Be a source for credible information by writing with conviction and authority
Let’s play out a scenario. I’m scrolling through Facebook, and spot a video with a title that looks promising. I stick through it for ten minutes only to find out it was clickbait. The promises it made were never delivered, and I leave feeling unfulfilled.
“What a waste of time,” I think to myself.
I will never return to that page again. They’ve lost my attention. Why? Because I know I can’t trust anything they put out. If they’re willing to put their name against that garbage, they’re willing to publish anything.
As a writer, you want to build a community that respects your work. You want them to return because they found value in your reflections and thoughts. To achieve that, you’ll need to produce content that is the polar opposite of that Facebook video.
If you want readers to repeatedly return to your content, here’s what you need to do.
Ask Yourself, “Would I Care About This?”
The problem with the ad-based model you find on social media is that it encourages deception. To make their buck, creators and marketers don’t have to produce anything of value.
Like a game of cards, they just have to give the illusion they’ve created value — and maintain that lie until their audience has watched the ad that makes them money.
That leaves their audience with a feeling of distaste. And this marketing model should be avoided — it’s short-lived, and only a matter of time before their audience catches wind of what they’re doing.
To avoid causing the frustration I experienced watching that video, you should do everything you can to ensure that your content delivers on something that your audience cares about.
Do so by putting yourself in your reader’s shoes. Ask yourself, would I care about this? For me, the best articles are ones that highlight an aspect of the writer’s life that everyone can relate to.
Hemingway on finding inspiration
According to renowned author Ernest Hemingway, the best way to achieve this is by having real-life as the foundation of your story. That is, using your own experiences, or the experiences of others, to inspire what you write about.
In his own words:
“The good part of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life — and one is as good as the other.”
Hemingway highlights that life stories are often emotionally charged, and are easier to connect with. In being real, there’s a chance your readers could have experienced them, too. And that will make your content more valued, and better received.
If you can write an article that explains that one indescribable feeling your reader keeps experiencing, they’ll keep rereading the piece. Because it’s by hearing someone else’s perspective on the topic that we can better learn about what we are experiencing.
Do Your Research
Your opinions and experiences matter, but they can only get you so far. You need to prove what you are saying applies to your readers, and you can’t do that by reeling off your own thoughts and emotions.
That’s because you can’t just generalize and universalize your experiences without proof. To make sure things hit home, you need evidence that what you lived is widely experienced.
If a reader properly internalizes the belief that what you’re saying could somehow affect them, then your content is more likely to resonate with them.
You’ll also need evidence to prove that the recommendations and solutions you offer apply to them. To do so, you’ll need external evidence from a credible source. Does a study prove what you’re saying? Or perhaps a psychologist with years of experience.
In either sense, that quality evidence isn’t easy to come by. It’s often buried in long and convoluted academic studies. But that makes the research even more worthwhile — if it’s hard to come by, then it’ll be unique, and other writers won’t use it.
Becoming authoritative
A lot of online writers are good at writing, but they’re not always knowledgeable about the field of discussion. Yet a lot of the legwork is in the research, rather than the writing.
Some well-respected writers I know often blag it. They write with authority, despite having no idea what they’re talking about. And if you’re writing a research-heavy piece, and end up saying something false; it’s not going to instill the most confidence in your audience.
They could lose faith in you altogether — and that’s a sure way to guarantee they never read your work again.
The solution? Become a writer who knows his stuff. Become a source for well researched and thought out pieces — rather than one that pushes content for the sake of content.
People come to Medium for a synthesis of complex information into one accessible and easy-to-read document. It’s the writer’s job to do the work that others won’t do.
And because few people really dig deep below surface-level research, doing so could really set you apart from the crowd.
The Deception of Social Media
According to former Google design ethicist, Tristan Harris, most modern-day ad-based social media platforms are designed to deceive us. And they do so because they have monetized your attention; for as long as you watch their content, they make money.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter were created in a similar vein to Las Vegas slot machines. They frequently send you notifications — sometimes it’s something good, a like or a follow request, and other times it’s not. According to B.F. Skinner’s 1969 study involving pigeons —this sporadic and random gratification makes something even more desirable.
To make money, content creators try and capture your attention, even when they have nothing valuable to say. They do so with clickbait titles, misleading introductions, and by stringing you along with promises they never deliver on.
Over 63% of Buzzfeed’s articles are clickbait, and up to 40% of political posts on Facebook contain fake news. That’s because their business models rely on getting viewers through the door.
Notice when you finish watching a video, you start watching another one, and another — because Facebook suggested them to you. That’s a byproduct of their algorithm. It exclusively suggests content that will grab your attention; regardless of whether it’s misleading or not.
Ex-Google engineer, Guillaume Chaslot, calls this feature of websites a rabbit hole. It’s very easy for users to fall down to this addictive feature, and get lost down them.
Most of that content provides next to no value. Watching it is a complete waste of time — and given a choice, I’m sure you wouldn’t sit for hours rewatching any of those videos.
Avoiding deception entirely
Reading is a mode of marketing and communication different from others. Unlike videos and audio, it requires conscious effort. You can’t blindly stare at an article in the same way you can a video.
For that reason, readers are only going to focus if your content is something that interests them.
According to Maria Konnikova of The New Yorker, a headline determines the sort of person that will visit your article. From your title and introduction, readers infer the article style and content and will bring certain expectations with them when they start reading.
In short, your readers chose your article because it interests them.
That means if you’re misleading readers with a clickbait title, or a deceiving introduction; then chances are you’ll attract the wrong audience — one that’s not willing to focus on what you actually have to say.
Adam Audette puts it best:
“Today it’s not about getting the traffic — it’s about getting the targeted and relevant traffic.”
If you’re not getting the right traffic, you’ll end up with no readers. You can target yourself towards those interested in your content by:
- Keeping your title descriptive, giving insight into what the article is about. Avoid clickbait and false promises.
- Make sure your sub-header and photo match the style, and brand of your entire article. What expectations do they illicit? Do you fulfill them?
Following these steps ensure you attract the right readers. Ones who align with your values and style. In doing so, you’re able to create content that resonates with them — given you have a specific demographic in mind when you produce your content.
Final Thoughts
Modern marketing and content creation revolve around money. And as a result, ad-based platforms like Facebook and YouTube are littered with one-trick ponies, who deceive their audience to make a quick buck.
Of course, these influencers’ “success” is often short-lived, as their audience quickly works out they can’t be trusted. In the same way that I did when watching a misleading ten-minute Facebook video that didn’t deliver on its promises.
Unlike these black-hand tactics, if you want a respected career where readers value and return to your work, you should:
- Ask yourself, would I care about this? To produce emotionally charged content that resonates with readers, use real-life experience as the foundation of your article.
- Do your research. Before generalizing your experiences and solutions, use evidence from credible sources to prove what you’re saying is widely accepted. By putting in the hard graft of reading and simplify complex information, you’re doing what most writers won’t.
- Recognize that how you market your articles influences the sorts of readers you attract. Reading takes conscious effort, and people are only prepared to read what interests them — so use avoid deception and aim to attract the right demographic.
In following these steps, you might not make a quick buck, but you’ll be providing real value to your audience. And that’s the first step to a long, healthy, and profitable writing career.
Aim to create stories that leave a lasting impression on others, after all:
“All of our thoughts — ideas — are traceable to a sensation, an encounter with the world that leaves an impression upon the mind.”― Kilroy J. Oldster