shows.

The third point is to stop trying to sell something you, yourself, wouldn’t buy. This one is a biggie, my friends.

How often have you read an article that feels ‘off’ somehow? As if the writer pulled up a headline and decided that they would force a square peg into the triangular hole.

It drives me crazy to read a story, article, listicle that doesn’t feel like the writer cared enough to make you pay attention. Now, I know that I can’t make anyone care about what I write, but I hope to be authentic enough to show you parts of me that resonate with you.

The way we connect with our readers is, to be honest. Be you. Authentic, heartbroken, angry, slap-happy, whatever you are that day. Just be you.

Your people will find you.

Take off the money blinders.

The fourth point is enormous! We have all seen articles driven by making money on platforms. Heck, I read them too. They are a little guilty pleasure of mine, to be honest.

I particularly love the ones that tell me how many readers I need to make X dollars in a month. Though they are slowing down, I like seeing how someone tries to explain the unexplainable.

Algorithms. Another math word. Yuck.

We are humans, having a human experience. There is no perfect system for making money — or everyone would be as wealthy as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.

When you get sucked into the idea that you will make $10,000 the second month you start writing online, you will slowly begin to believe you are a failure at writing. But, unfortunately, that’s not the case.

The truth is it takes time: time and effort. Suppose you are one who made a pile of money with your first couple of stories — fabulous. Now, for the rest of the thousands of writers online — here’s the reality.

We have to post our words. Consistently, as I’m finding out personally, I can’t promise you that you’ll make a million, but I can promise that the more you write, the better you will become at putting these words into sentences that people will want to read.

And follow. And clap. And share. And comment.

See my point? It’s not a magic pill. It’s a process.

Put yourself out there. Take the time to think about what you want to tell people. Could you share it with them? Let them see the real you and don’t believe that money grows on trees.

Your writing doesn’t have to be a Tolstoy novel (yawn). Your people will find you when they see that you are authentic and helpful.

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