how_to_keep_readers_on_the_edge_of_their_seats_with_your_article [Satoru Miyano- english]

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Your goal as a content marketer is to get your readers to read every single word of your article. Some would say that your article works a bit like a slippery slide, like this:

    Your title is designed to nab attention and get the reader to read your opening lines.

    Your opening lines are designed to get the reader interested in your article so that they continue reading.

    Each sentence and paragraph thereafter is designed to keep the reader hooked and reading... all the way down to your call to action.

Point is, you probably have a call to action, either in your article body or in your resource box. To make sure that your reader sees this call to action, you need to make sure your reader reads every word of your article.

Of course that doesn't always happen. People are busy, so they skim an article. However, you can increase the chances that they'll read your article by using these two tricks...

Create Eye-Catching Subheadlines

You already know you should create a great title. But if that's the only bolded part of your text - if the rest of your article looks like a wall of plain text - the reader may not even bother skimming. That's why you need to emphasize some of your text.

One way to do that is by creating eye-catching subheadlines (like the ones in this lesson). These are basically headlines, but they appear in your article body.

You can also emphasize important pieces of text by using:

    Bold font
    Bigger font
    Italics
    Colored font
    Bulleted lists
    Text boxes
    Graphics (with attention-getting captions)

All of these things draw in the eyes and stops a skimmer in his tracks. If the emphasized text is interesting, makes a big promise or arouses curiosity, it will pull the reader right back into the text.

Which brings us to our next point...

Create an Itch

One of the most powerful ways to virtually compel a reader to keep reading is to arouse curiosity in the beginning of the article... but don't satisfy this curiosity until the end of the article.

You can think of it as creating an itch. The only way the reader can "scratch" this itch is by reading your article. And by the time the person satisfies his curiosity, he's at the end of your article, which means he's already come to your call to action. Mission accomplished for you!

So here's how it works...

Right at the beginning of your article you need to drop a "hook" - some enticing bit - with a promise to reveal more later.

For example, let's say your article is about stubborn dogs who're hard to housetrain. In the beginning of the article you might say something like this:

"After months of cleaning up Fido's messes, I finally discovered one simple trick that eliminated accidents the moment I started using it. Imagine - no more coming home to messes! No more stained carpets!

Now, in just a moment I'll reveal this surprisingly simple trick to you so that you can start using it too. But first, [insert a line about what benefits the reader will receive next if they continue reading]..."

Then at the end of the article - near your call to action - you satisfy the reader's curiosity by revealing the trick.

Again, this is one of those deceptively simple tactics - but it works amazingly well. Try it for yourself and see!

Reprinted courtesy of the [[http://writing-online.com|Free 7 day online writing e-course at www.writing-online.com]]